Friday, 24 January 2020

Thought Process for Designing My Business


The Thought Behind My Cinema.

I knew I wanted my cinema to represent freedom from reality and the wide variety of films available today. From this I began thinking about space and its potential/vastness. With no initial ideas for the design of my cinema I decided to google space. While looking at a wide variety of different pictures of space, the first thing I noticed was the colours. Most to the space images had different shades of blue, pink, purple and in some cases green. After choosing five different space pictures I picked out three of the most prominent colours from each picture. I filled a small circle with the different colours that I had picked out of each of the pictures and overlapped them slightly. This allowed me to see how the colours worked together and allowed me to gain an understanding about the sort of colours I could use for my business. (Business Mind Map)



After looking at the pictures of space I still didn’t have any idea what I was going to call my cinema so I began brainstorming words related to space. After noting down a variety of different words I began thinking about potential business names. After drawing a blank on my own I googles name generators and found a website named ‘Business Name Generator’. By entering a few key word, such as; Galaxy, orbit and infinity, the website then generated hundreds of potential business names. Most of them weren’t very suitable but some, such as; ‘Galaxy Access’ and ‘Cinema Cosmic’, would have worked for my business. However, none of the names I found sounded right. My last key word was constellation, but ‘Constellation Cinema’ didn’t sound right; so I began looking at constellation names. After looking at a bunch of different constellation names and meanings such as: Andromeda, Cassiopeia and Orion, I finally came across the Zodiac Constellations. Then the words ‘Zodiac Cinema’ came to mind. I decided I liked the name so began looking at the names and meanings of all the different zodiac constellations. (Star Sign research) While looking at the twelve different zodiac constellations and the dates that they occur I had a thought about my marketing campaign; so I made a quick note of my idea and decided to get back to it later. But for now I had my cinema name; Zodiac Cinema.



After deciding on my businesses name I went back to my colour board and added a picture of the zodiac constellations. From this picture I picked out a really dark navy blue/almost black colour, a light grey/white colour and a medium blue. But in simpler terms, I have chosen black, white and blue as my businesses colour theme. (Business Mind Map)



Now that I had my business name and colours, I move on to fonts. I looked at the different fonts available on both Microsoft Word and a website called Dafonts. To get a good feel for each of the fonts I made sure that I was applying the font to the words ‘Zodiac Cinema’. For me it was important that it was a block font which was quite thick, meaning I could remove the ‘fill’ leaving just the ‘outline’. The range of different fonts that I found on both Word and Dafonts met my specification precisely. Of the eighteen fonts I found that would work for my business I went with one from Word called ‘Agency FB’. After choosing my font I began looking at designing my logo. (Business Mind Map)



First I decided that I wanted to use the constellation picture within my logo. So I tried putting the constellation picture inside the text. However once I had removed the colour filling the text leaving just the outline. I then made the outline white and placed it over the top of the constellation picture. The after grouping the picture and copying it into ‘Paint’ I began removing the picture that was outside the text. This left me with Logo 1 on my business mind map. However, once the picture was inside the text it become unclear and just looked like black text with random white dots on it. So, by reversing slightly to before I removed the background for outside of the text. Therefore I ended up with a square logo with the constellation picture as the background and the white outline of the words ‘Zodiac Cinema’ in size 72. This can be seen in Logo 2 on my business mind map. However, with both words the same size didn’t look right, so I adjusted the size of the word ‘Cinema’ to size 48. This can be seen in Logo 3 on my business mind map. After making this change I was happy with my logo. (Business Mind Map)



For my marketing Campaign I thought I could use the different zodiac signs to encourage people to visit the cinema more. To do this discounted tickets can be offered to customers who provide evidence that their birthday falls within the current zodiac sign. For example: the dates for the Virgo star sign are the 23rd of August to the 22nd of September. So, anyone who visits my cinema and has a birthday within these dates would receive a discount on their cinema ticket.



