Research tasks
Task 1; Business analysis tools
SWOT and PEST(EL[E]) analyses - what are they and how can they be used?
SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis is a technique that examines each possible factor in these separate aspects concerning your business venture. SWOT analyses are useful in a way that they are highlighting what is a hazard to your business and what you lack so that you can then eliminate those hazards. The way that one would use a SWOT analysis for their business is to use a SWOT analysis matrix. A SWOT analysis matrix is a 2x2 grid with each aspect of SWOT in their own square. The people involved in the business can then brainstorm for each aspect, and this helps the business to formulate a strategy that will separate them from most other businesses in their area of work.
Things that would be considered strengths are what the business is successful at, and what is an outstanding factor about the company. However, this cannot be confused with qualities that competing business also hold – for example, if both you and your competitors have high quality products, this is not a strength but is instead a baseline requirement.
Weaknesses would be the areas of your company that you could improve in order to get ahead of your competitors. There can also be practices that your company does which are detrimental to your business and would be better off replaced with much more advantageous practices.
Opportunities are chances that benefit your company that you as a business owner must claim. They are often external openings. Regardless of how large the chance could be, you as the business owner should always work to exploit it as much as possible for the benefit of your company, even the smallest work opening could change the outcome of your business ventures for the better.
Threats are considered to be things that are an external risk to your business. This can be supply problems, economy fluctuations, changes in your businesses’ market, employment issues, and many more. The ever-evolving world of technology is always a threat to many companies, as a product that could be their highest quality version can be replaced with a competitors version that is technologically superior – this can be seen very prominently in the mobile phone markets with Apple and Samsung and their constant battle to be at the top of the technology ladder. Your competitors’ actions should always be taken into consideration as what they do can influence your own work, either following in their footsteps or straying away from an action that may not be completely beneficial for your company. It is useful to be very analytical when investigating how deeply affected your company could be to external risks, so that if they do happen you will know how to tackle them whilst keeping your company afloat in your competitive market.
PEST(EL[E]) – or STEEPLE – stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal, and Ethical. PEST(ELE) analyses used by marketers work to monitor macro-environments (macro-environments focus on the economy broadly rather than looking into specific markets) that would have an impact on a business. These impacting factors can then be used within a SWOT analysis to identify the threats and weaknesses of your business.
Political factors concern the government and the way that they intervene within the economy – this includes certain policies such as foreign trade policy, Fiscal policy, and tax policy, the stability or instability of the government concerning international markets, trade tariffs, and many more political factors. It is critical of businesses to be able to adapt to the current and anticipated future legislation, if they aren’t then they will promptly be overrun by their competitors who are able to adjust their marketing policy alongside the governments changes.
Economic factors are significant concerning the way that your company goes about doing business and how your profit is curated. Economic factors include the growth of the economy, interest rates, exchange rates, inflation, disposable income of both consumers and businesses, consumer confidence, employment, and many others. Economic factors greatly influence the way that your company should be making its decisions, for example if there is an economic recession then that can cause the purchasing attitude of customers to fluctuate negatively which then results in companies being forced to alter their prices to adapt to their customers.
Social factors include the growth of the population, age groups, consciousness surrounding health, career attitudes, social classes, buying habits, religion and beliefs, lifestyles, and many more. These factors impact the needs of the customer and the size of markets. Population growth directly affects businesses concerning demand of goods and services – when there is a decline in birth rates, a decline in demand will promptly follow which then causes a fiercer competition between businesses as there will be a decline in consumers.
The technological landscape in business is ever evolving into something that is more streamlined and easier for the consumer to access and promptly buy the products that they want to buy. Examples of technological factors are internet connectivity, automation, security in cryptography, and many others. When a business begins mass production, the ability to automate production using machines reduces costs tremendously for all parties involved (manufacturers, distributors, supermarkets), but reduces the amount of jobs in the market – thus automation comes at a social and economic risk.
Environmental factors concerning a PEST(EL[E]) analysis are different to what would normally be considered. Environmental would normally include all external factors that would be affecting a business. However, in this case (concerning PEST(EL[E]) the environmental factors include climate, climate change, weather, pollution, non-renewable resources, renewable resources, biological species and their population, workplace efficiency, environmental laws, and other miscellaneous factors. When thinking about non-renewable resources, oil comes to mind immediately. If this primary resource were to begin to dwindle heavily in its amount, that would then cause the prices of it to increase which then greatly affects businesses that use oil as a significant resource such as industrial businesses.
Legal factors are external factors that concern the way that the law affects the way a business is conducted. Legal factors include many different laws, some of which are consumer law, discrimination law, copyright law, health and safety law, employment law, fraud law, import and export law, pyramid scheme legality, and other miscellaneous laws. For example, the way that consumer law affects business is that it is a preventative law made to protect customers from fraudulent businesses that attempt to hide important information from them. Companies such as Tesco are required, by the consumer law, to give detailed information concerning prices being changed, and policies.
A relatively new factor has been added onto the PEST(EL[E]) analysis – the Ethical factor. Some do not recognise ethical factors as part of this analysis technique as it can be included in the social and political factors. Ethical factors include things such as fair trade, slavery acts and child labour. It also includes corporate social responsibility which shows that a business is doing charitable work without the promise of a profit at the end of it.
PEST(EL) analysis - what current factors are impacting businesses and ventures in the UK?
Some factors that are heavily impacting the UK right now are political, economic, social, and technological. With a global pandemic shutting down the world, the economy has been ravaged by the large numbers of workers being made redundant and being put on furlough only to be let go at the end of it. Brexit also caused a political and economic fiasco that the particular industries in the UK still have not recovered from due to the harmful policies that had been instated.
Recently there has been a lot of doubts and issues with the British governments. Following the infamous Brexit vote, there were many business owners worrying about how the deal would affect their business and profits. The government issued technical notes that explained how harmful a no-deal Brexit could be to industries, institutions, and business processes. The government also declared that “businesses remain unprepared”, and that the timing of a no-deal Brexit is incredibly problematic.
With the official date of the UK exiting the EU being the 31st of January 2020, many areas of business had to be re-examined and revised due to either the UK no longer recognising the institutions that oversaw them, or them no longer being a part of the EU free trade area. Here is a list of the areas that had to be examined;
Import and export of goods and services to and from countries that are part of the EU.
Employment of EU citizens in the UK and vice versa.
Transport and logistics.
Product safety/Eco-compliance.
Copyright, trademarks, and patents.
Environmental industrial standards.
Transfer of personal data between the EU and the UK.
Mutual recognition of qualifications and relevant licenses.
What does / might Brexit mean for the creative industries?
Brexit also affected the creative industries in harmful ways. People who work within the arts worried about the loss of free movement as it made touring a lot more difficult to organise and manage as each person would require a visa and possibly carnets(documents allowing the temporary movement of goods) so that they could transport their instruments and equipment along with them. With a larger team of people working to set up a tour, this can get very expensive and time consuming when also considering taxing and customs checks. This will be very hindering for newer artists.
Despite hindering the music industry, the film industry flourished due to the drop in value of the Great British Pound. In 2017, a year after the Brexit vote, foreign studios spent £1.7 billion in the UK. This amount is almost double the amount that had been spent four years prior. A lot of this spending came from a multitude of US studios due to the attractiveness of the low-valued GBP. However, despite this large profit, many were worried about being able to hire those who lived in Europe and having them move and live in the UK, as well as voicing their doubts about funding and distribution schemes in EU countries. Despite all this, Lord Puttnam (the current president of the Film Distributors’ Association) has insisted that these changes will allow home-grown British films to thrive “with a distinctive British voice [to help] deliver a form of national rebranding”.
Cultural Policy – what is currently happening in the UK?
Cultural policy is the legal actions that a government takes in order to regulate, protect, encourage, and financially aid their countries creative industries (music, literature, film, painting, etc.). The reason that governments have cultural policies is to increase the accessibility of the arts to their countries population and promote diverse musical, ethnic, sociolinguistic, literary, and many other expressions within their country.
Unfortunately, due to the explosive pandemic that occurred early in 2020, the creative industries in the UK have suffered greatly – encountering an irreversible “cultural catastrophe”. As a result of the worldwide pandemic, the UK is projected to have an estimated £74bn drop in profit coming from the creative industries, as well as the loss of over 400,000 jobs. Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, made an apparent advisory claim to those who are working within any creative industry within the UK to “retrain and find other jobs.”
Personal SWOT Analysis – Scarlett SFX
The strengths of my company would be;
Developing close relationships with my customers as I would work solely on commissions
With fewer products to make, each product would be higher in quality as I would not be multitasking
Due to working as a one-person company, there would be no clashing views on what the final product should look like
With commissions, the selling price would be higher than if I made non-custom products
The weaknesses of my company would be;
As a one-person company, I may become too stubborn in my ways with a method of creation or how a commissioned product will end up looking
The profit coming from the company would be more erratic and unpredictable than if I were to sell non-custom products that could be purchased without setting up a commission
Commissioned products take much longer to make than basic mass manufactured products, resulting in less money being made overall throughout the year
Not wanting to work with large studios could drastically hinder the growth of my company
The opportunities that my company may encounter are;
Establishing contacts within the prop-creating community who could help me to grow my company and expand my list of clients
Being able to put my work across multiple social media platforms, and encountering people who could want to work with me in the future
Creating collaborative pieces with other creative individuals and collections who inspire me
The threats that my company may face are;
Large prop-making companies that mass manufacture props at a consistent quality and rate could run my business that would provide only commissioned pieces completely out of business
My location would hinder the growth of my company, as Great Yarmouth is not a place known for its thriving arts industry
The algorithm of specific social media platforms is very unpredictable, meaning my work could go completely unnoticed for a very long time, thus rendering my company redundant before it could even pick up
Task 2; Types of business in the UK
Investigate and identify the various types of business in the UK
What is a sole trader?
A sole trader is;
“a self-employed person who owns and runs their own business as an individual.” [1]
Sole traders are fully responsible for themselves. They are an individual who is running their own business. When viewing from a legal standpoint, there is no distinction between the business and the sole trader. The sole trader must keep the records of their profits and outgoing expenditures. Financially, the sole trader must;
Send a self-assessment tax return every year
Keep records of all incomes and expenses
Pay Income Tax based on the sole trader’s taxable income
Pay Class 2 NICs (National Insurance Contributions)
Pay Class 4 NICs
Register for VAT if their business takings are over the VAT threshold
Advantages of being a sole trader over anything else is that it is much easier for a freelancer to set up business as one. There is a relative amount of ease in the setting-up of the business process and the sole trader will face much lower costs. Sole traders do not need to hire solicitors when setting their business up and so there are no fees that need to be paid to professionals unless there is an accountant hired immediately which is unlikely. Even though, as a sole trader, accountants can also be cheaper due to the smaller amount of paperwork. Sole traders also have a lot more privacy as they are protected by HMRC’s taxpayer confidentiality rules. With less information being available about the business, it makes it much harder for rival companies to figure out your skills and in what ways they can compete with your business. Sole traders also have complete control over their business, there are no external positions that influence your company and your opinion is the only opinion, this also results in the business owner having access to all the business profits.