As well using my marketing campaign I am also going to introduce loyalty cards to help encourage more people to visit the cinema. A customers loyalty card will be stamped every time they visit the cinema; and once the owner of the card has collected ten stamps they will get a free cinema ticket. However, I will need to add an expiry date of between three and six months because otherwise people who visit the cinema very little will eventually get a free ticket for just visiting the cinema as normal. Whereas the point of the loyalty card it to get people visiting the cinema more often.



Expiry Date Length
Number of visits per loyalty card
Number of weeks available to visit the cinema.
3 Months
10 Visits
12 weeks
4 Months
10 Visits
16 weeks
5 Months
10 Visits
20 weeks
6 Months
10 Visits
24 weeks



Of the possibilities listed above, an expiry date of either five or six months makes the most sense because, for example someone wouldn’t be able to visit the cinema every week because they wouldn’t want to watch every film available at the cinema and new films are released every two to four weeks. After conferring with my farther I agreed that a six-month validation date would be best. A loyalty card can only be signed and dated when the customer is paying for a full price ticket. This ensures that each time a full price ticket is purchased they are contributing a little towards their free tickets after they have been ten times. Mixing the loyalty cards and my marketing idea will result in a loss in revenue because customers aren’t paying full price on their tickets and are therefore not contributing fully towards their free ticket after visiting my cinema ten times.



First thing I need for my loyalty card design was a background. I wanted to use the same background I had for my logo but by enlarging this image it became distorted and unclear, therefore I had to look for a different background. After a little looking I found a picture of a starry sky that I liked which was the right size. I than copied the text from my logo to ensure that I got the right style and font. However the word ‘cinema’ didn’t look right underneath the word ‘Zodiac’ on the front of the loyalty card. So I moved the words next to each other. However because the words were different sizes it still didn’t look right so I made both word the same size, which made the front look better. Then I copied and pasted this text box in the same place and changed the text to ‘loyalty card’. By copying the original text constantly I am able to keep the same style and font easily. I then made the text smaller, inserted a white fill and removed the outline. I then arranged this text box underneath the title of my cinema. I decided less is more so moved on to the back of the loyalty card. I originally wanted a similar system as McDonalds with their hot drinks, but soon realised that this wouldn’t be effective for mu business. So, instead added a three-column table which had ten rows. In the first column I had the numbers one to ten. This indicates the number of tickets that a customer has to purchase in order to get a free ticket. The second and third column are empty but have room for a date, (second column) and a set of initials, (third column). Each trip to the cinema a member of staff will add the date and their initials to the card which signals one trip. I added the sentence ‘Visit our cinema 10 times and get 1 free ticket’ to the top and ‘Valid for 6 months from the first date’ at the bottom, and this was my finished loyalty card. (Design Ideas)



Gift cards are also a good way to encourage people to invite friends and family to the cinema. It is proven that people how receive a gift card are more likely to visit the shop or attraction than when they didn’t have a gift card to the shop. Therefore by using gift cards at my cinema I will hopefully attract more customers from the Great Yarmouth area.



For my gift card I decided to use the same design as my loyalty card. So, I copied the background and text keeping the name of my cinema the same but changing the name of the card from ‘loyalty card’ to ‘gift card’. I wanted to leave the front of the card as empty as possible but needed to add one more text box in the top right corner. This displayed the amount the card was worth. For my example design I used £20.00, but decided I would have £10.00, £30.00 and £50.00 gift cards as well. To help me understand what was needed on the back of my gift card I looked at example gift cards on google. After looking at a variety of different cards I found one that would work for the back on mine. Therefore I added a metal strip, bar code, some information about the card and the address of my business. However this all on the starry background didn’t look right so I changed it to a white background and black text. (Design Ideas)



After working with the starry background for my loyalty and gift cards, the background for my logo didn’t look right, so I decided to change the background from the constellation picture to the starry sky picture. Because I had changed my logo I then had to change my business colours because my old colours didn’t match my new logo. Using the same technique as before I picked out four instead of three colours. This included black, white, dark blue and medium purple, which became my new business colours. (Business Mind Map)



As I mentioned before I wanted my to use the different zodiac constellations as part of my marketing idea, and with no time to design all twelve marketing posters I designed just one in order to get an idea about what my marketing campaign would look like. I decided to do the Virgo poster. To start with I go my background. I used the same starry sky picture that I used for the background for my loyalty card, gift card and my logo. This picture works really well because no matter how small or large I make the image it doesn’t distort or become unclear. I then copied the style and font of my business name and changed the text to ‘Virgo’. In normal sentence case this didn’t look right so I decided to make the letters all in capitals. Then on a different word document I created my own zodiac constellation picture by using an image I found on the internet. To do this I just used the line and star shapes on word. First I put in the lines that join the stars together and then I used the star shape and added a start at each point the lines changed direction. Next I removed the shapes outlines and made them white. However white looked too bright so I made the stars a light grey/dark white and the lines a little darker to ensure that the stars stood out. I then grouped all the shapes to make one image and copied it to my design document. Once I had the constellation I placed it in the centre of my background. This left me with enough space underneath to add the Virgo dates and that there is a 25% discount available for those who have a Virgo star sign. I added this text in the same style and design as I used for the card names on my loyalty and gift cards. Once again I didn’t want to over crowd my poster so I decided I had everything it needed on it and therefore I wasn’t going to add anymore.  So I now had designs of my loyalty cards, gift cards and my marketing campaign poster. (Design Ideas)



After looking at a few different cinemas across the county I found that most charged between £5.99 and £11.99 for a ticket. So to work out my discount for people who had a birthday within the current star sign. To work out the correct discount I also had to think about my cinema ticket prices. So by using the following table I work out how much my tickets would be and the discount that would be given to customers in the current star sign.



Ticket price of:
Discount of:
Discounted ticket price of:
Yes or No.
Why?
£5.99
10%
£5.39
No - Not enough difference between the normal ticket price and the discounted one.
£6.99
10%
£6.29
No – Not a big enough difference.
£7.99
10%
£7.19
No – Still not a big enough different so I increased the discount percentage to 15%.
£7.99
15%
£6.79
No - This gave a bigger gap but it still wasn’t big enough. So I increased the discount percentage again.
£7.99
20%
£6.39
No – Still only £1.60 of the original ticket price. Tried increasing the percentage again before changing the ticket price.
£7.99
25%
£5.99
Yes- By using a discount percentage of 25% the original ticket price went down by £2.00. which gave a discounted ticket of £5.99 which works quite nicely.



Now that I had my logo and marketing poster completed I began thinking about the signage I would use on the building I was looking to purchase. As seen on the (Signage) document the building has two appropriate places to put signs up. The first is centred above the door. It is a large area so my marketing posters will hang there. The second goes from one side of the building to the others and is directly above the door. This is where I wanted my logo. But after going back to my logo I realised that I had it as a square not a long rectangle. This meant I had to come up with a design that would work. To keep with my theme I kept with the starry sky picture as the background. I then had to add the name of my business. This is when I remembered what I did for the name on my loyalty and gift cards. So I copied the title text box from my gift card to in from of the starry sky background and enlarged the font size till it filled the background, this was size 80. I wanted to keep it simple so decided that was it for my signage.

Thursday, 23 January 2020

Unit 1&2 Research - Thurs 17th Oct 2019


Thursday 17th October 2019


Regulatory Frameworks.

·       What is a regulatory body?

·       What is a regulatory framework?

·       What is Ofcom, what does it do and what framework does it produce and follow?

·       What is the ASA, what does it do and what framework does it produce and follow?

·       What is the IPSO, what does it do and what framework does it produce and follow?

·       What is the BBFC, what does it do and what framework does it produce and follow?

·       What is PEGI, what does it do and what framework does it produce and follow?

·       What is the Creative Industries Council and what is their involvement with regulation?





What is a regulatory body?


A regulatory body is a public organisation or government agency that is set up to ensure that laws and regulations are being followed within business across the UK. Regulatory bodies have to ensure that business are following the restrictions, conditions and requirements that business have to follow.