However, where there are advantages – there are always disadvantages. Due to the sole trader and the business being one unit, when there are debts that are owed by the business, the sole trader will be the one that will be chased after. This could be extremely dangerous and risky for the business owner – you are fully liable for all the business’ debts.
What are limited companies?
A limited company is;
“a general form of incorporation that limits the amount of liability undertaken by the company's shareholders.” [2]
There are two different types of limited companies: a company limited by shares, and a company limited by guarantee.
A company that is limited by shares is owned by one or more shareholders and is led by one or more directors. A company that is limited by guarantee is instead owned by one or more guarantors and is led by one or more directors. The people involved in the company are not limited to their role; an owner can be a director.
Companies that are limited by shares are an incredibly popular company structure. It enables people who want to have a profitable business and lets them keep the surplus income whilst also receiving personal financial protection in the form of limited liability.
A company that is limited by guarantee is used mainly by those who want to set up charities or non-profit organisations. These types of people will commonly reinvest the surplus income back into the business rather than take it as their own personal profit.
The advantages of being a limited company are that the business and those who own it are legally distinct, the structure of the company allows a firewall to be placed between the businesses finances and the owners, the company is able to own assets and can retain any profits made after taxation, and a limited company can enter into contracts on its own.
The disadvantages of creating a limited company is that the accounts can be very complex to manage, the distribution of power can be difficult to manage as the shares of a public limited company can be bought by anyone thereby increasing the number of owners, and there is also an incredible amount of paperwork when forming and working in a limited company due to the numerous strict laws.
What are partnerships?
A partnership is;
“a formal arrangement by two or more parties to manage and operate a business and share its profits.” [3]
There are several kinds of business partnerships. All partners can share liabilities and business profits equally, or each partner can have a limited liability (the owners’ and investors’ private assets are not at stake if the company fails), there can also be what is called a ‘silent partner’ who is an owner that is not involved in the normal day-to-day business operations.
The advantages of pursuing a partnership business is that they are easy to get started as there is no need to register with Companies House, and the registration process concerning taxation with HMRC is simple. The two or more business partners also share the burden of the business together, instead of alone like the sole trader would have to do. The simple moral support helps to prevent the stress that creating and starting a business brings about. There is better decision making concerning the business overall as there are unique perspectives brought by each business partner. The more partners there are involved with the business means the more potential for growth as more partners means more investment opportunities.
The disadvantages of a business partnership is that the business has no independent legal status, meaning that unless a partnership agreement with alternative provisions is established, the company will dissolve upon the death of one of the partners, or if one of the partners chooses to resign from their position. This can cause a slight distrust in one another, and even if a partnership agreement has been put in place, the other partners may be unable to buy the outgoing partner’s share which will result in the business needing to be dissolved regardless. Another disadvantage when making a business partnership is the potential for differences and conflict. With more than two partners involved, it will be increasingly difficult to get what you want, and each partner will need to be flexible in their views and will require the ability to compromise.
What is a social enterprise?
A social enterprise is;
“an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being.” [4]
The are several different types of social enterprise; credit unions, community-based, non-governmental, social firms, cooperative, Fairtrade, and microfinance.
Credit union social enterprises help people to save and borrow money while also providing access to community finance initiatives. Community-based enterprises focus on their local businesses and services and have a prominent geographical definition. Non-governmental enterprises rely solely on income through the selling of their goods and services rather than relying on charitable donations. Social firm enterprises are established with the goal of providing employment to those who are severely disadvantaged within the labour market. Cooperative enterprises are associations of people who are working together to gain an economic benefit through jointly owned businesses. Fairtrade enterprises aim to assist those who are working in the trading industry in developing countries, providing better trading conditions, and promoting sustainability. Finally, microfinance enterprises are aimed towards small-scale businesses and entrepreneurs who do not have the access needed to banking services and other financial services.
What is a charity?
A charity is;
“an organisation with specific purposes defined in law to be charitable – and is exclusively for public benefit.” [5]
Charitable enterprises are for the benefit of the public. Charities are also legally required to not be made in order for profit, any money that is raised or donated must be put in their funds that have been collected for achieving their goals. Charities cannot have shareholders because of this.
In order for a charity to be recognised legally and become registered with the Charity Commission, they must declare exactly what their charitable objectives are and how they are meeting them in their public annual reports.
What is an unincorporated association?
An unincorporated association is;
“an organisation set up through an agreement between a group of people who come together for a reason other than to make a profit (for example, a voluntary group or a sports club).” [6]
Unincorporated association can be similar to charities, in which they are established by individuals who share a reasoning other than the aim of making a profit.
Unincorporated associations do not need any registering to be created, and also don’t need funds to be started as they can simply just be a volunteer group or a club of some kind, however, once the association begins to make profit there will then be a legal requirement to pay Corporation tax and file a Company tax return alike to a limited company.
[1] https://www.informdirect.co.uk/business-management/what-is-a-sole-trader/
[2] https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/limited_company.asp
[3] https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/partnership.asp
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_enterprise
[5] https://www.ncvo.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/briefings/1742-what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-charity-now
[6] https://www.gov.uk/unincorporated-associations
Task 3: Business plans and models
What is a business plan?
A business plan is;
“a document setting out a business's future objectives and strategies for achieving them.” [1]
Here is an example image of a business plan that a company would use in order to establish what they were going to do.