-          Safeopedia, (2019), Regulatory Body, https://www.safeopedia.com/definition/625/regulatory-body, [17/10/2019]



What is a regulatory framework?


A regulatory framework  is a series of steps taken by a regulator to develop their regulations. It consist of three step, they are: policy development, regulatory program development and implementation.



-          Intersol Consulting Associates Limited, (2019), Regulatory frameworks, http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/rcwc/research/intersol-frameworks.pdf, [17/10/2019]



What is Ofcom, what does it do and what framework does it produce and follow?


Ofcom is know as the Office of Communications and they are a government approved regulatory and competition authority of the broadcasting, telecommunications and the postal industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom uses the Electronic Communications Framework. The framework applies to all transmission networks and services that operate within the UK. The framework is in place to raise the standards of regulation and competition across all communication markets.



-          Ofcom, (2019), What is Ofcom?, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/what-is-ofcom, [17/10/2019]



What is the ASA, what does it do and what framework does it produce and follow?


ASA stands for the Advertising Standards Authority. They are a self-regulatory organisation within the United Kingdom. Their job is to ensure that advertisements across UK media stick to the advertising rules.



-          ASA, (2019), About the ASA and CAP, https://www.asa.org.uk/about-asa-and-cap/about-regulation/about-the-asa-and-cap.html, [17/10/2019]



What is the IPSO, what does it do and what framework does it produce and follow?


IPSO stands for Independent Press Standards Organisation. They are an independent regulator for the newspaper and magazine industry in the UK. It is their job to ensure that newspapers and magazines follow the editors code and demand they make changes is the code isn’t followed.



-          Ipso, (2018), What we do, https://www.ipso.co.uk/what-we-do/, [17/10/2019]



What is the BBFC, what does it do and what framework does it produce and follow?


BBFC stands for British Board of Film Classification. They are a non-governmental organisation. They were founded by the film industry in 1912 and are responsible for the national classification and censorship of films that are shown in the UK.



-          BBFC, (2019), About the BBFC, https://bbfc.co.uk/about-bbfc, [17/10/2019]



What is PEGI, what does it do and what framework does it produce and follow?


PRGI stands for Pan European Game Information. They were established to help European consumers purchase age appropriate video games or apps through the age recommendations and the content descriptions provided.



-          Wikipedia, (2019), Pan European Game Information, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_European_Game_Information, [17/10/2019]



What is the Creative Industries Council and what is their involvement with regulation?


The Creative Industries Council was set up to be the voice of the creative industry. The council focuses on area where there are barriers for growth within the creative industry. These barriers include; finance, skills, export markets, regulation intellectual property and infrastructure.



-          The Creative Industries Council, (2019), About Us, https://www.thecreativeindustries.co.uk/about-us, [17/10/2019]

Unit 1&2 Research - Tue 15th Oct 2019


Tuesday 15th October 2019


The Creative Economy.

Compared to other sectors in the UK, how well are the creative industries doing?

·       What 'industries' make up the creative industries?

·       How many people are employed in the UK?

·       How much do the creative industries generate each year?

·       What is the growth of the creative industries (comparatively)?



What 'industries' make up the creative industries?


The creative industry is the fastest growing industry in the UK. There are twelve sub sectors within the creative industry. They are:

Publishing
Architecture
Crafts
Design
(Product, Graphic, Fashion)
Film, TV, Video, Radio & Photography
IT, Software and Computer Services
Advertising and Marketing
Museums, Galleries and libraries
Music, Performing and visual arts
Animation & Visual Effects
Video Games
Heritage



-          Creative Industries Federation, (2017), Statistics, https://www.creativeindustriesfederation.com/statistics, [15/10/2019]




How many people are employed in the UK?




 

-          College Display Board.

How much do the creative industries generate each year?


In 2017 the total value of the creative industries in the UK was £101.5 billion, that’s 6.7 billion pounds more than it was in 2016.



-          College Display Board.



What is the growth of the creative industries?


An article publishes by Nesta, revealed that the creative industries are driving the economic growth across the whole of the UK and that the industry is on track to create around one million new jobs between 2013 and 2030. Local econemies across the UK are growing their creative industries by an average of eleven percent 2011-2014 and 2015-2016, which is twices as fast as any other industry in the UK.



Unit 1&2 Research - Mon 14th Oct 2019


Monday 14th October 2019


Legislation and the creative industries.

This is potentially a huge area, so let's start with some specifics:



·       Intellectual Property

·       Copyright

·       Trademarks

·       What are talent releases?

·       What are location releases?

·       What are the rules about filming and performing in public in the UK?

·       How might child labour laws impact the creative industries?

·       What is public liability insurance?

·       What is GDPR?

·       What is the Competition Act 1998?

·       What is the Enterprise Act 2002?



Intellectual Property.


Intellectual property is protected by law by patents, copyright and trademarks, which enable people to earn the recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create.



-          World intellectual property organisation, (2019), What is Intellectual property?, https://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/, [14/10/2019]



Copyright.


The Copyright, designs and patents Act 1988 is the current UK copyright law. The copyright law gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic pieces of work the control of the ways in which it is used. Copyright rights cover; broadcast and public performance, copying, adapting, issuing and renting and lending copies to the public.



-          The UK copyright service, (2019), UK Copyright Law: a Summary, https://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/uk_law_summary, [14/10/2019]



Trademarks.


Trademarks are a badge of origin. They help tell apart the goods and services of one business to the other. A trade mark can come in many forms, such as; words, slogans, names, logos, shapes, colours, sounds and materials.



-          Business & IP centre, (2019), What is a trademark?, https://www.bl.uk/business-and-ip-centre/articles/what-is-a-trade-mark, [14/10/2019]



What are talent releases?


A talent release is a form that has to be completed by actors and any extra for the filmmaker. The filmmaker need the talent releases to get permission to distribute and sell your video/film. A talent release is used anytime there is someone in front of a camera. A distributer will always ask for copies of the talent releases so it easier to get them don’t before filming rather than after.



-          Premium Beat, (2015), Free talent release form for film and video productions, https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/free-talent-release-form-film-video-productions/, [14/10/2019]



What are location releases?


A location release form is a form that is used to protect both the property owner and the production company from any confusion and problems that could arise. A location release form outline the location being used, the dates of use, an insurance agreement and an acknowledgement of liability.



-          Premium Beat, (2015), Free location release form for film and video productions, https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/free-download-location-release-form/, [14/10/2019]



What are the rules about filming and performing in public in the UK?


For both armature movie makes and professional there aren’t any laws that can prevent you from filming in a public space. However, ff they are causing unnecessary obstruction then the police might ask a few questions about what you are doing but they have no power to stop you from filming or doing photography in a public place. If a police officer does question you regarding your filming or photography then it is best to explain calmly and politely what you are doing. By doing this the police are likely to let you continue. If you are rude about it though, they will probably ask you to stop and go somewhere else.



-          IAC, (2019), To film or not to film – In public, https://www.theiac.org.uk/resourcesnew/filming-in-public/filming-in-public.html, (14/10/2019)



How might child labour laws impact the creative industries?


Most people say that working with children and animals are one of the hardest things to do in film and if you can avoid it at al costs, but sometimes it can’t be helped. Working with children is so much more paperwork than working with adults because of all the laws and regulations that need to be followed in order to ensure that the children are exploited. Fist of all when working with children under the age of 18 within a tv or film production it is imperative that a Child Working License is obtained. It includes details about the production and the child’s role within the production and their working hours. Only then will a Child Working License be issued to allow the child to work on the set of the production. The majority of the crew members that will have contact with the child/ren will also have to be DBS checked. This ensures that everyone working on set is safe and can therefore work with children. Production managers also have to ensure that the set number of hours a child can be on set is followed and that the recommended time for rest breaks and meal times are followed. Thes regulation vary depending on the age of the child. For example a child aged between 5 and 8 can be on set for up to 8 hours, on camera for up to 3 hours. Can be called no earlier that 07:00 and must wrap before 23:00. Children on set must also be accompanied by a parent or guardian, if one isn’t available then a chaperone with be provided by production. If a production means that a child misses a set amount of school days then a tutor must also be hired by the production to ensure the child remains on track with their schoolwork. A chaperone that is familiar with the tv and film industry are great for children because they know exactly what to expect on set and are therefore able to answer any questions the child may have. There are also a few other small thing that must be done when working with children on tv and film productions.