To begin with, an executive summary is an introduction to your business plan, and a very brief summary of what it will be. Its aim is to give a description of your business, its goals, your target demographic, and important financial information.
A business overview gives information about the most vital parts of your company – the team of people who will be managing the company, the location of your business, your mission statement, your history, and other miscellaneous pieces of information about the business and its owner(s).
The sales and marketing portion includes information showing that you understand the type of market you are planning on entering and involving your business in. You will need to include a thorough analysis of your desired market so that you can understand the potential that your business will have in its venture.
When thinking about operations and resources in your business plan, you must think about how your location and the facilities that are available to you will affect your business. It requires you to contemplate what types of technology you will have access to, and if there will be issues with any of these aforementioned topics.
When thinking about your staff and management team, if you wish to pitch this business plan to possible shareholders, you will need to include any information that will demonstrate clearly why your team will be the perfect people for this business. Identifying any gaps within your management team will be greatly beneficial in the stages before the establishment of the company so that they can be resolved swiftly and with ease.
The planning section of your business plan should have clear steps and milestones that you hope to achieve in order to solidify your company’s growth and success in its chosen market. This section must be very detailed so that you as a business owner can very vividly see where you want your company to be headed in the future.
Finally, finances can be incredibly intimidating but are very important to plan out. Without the correct funding, your company will fail imminently. Financial plans are beneficial to have fully developed so that they can prove to possible investors that your business is worth the investment. You must include an overview of your business’ current finances and their projected growth.
What is a business model?
A business model is;
“a company's plan for making a profit.” [2]
The purpose of business models is that they identify the business’ target demographic, what they are planning to sell, and expenses that they will expect to make in the future. Business models benefit new upcoming businesses by showing the potential that their company will have to possible investors and also motivates management and staff.
Business models are important as they are essentially the planned strategy that will be used to ensure the success and profit of the company.
What is meant by the term ‘sustainable business model’?
A sustainable business model is a;
“business model that creates, delivers, and captures value for all its stakeholders without depleting the natural, economic, and social capital it relies on.” [3]
For example, businesses that are established to capitalise on a specific trend aren’t sustainable business models as the resources that they had used to fuel their company could not exist in an indefinite amount of time in the future.
Sustainable business models work because they are commercially profitable, have the capability of being successful for a long period of time, use sustainable resources that will last over the long term, and – arguably – they are cyclical businesses that give as much as they take.
https://monzo.com/blog/business-banking/creating-a-business-plan [1]
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/businessmodel.asp [2]
Task 4: The brand
What is a mission statement?
A mission statement is;
“a brief description of an entity's fundamental purpose.” [1]
The purpose of mission statements is to explain why a company exists, completely ignoring how the company would go about earning profits but instead presenting their motivations as to why they are wanting the company to bring a profit in the first place. An example of a mission statement of a very large company is Amazon’s mission statement.
Amazon stated;
"Our mission is to be Earth's most customer-centric company. This is what unites Amazonians across teams and geographies as we are all striving to delight our customers and make their lives easier, one innovative product, service, and idea at a time."
What is brand positioning?
Brand positioning is;
“the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market” [3]
Brand positioning describes the differences between your company and your competitors and the way that the customer views your business. Brand positioning is important as it has your customers think of your brand in a specific way – a way that you want them to think. This links to the loyalty of your customers and whether or not they are willing to buy your product.
If your brand positioning is effective, consumers will view your business as a trustworthy and credible entity.
What, in business, is meant by values and drivers?
Your company values are the principles and beliefs that drive your business – they reflect who you are and what your business stands for. Having ethical company values can attract many customers who wish to support your company and the values that you hold. Not sticking to the values you have used as a motivation for your business will cause distrust in your customers.
Common examples of company values are integrity, honesty, fairness, etc. Values can also concern whether you choose to carry out unethical methods or use resources that are gathered through unappreciated means. An example of this is the method used to gather palm oil – swathes of rainforests are destroyed along with the copious habitats within them in order to make way for the growth of palm trees that produce the palm oil. Large companies still include palm oil in their products despite the large controversies surrounding the resource, specifically Nestle.
Company drivers are the things that drive performance of your business. They are responsible for the operational and financial results within your business. Business drivers are needed in order to further the growth of your company, and you as an owner of the business should work to maximise the drivers so that your get the most out of your company.
However, only the internal drivers can be influenced by you, whereas external drivers such as the economy and current trade relations with other countries cannot be influenced, and so you will have to adapt with them however they change.
How can a business market themselves?
In modern times, social media is king. A study [4] in 2014 showed that over 52% of adults owned a social media account. The different platforms that are available worldwide can be used to promote your company – for free if you choose to not want to sponsor your posts – and the internet provides many businesses with a much larger reach and audience across the world. This also works hand-in-hand with the current pandemic that has attacked the world.
With the presence of Covid-19 all throughout 2020, human contact has been minimalised greatly in order to reduce the spread of the virus. This has caused businesses to resort to advertising mainly on the internet. Where a company would have handed out business cards in previous years, they can now instead make a written post showcasing what their company is about and what they can offer to you as a customer.
Being able to work online also opens up opportunities of working with brands that are abroad who you may never have been able to contact through any other form of advertisement. Having online contacts and a strong online presence can broaden your audience and customer base significantly.
What is a blueprint and how would this relate to customers and marketing?
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.” [5]
Business blueprints enable those working within the business to know what to work towards. When making a business blueprint, you would create a simulative ideal customer so that you can learn new ways of appeasing your existing customer base while also managing to reel in new customers. When using a simulated customer, you can witness how certain life events and trends can influence what they want in a product so that your business can then readily adapt to their wants and needs.