-          OMNI, (2019), A guide to working with children, https://omni-productions.co.uk/blog/guide-working-children/, (14/10/2019)

What is public liability insurance?


Public liability insurance covers the cost of claims made by members of the public for incidents that occur in connection with a businesses activities. Claims included are; personal injury, loss of or damage to property and death.






What is GDPR?


GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation. It is the regulations set in place to protect peoples data while it is in the hand of businesses across Europe. The regulations set out the parameters for what a business is allowed to use an individual’s data for.



There are seven principals of the GDPR. They are:

§  Lawfulness, Fairness and Transparency – Obtain the data on a lawful basis, leave the individual fully informed and keep your word.

§  Purpose limitation – Be Specific

§  Data minimization – Collect the minimum data you need.

§  Accuracy – Store accurate date data.

§  Storage Limitations – Retain the data for a necessary limited period and then erase.

§  Integrity and Confidentiality – Keep it secure.

§  Accountability – Record and prove compliance. Ensure policies.



-          Wired, (2019), What is GDPR? The summary guide to GDPR compliance in the UK, https://www.wired.co.uk/article/what-is-gdpr-uk-eu-legislation-compliance-summary-fines-2018, [14/10/2019]

-          Amara, (2019), 7 principals of the GDPR and what they mean, https://www.amara-marketing.com/travel-blog/7-principles-of-the-gdpr-and-what-they-mean, [14/10/2019]



What is the Competition Act 1998?


The Competition Act of 1998 forbids any agreements, business practice or conduct which has the possibility of a damaging effect on competition in the United Kingdom.



-          Office of rail and road, (2019), Competition Act 1998, https://orr.gov.uk/rail/promoting-competition/competition-act-1998, [14/10/2019]



What is the Enterprise Act 2002?


The Enterprise Act 2002 is an effort to enforce the competition law and crack down on the anticompetitive behaviour shown by businesses across the UK.



-          Delta Net, (2019), What is the Enterprise Act 2002?, https://www.delta-net.com/compliance/competition-law/faqs/what-is-the-enterprise-act-2002, [14/10/2019]

Unit 1&2 Research - Thurs 10th oct 2019


Thursday 10th October 2019


The Brand.

·       What is a mission statement?

·       What is brand positioning?

·       What, in business, is meant by values and drivers?

·       How can an individual, business or organisation market themselves?

·       What is a business blueprint?



Extension task - find creative examples for each of the above.



What is a missions statement?


A mission statement is a summary of what the business aims to achieve overall. Each businesses mission statement will be different, but will all include the following; present capabilities, customer focus, business activities and the makeup of the business.



-          The balance of small businesses, (2018), What is a mission statement? Definition and examples, https://www.thebalancesmb.com/mission-statement-2947996, [10/10/2019]



What is brand positioning?


Brand positioning is how a business sets themselves apart from their competitors in orders to gain both the customers interest and a place in the market. It is important for businesses to gain the customers favour because it links to the different strategies used, such as; customer loyalty, consumer based brand equity and the willingness of customer to purchase.



-          The Branding Journal, (2019), A simple definition of brand positioning, https://www.thebrandingjournal.com/2016/11/brand-positioning-definition/, [10/10/2019]



What is meant by values and drivers?


A value driver is an activity that adds worth to a product, service or brand. More specifically the value driver activity tries to add profitability, reduces risks and attempts to encourage growth in accordance with a businesses strategic goals. Value drivers are very important for a businesses success and each value drivers activity is different for businesses in different industries.



-          SearchERP, (2019), value driver, https://searcherp.techtarget.com/definition/value-driver, [10/10/2019]



How can a business or organisation market themselves?