Much like with customers, marketing is an everchanging area of business that you need to be able to adapt to concerning what is currently going on in the world. You must anticipate the future of your business, and what direction you want it to head in. If you as a business have refrained from using different marketing methods, you are possibly hindering the growth of your company as you are stopping a certain audience from being able to see what your company could offer to them.
https://www.thebalancesmb.com/mission-statement-2947996 [1] [2]
https://www.thebrandingjournal.com/2016/11/brand-positioning-definition/ [3]
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/01/09/social-media-update-2014/ [4]
https://howtoentrepreneur.com/what-is-a-business-blueprint#What_is_a_Business_Blueprint_Definition [5]
Task 5: Legislation and the creative industries
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property is;
“creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, designs and symbols, names, and images used in commerce.” [1]
One’s intellectual property is protected by numerous things such as patents, copyright, and trademarks. Intellectual property being protected by these things means that if their work is used by another individual or company wrongfully, they can act upon this using the law.
You own your intellectual property if you made the piece of work or bought the rights to the work from the original creator or the individual who last owned it. Intellectual property is able to have multiple owners and can be owned by either people or organisations like businesses, and can also be sold between parties.
What is copyright?
Copyright is;
“a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to make copies of a creative work, usually for a limited time.” [2]
The purpose of copyright is to protect a piece of work that came from an idea, but not the idea itself, meaning that if people used the same idea as you but altered it to make it more original or in line with their own work, then that is legal. Copyright is limited in some ways, in that the fair use doctrine that is used in the United States laws means that people are able to use copyrighted material without getting permission for it first.
Unlike fair dealing rights that are used in other countries with a British legal history, fair use examines the piece of work that includes the copyrighted material and determines the purpose of the usage of the material, how much had been used, and whether this usage had impacted the market of the original piece of work.
Once again, copyright of a single work can be held between multiple people, and those individuals would have copyright on specific parts of the overall work. These people who hold the copyright are known as right holders.
What are trademarks?
A trademark is;
“a recognizable insignia, phrase, word, or symbol that denotes a specific product and legally differentiates it from all other products of its kind.” [3]
Trademarks ensure that people recognise that a specific piece of work belongs to an individual or organisation. Trademarked products must be regularly used in order for the owner of the trademark to receive protection for their work.
Trademarks prevent others from using one’s intellectual property without permission, and they don’t need to be registered for the owner to be able to prevent unwarranted use of their trademarked product, or from others who attempt to create a much too similar piece of work.
Those who have trademarked products are able to keep their product trademarked for the entire lifespan of it if they wish, as the laws governing trademarks never expire. However, the owner of the trademark must continually use the trademark for it to be enforceable. If the owner of the trademark fails to renew their section 8 declaration for the trademark, they can lose the right to that trademark.
What are talent releases?
A talent release form is;
“a simple legal document that is designed to prevent you from getting sued for the unauthorized use of someone's image or voice.” [4]
‘Talent’ refers to the performers within the work that you have created. This can be professional actors or models, as well as those who have no experience in the field or animals. This can be both the physical appearance of someone in a piece of work, or just their voice. If there are people who are featured in the far-off background who are not involved in the work and cannot be identified, there will be no need for a talent release for those individuals.
Talent releases need to be signed before the start of production, and if they concern an animal or a minor, then their owner or guardian respectively shall sign the talent release for them.
What are location releases?
The purpose of a location release for is to;
“[grant] permission to the filmmakers by the property owner to film on a specific property.” [5]
Without a location release form, if a production were to be filmed on somebody’s property without their permission, those who worked on the production could possibly face a lawsuit which is clearly not ideal for those involved. As well as this, without the form being completed, it could be argued that the work that was filmed on the property would belong to the property owner rather than the production team.
Location release forms are there to protect both parties; the property owner and the production team. It ensures that there will be no mistakes made concerning the time that the filmmakers spend on the property, and whether there are any limitations imposed by the property owner as to what they can use in their filming. It also guarantees the owner of the property any compensation if it is required after the shooting is finished.
What are rules about filming and performing in the public in the UK?
It is ideal to ask for permission to film no matter the location, as well as asking any people who are in the area if they are comfortable with being included in a production albeit in the background, and to explain what they’d be in.
There is no law in the UK stating that it is illegal for filmmakers to film in public spaces or creating images of the public. When filming on private property, however, you must always speak with the owner of the property and gain a location release form from them if they allow you to film in their space. If you do not acquire a location release form and are discovered to have filmed in that location, you could face legal action by the property owner. You should always research whether the location you wish to film at is privately owned or is a public space to prevent these things from happening.
Police can stop you from filming if you are causing an obstruction, and can question you as to why you are filming. There will also need to be the presence of police on the filming location if you are choosing to film with imitation firearms or weapons. This is so that people do not feel threatened by you being there and so that they can understand that what is going on is not real and will not then call the police and cause distress. People who are working on the production may also need to wear clothes that will implicitly state that they are so. You can also choose to alert the public beforehand through signs or leaflets so that it will become common knowledge that there will be filming in that area. This will prevent any altercations from happening between you and the public or the police.
How might child labour laws impact the creative industries?
Children who are younger than the age that they leave school at (all of the UK at the age of 16) are required to have performance licenses in order to take part in films, plays, concerts, modelling, paid sporting events, or other public performances that an audience has paid to view. These licenses can be acquired from the child’s local council. If the child will not be with a guardian or teacher, they must be supervised by a council approved chaperone.
Children are not allowed to legally work before the hours of 7am and 7pm, meaning that any productions that involve child actors would have to be between the legal hours at a maximum of 12 working hours every day. This does not include the legal requirements that children are not allowed to work for more than 4 hours without a break of at least 1 hour. They are also not allowed to be working during school hours. This would mean that children would have to be working mostly on the weekends if they had to be in a film. Children are not allowed to be in industrial or factory settings due to health and safety, or carry out any work that may be harmful to their health, well-being, or education.
Working around these rules when including child actors in your production could become tricky, especially if a main character of your work is a child under the age of 16, but it is required to stick to the child labour laws when filming, otherwise you could face a lawsuit or other legal actions against you.
What is public liability insurance?
Public liability insurance covers;
“legal costs and compensation payments if your business is held responsible for injury or property damage to a client, contractor or another member of the public.” [6]
Having public liability insurance is useful if you are regularly interacting with the general public. If your company is not normally involving the public in your work, it is not as vital, but can still be acquired just in case. Having this insurance can help to prevent your company from being crippled by a lawsuit if there just so happens to be an accident that you were either directly or indirectly responsible for.
Public liability insurance is not designed to cover the employees at your business, rather than the business itself as well as you, the owner. However, if you have employees at your company, you are required instead to take out an employers’ liability insurance.
What is the GDPR?
The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is;
“the core of Europe's digital privacy legislation” [7]
In January 2012, a change across the EU that was implemented by the European Commission in order to update Europe’s digital protection laws. It took 4 years for a solid agreement on what would happen exactly and how it would be enforced, and was put into effect on the 25th of May 2018.
GDPR was created so that citizens within the EU were able to have more control over their personal data. The GDPR replaced the previous Data Protection Act that was established in 1998 for the UK, and put greater focus on businesses and how they were to handle personal data.
The GDPR is to help prevent data breaches of customer information, making sure that all information is gathered legally and under strict conditions. Those who have control of the information have the obligations to make sure that the data is always protected from being stolen or exploited.
What is The Competition Act (1998) and the Enterprise Act (2002)?
The Competition Act of 1998 was established to;
“[prohibit] any agreement, business practice or conduct which has, or could have, a damaging effect on competition in the United Kingdom.” [8]
This Act works to make sure that there are no illegal discussions between businesses which concern undertakings that directly prevent or restrict competition between businesses within the UK and can also affect trade. There are 2 chapters to the Act, with Chapter 1 being breached when an agreement between businesses has a notable effect on competition, and Chapter 2 is breached when a business that is in a dominant position within the market, and has abused the power of that position.
Here are some examples or anti-competitive behaviour that can be found in various businesses. [9]
A major supplier has suddenly decided, for no apparent reason, to discontinue supplying you with a product
Quotes from various suppliers are surprisingly and unusually similar
A major supplier will only sell you a product if you buy an unconnected product
On entering a market, you find that a major competitor has responded by dropping its prices to extremely low levels, which you suspect would not cover its costs
The Enterprise Act of 2002 was established to;
“enhance the policy of creating a "rescue culture", so that insolvent companies so far as possible should be saved before their assets are stripped and distributed to creditors.” [10]
There were 5 major objectives to this Act, which can be found below. [11]
Make all competition decisions through independent bodies
Root out forms of anti-competitive behaviour
Create a strong deterrent effect
Redress injured parties in distortions of competition
Raise the profile of competition policy in the UK.
https://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/ [1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright [2]
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/trademark.asp [3]
https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/when-to-use-a-talent-release-form [4]
https://www.peerspace.com/resources/location-release-form/ [5]
https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/insurance/faq/what-is-public-liability-insurance/ [6]
https://www.zdnet.com/article/gdpr-an-executive-guide-to-what-you-need-to-know/ [7]
https://www.orr.gov.uk/monitoring-regulation/rail/competition/competition-act-1998 [8] [9]
Task 6: The creative economy
Compared to other sectors in the UK, how well are the creative industries doing?
In 2018, government figures showed that the creative industries within the UK had contributed almost £112 billion within the year, a 7.4% increase from the previous year which turned out to be a growth that was 5 times larger than growth across the entirety of the UK economy which had only increased by 1.4%.
Technology services within the UK had contributed £45.4 billion of the total for 2018, while film and television had contributed £20.8 billion. These numbers showed how much the creative industries within the UK were thriving, however, the Covid-19 pandemic that hit in early 2020 had stunted the creative industries, especially those who worked freelance due to the cancellation of many important events that would promote their work.
The industries that contribute the most to the UK economy are services, manufacturing, construction, and tourism.
What industries are included in the creative industries?
[1] The creative industries sector is made up of 16 distinct industries:
Advertising
Architecture
Visual art
Crafts
Fashion and textiles
Design
Performing arts
Music
Photography
Film and video
Computer games
Radio and TV
Writing and publishing
Heritage
Software/electronic publishing
Cultural education
How many people are employed in the UK?
The employment estimates for June to August 2020 show that there are an approximate 32.59 million people who are over the legal working age of 16 who are currently employed. This number is 102000 fewer than the previous year.
Over the last quarter, there was a significant decrease in the employment rates of young people aged from 16 to 24 years old
https://www.gov.scot/policies/creative-industries/ [1]
Please refer to my separate “Task 7: Regulatory frameworks” post.
Task 8: Other considerations for businesses
What sources of funding exist within the creative industries?
There are a multitude of different types of funding that can be found within the creative industries. There is public investment, philanthropic support, corporate partnerships, private capital, and other miscellaneous methods of finance.