It is important for a business to market both themselves and their product/service in order to gain sales. If a business doesn’t promote their product/service then they won’t make sales and therefore won’t succeed as a business. There are a variety of different online and off line method which business can use to promote their business and products/services.



Here are a few ways to effectively promote a business:

§  Create a brand and logo – This may seem fairly obvious, but it is important to get this step right from the beginning.

§  Create a website – There are many different website builders online that small business can use. It is important for your website to be attractive, functional, accessible and mobile-friendly. All off these help make a business more professional and legitimate. If a website doesn’t meet these standards then customers aren’t going to trust the website and are therefore not going to purchase the product or service.

§  Search engine optimisation – It’s important for a business to have search engine optimisation because it no one can find your business online then people won’t know about the products and services that are on offer.

§  Mobile friendly – It’s it important for business website to be mobile friendly because lots of people use their mobile phones to shop online now.

§  Social media – Social media is a good way to get the word out about a business and the products/service they are offering.

§  Email Marketing – People underestimate the power of email marketing. By having an email sign up on your website can have great results. Its important not to bomb people that have signed up with too many emails or the will unsubscribe, but if not enough emails are sent then they forget who you are. It’s important to find a balance.

§  Reviews – Be getting reviews from existing consumers a business can adapt there business where necessary.

§  Increasing footfall – by having your businesses website URL of business cards, leaflets and letterheads can play a major role in increasing the number of people that visit a business website.

§  Word of mouth – 92% of people trust recommendations from their friends and family so it important to encourage customer to tell their friends.



-          Entrepreneur handbook, (2019), 35 ways to promote your business effectively, https://entrepreneurhandbook.co.uk/how-to-promote-your-business/, [10/10/2019]



What is a business blueprint?


‘When building a house, the blueprint is the strategic plan that tells the construction workers and their managers the logistic requirements to build the house, where each part of the facility will be placed, and helps them to maintain order as they build the house.  Similarly, a business blueprint is a strategic plan that tells those operating the business the productivity requirements, the necessary jobs, the milestones, the targets, and the expected outcomes.  A business blueprint is a plan for how you will strategically execute business.’



-          How to entrepreneur, (2019), What is a business blueprint?, https://howtoentrepreneur.org/what-is-a-business-blueprint, [10/10/2019]

Unit 1&2 Research - Wed 9th Oct 2019


Wednesday 9th October 2019


Business Plans and Models.

·       What is a business plan?

·       What is a business model?

·       What is meant by the term 'sustainable business model'?

·       If you want to start a creative enterprise, where does / can the money come from?



What is a business plan?


A business plan is a formal document that sets out a plan for how a business is going to work and what has to be done to ensure the business is successful. It’s important to understand that a business plan doesn’t have to be miles long. As long as all the main points are answered then it doesn’t matter if your business plan is only two pages long.



A business plan should include the following:

§  An executive summary

§  A company overview

§  Information about the service or product

§  Marketing plan

§  A l major company milestones (timeline of events)

§  Details of the company’s financial plan



-          Bplans, (2019), What is a business plan?, https://articles.bplans.com/what-is-a-business-plan/, [09/10/2019]



What is a business model?


A business model is a business’s plan for making a profit. The model looks at the product/service the business is selling, the target market the product/service is aimed at and the expected expenses for the business. It’s important for businesses that are both new and existing to have up to date business models because it’s important to understand possible trends and challenges ahead. Investors and banks will also use business models to look at how successful the business could be.



-          Investopedia, (2019), Business Model, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/businessmodel.asp, [09/10/2019]



What is meant by the term 'sustainable business model'?


Well, a business model is what a business is doing to make money, so a sustainable business model would be a businesses plan to maintain their profits and even improve them.



-          Lexico, (2019), Sustainability, https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/sustainability, [09/10/2019]



If you want to start a creative enterprise, where does / can the money come from?


For a lot of creative enterprises the funding comes from personal finance, crowd funding and profits from small jobs in the beginning.



§  Personal Finance.