Concerning public investment, there are many major sources throughout the UK. The Arts Council of England invests in activities across all of the arts including but not limited to theatre, dance, literature, music, digital art, and many more. Between 2015 and 2018, the Council had invested an approximate £1.1 billion from the government. Creative England invests in individuals with affinities for the arts, and creative ideas and ventures. They support a diverse selection including games, TV, film, and digital media industries by supplying loans, direct investment, and business mentoring.
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland supports artists, and they have grants available for groups who are looking for funding. They have a Small Grants Programme that offers a grant between £500 and £10000. Northern Ireland Screen is an organisation that is backed by the government and promotes international expansion of their creative industries. They provide funding for films, TV, animation, and other digital content, for up to £100000.
Corporate partnerships are beneficial for both parties who are involved. They provide those who are searching for funding exactly what they asked for in the form of sponsorships, and those who are sponsoring the team who have made the product are being marketed through the sponsored product, are developing public relations with the other party, and are developing their business.
When funding your work project through private capital, it is very advantageous to have money to boost the project, however there are still plenty of investment opportunities to pursue so that funding will not be a worry. In order to receive investment funds, you need to make your product attractive to possible investors. To do this, you need to be confident in your product so that the investors will never doubt the money that they have put into your project. You will need to supply sufficient information about your business, how you have grown and future plans and investments for the company. Your team will need to be strong and driven.
What types of insurance exist for the creative industries?
Here is a list of important insurances for the creative industry.
Professional Indemnity insurance
If you have made a mistake or are accused by a client to have caused them to have a financial loss due to your work, this insurance will cover your legal costs
If you break the terms of a contractual agreement, your legal costs are covered
You are involved in a legal battle over intellectual property, your legal fees will be covered
Employers Liability insurance
This is needed as soon as you start to hire workers for your company
This insurance will cover any fees if an employee is injured while working
Public Liability insurance
This insurance will cover fees if you or an employee causes damage to a third parties belongings or property, or if a third party is injured by you or an employee
Business Equipment insurance
It is common for businesses to own and use equipment that is expensive, this insurance ensures that if any of this equipment that is damaged you will receive coverage depending on the price of the equipment
Tax Enquiry and Legal Expenses insurance
This insurance covers many areas, including employment disputes, legal defence, contract disputes, debt recovery, personal injury, property protection, tax protection, identity theft protection, statutory licence appeal, and jury service and court attendance.
Directors and Officers Liability
Having this insurance covers legal fees if your policy cover is triggered
What are the considerations when working from home?
In order to work efficiently from home, there are many considerations that need to be thought over – this is incredibly relevant in current times due to the Covid-19 pandemic which forced workers to work from their homes if they were able to for prolonged periods of time.
You will need to be contactable at all times. Communication between all employees and management positions is important for the business to carry on functioning as close to normal as possible. You should have an agreed upon timetable within your company so that all employees will be contributing their part fairly and without a lack of effort. You will still need to inform the specific people when you are unable to work due to illness or other miscellaneous reasons – without doing this could cause distrust in you as an employee or higher role. Even when working in an informal location such as your house, you will still need to be formal – only the location is different.
If you are self-employed and work from home, you are able to claim tax relief on the additional costs of working from home. You will need to keep record of the costs incurred and the detailed information about them.
If you are employed, a temporary exemption had been implemented from the 16th of March 2020 to the 5th of April 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. There is no Income Tax or National Insurance implications for an employee who had been reimbursed for any equipment they bought to enable them to work from home.
What are business rates?
[1] Business rates are charged on most non-domestic properties, such as;
Shops
Offices
Pubs
Warehouses
Factories
Holiday rental homes
Guest houses
Business rates are a tax on business properties. They are collected by local authorities. Business rates are the way for the individuals who live on these properties – such as pubs, shops, holiday rental homes, or guest houses – to be able to contribute back to their local services. Business rates are calculated based on the property’s rateable value (a property’s estimated value on the open market). The government had implemented a temporary pause on the business rates for businesses that are in the retail, leisure, and hospitality industries in order to help them cope with the disruption that Covid-19 brought about. They will not be required to pay business rates until a way through 2021.
How impactful is the location of an organisation?
Location is important when your business is focused on being local. If the location of your business is very rural and separated from other businesses and town centres, you will have a much lower number of customers.
If the location of your business is very far away from the target audience that you are aiming your product towards, you will possibly find it hard to gain a profit. However, if your company is completely online and you do not have a shop front for your product, your location is not as important. When working completely online, there is no need for a shop front as you will be able to deliver all of your products to your customers through postal services.
Being in highly populated areas such as London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, and many others, greatly improves the visibility and presence of your business as populous cities are always bustling. While places like London are very useful in promoting your business, they are difficult to start up a business in due to their high living costs.
https://www.gov.uk/introduction-to-business-rates [1]
What are some of their more recent announcements?
The DCMS announced on the 21st of November 2020 that “the Blackpool Tower Ballroom is the latest venue to receive a lifeline grant of £764,000 from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund”.
They also confirmed on the 14th of September 2020 that events that will hold up to 30 people will still be permitted to continue as long as the correct Covid-19 safety guidelines are followed strictly.