Personal finance is the money that the ventures owner puts into the business throughout the duration of the business.

§  Crowd Funding.

Crowd funding is where a large number of people donate money to a business venture to help it get started in return for something from the business, for example; a free sample or discount.



§  Profits.

As someone begins to build their creative venture they will begin doing small jobs for customers. The money made from these jobs is then put back into the venture to help pay for the next step in growing the business.





Larger creative businesses would have to use business and bank loans because they would require more money to begin their creative venture.



§  Business/Bank Loan.

A bank loan is a popular option for getting capital for a new business. After presenting a business plan and proving to the bank that they will be able to pay them back the bank then decides the interest rate and the timing and amount of the repayments.





-          Investopedia, (2019), Crowdfunding, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/crowdfunding.asp, [09/10/2019]

-          Tutor 2 u, (2019), Q&A – What is a bank loan?, https://www.tutor2u.net/business/blog/what-is-a-bank-loan, [09/10/2019]

Unit 1&2 Research - Tue 8th Oct 2019


Tuesday 8th October 2019


Types of business in the UK.

Investigate and identify the various types of business in the UK, this should include:

·       Sole Traders

·       Limited Companies

·       Partnerships

·       Social Enterprises

·       Charities

·       Unincorporated Associations



Extension task - find examples (preferably creative) for each of the above



Sole Traders


A sole trader is a small private business which is owned by an individual. Sole traders are people that run their own business and are self-employed. Sole traders can keep all their profits after they have paid tax on them. The profits can them be put back into the business or used however the business owner wants. Sole traders are held responsible for any financial or legal trouble the business finds them-selves in and there are certain rules and regulations that small business must follow then it comes to naming and running their business.



-          GOV.UK, (2019), Set up a sole trader, https://www.gov.uk/set-up-sole-trader?step-by-step-nav=37e4c035-b25c-4289-b85c-c6d36d11a763, [08/10/2019]



Limited Companies


There are two types of limited company, Public and Private. Both are owned by an individual or its shareholders.  This means that the profits the business makes are either put back into the business or are split between the shareholders depending on the size of their shares. Having a limited company means that the owners are not held personally responsible for any financial or legal trouble the business gets into.



-          Travel & Tourism year 1, (2018), Unit 2 Assignment 1



Partnership


A Partnership business is a business that is owned by two or more people. A deed of partnership, business contract, is draw up and states they type of partnership how much capital each party has contributed and how profits and losses with be distributed. A partnership business can also have a sleeping partner who is someone that invests in the business by doesn’t contribute to the day to day running of the business.



-          The Arts Development Company, (2019), How to choose the right business model, https://theartsdevelopmentcompany.org.uk/resources/what-is-the-best-business-model-for-my-social-enterprise/, [08/10/2019]



Social Enterprises


Like any business a social enterprise is a business that is looking to make a profit. However, it’s what they do with their profits that sets them apart from other business. Most businesses use profits to further the business, but social enterprises use the profits to encourage change. They do this by reinvesting or donating the profits that they make. By doing this a social enterprise can tackle social problems and help improve people’s life chances, provide training to people that need it as well as employment opportunities. They also support communities and help the environment.



-          Social Enterprise UK, (2019), What is it all about?, https://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/what-is-it-all-about/, [08/10/2019]



Charities


A charity is an organisation set up to provide help or help raise money for those in need. For example; a freelancer that is trying to get more people into writing could set up a charity which offers workshops for young people free of charge. This would be a charity because they are doing it not to make a profit but to help people in the community.






Unincorporated Associations


An unincorporated association is an organisation that arises when two or more people come together for a particular purpose but decide they don’t want to use a traditional business model. Most Clubs, societies and groups are unincorporated because they are voluntary organisations. An unincorporated association are a popular choice because they have a greater freedom when it comes to operations compared to a company or a partnership.



-          Net Lawman, (2018), Unincorporated association, https://www.netlawman.co.uk/ia/unincorporated-associations#What%20is%20an%20unincorporated%20association?, [08/10/2019]