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-digital-culture-media-sport/about [1]
Task 10: Your creative enterprise
Apply all of the above to your own creative venture
The strengths of my company would be;
Developing close relationships with my customers as I would work solely on commissions
With fewer products to make, each product would be higher in quality as I would not be multitasking
Due to working as a one-person company, there would be no clashing views on what the final product should look like
With commissions, the selling price would be higher than if I made non-custom products
The weaknesses of my company would be;
As a one-person company, I may become too stubborn in my ways with a method of creation or how a commissioned product will end up looking
The profit coming from the company would be more erratic and unpredictable than if I were to sell non-custom products that could be purchased without setting up a commission
Commissioned products take much longer to make than basic mass manufactured products, resulting in less money being made overall throughout the year
Not wanting to work with large studios could drastically hinder the growth of my company
The opportunities that my company may encounter are;
Establishing contacts within the prop-creating community who could help me to grow my company and expand my list of clients
Being able to put my work across multiple social media platforms, and encountering people who could want to work with me in the future
Creating collaborative pieces with other creative individuals and collections who inspire me
The threats that my company may face are;
Large prop-making companies that mass manufacture props at a consistent quality and rate could run my business that would provide only commissioned pieces completely out of business
My location would hinder the growth of my company, as Great Yarmouth is not a place known for its thriving arts industry
The algorithm of specific social media platforms is very unpredictable, meaning my work could go completely unnoticed for a very long time, thus rendering my company redundant before it could even pick up
I would run my business as a sole trader, as I wish to keep my business very small and personal and would look to not be hiring any other employees. Setting up my business as a sole trader would be much easier than any other way as I would be facing minimal costs with no solicitor needed when setting up my business. I would also be privatised and my competition in my market would find it difficult to find ways to figure out my skills in my business. I would work from home to reduce costs as much as possible. An expense that I would constantly have to make would be skin safe and ethically curated materials such as latex and silicone. I am very much against testing on animals, so I would make sure to research the suppliers before I would purchase any products from said suppliers. I wish for my company to be completely ethical and to not support any morally corrupt companies.
Types of business in the UK
Business plan
Executive summary;
My business is an SFX makeup company that provides commissioned pieces for clients across the world. My goal is to eventually win an award for my work. My target demographic is those who are interested in the world of film and SFX makeup of any genre, experience in the field is not needed as anyone can try out SFX makeup. I would financially support my business myself.
Business overview;
I would be the only employee of my company. The location of my business would be my home. My mission statement is to encourage people to become more adventurous with their makeup looks and to involve themselves in the world of film SFX.
Sales and marketing;
The market that my business would be a part of is majorly an online market. I would use social media to promote my product, and once I have a client base established, I would be receiving extra advertising through their SFX looks that they would have created with my products.
Operations and resources;
I own a professional drawing tablet which I would use in order to sketch out ideas and basic versions of products before developing them further before finally creating them physically. I would need a trustworthy supplier of resources like latex, silicone, and skin safe dyes and paints. I would need a good internet connection to keep constant contact with the clients who are commissioning me.
Planning;
In my first few months of having my business established, I would focus on advertising my business and creating products that would showcase my skills, originality, and creativity. Once I have amassed a decent following on various social media platforms, I would allow commissions to be put forward. Within my first year of establishment, I would want a decently sized list of clients that would be semi-regularly commissioning me to create products for them.
Finances;
I would be funding my own business alone. My main expense would be resources and paying for postage and packaging to send my products to the customers. I wouldn’t require investment from third parties as I would use my own home as my business location and there would be no extra employees, just myself.
The brand
My would-be values as a business owner are to supply those
who aren’t financially stable enough to get what is considered the best by
popularity. I, as an individual, am also a firm believer in equality in all means
and so I will vehemently be against supporting a resource supplier if they are
shown to support beliefs and individuals that are against such a thing. I also
want to build relationships between myself and my customer base so that they
can view me as a trustworthy and reliable person and business owner – being
seen this way would help the business grow exponentially in the long run.
The way I would market myself is through social media. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter dominate the social media and so I would post captioned photos on accounts across all three platforms. Social media allows businesses to interact with large demographics that are spread all around the world. Without this type of outreach, my businesses growth would be much slower and I would have to relocate my business to a place that offers more creative opportunities.
Values and drivers
My values are to attempt to involve copious amounts of people who wouldn’t think of themselves as ‘creatives’ into the SFX scene. I would refuse to purchase products from a supplier that is known to use animal testing for their products regardless of how cheap the product is as I personally hate this unethical method of product testing. My driver is to get involved in the world of film and television and win an award for my work.
Legislation and the creative industries
Competitive-ness
When it comes to rival companies, it is difficult to establish a competitiveness between me and my rivals. This is because I would not have set prices on my products, the prices would be changing depending on the product that I would be commissioned to make.
Other considerations for businesses
The insurances that I would have to get for my business to prevent the risk of bankruptcy are Public Liability insurance, Business Equipment insurance, and Tax Enquiry and Legal Expenses insurance. It is smart for all businesses to have Public Liability insurance so as to prevent any incidents that could cripple you or your business financially.
With my business, a customer could not disclose an allergy that they have and so I could unknowingly use a product that would flare up said allergy and they could then claim legal action against me even though it hadn’t been my fault.
I would need Business Equipment insurance for the expensive equipment that I own for the purpose of sketching and designing ideas for projects. If this were to break and I had no insurance for it, I would have no means of digitally designing the products for my customers. My businesses growth would be substantially staggered and there would be the risk of me not being able to carry on the company on the basis of not having the money for both a replacement drawing tablet and having enough money to carry on producing products.
Finally, I would need Tax Enquiry and
Legal Expenses insurance for the protection of my taxes, identity and possible
personal injury as well as covering legal defence and contract disputes if there
is ever the need for it. For example, if I am accused of breaching a company’s
copyright I would be financially covered with my defence.
Working from home and being self-employed, I would be able
to claim tax relief on my taxes concerning the additional costs that come with
working from home.
Location
My location would be non-important for my business as I would be working from home and would be delivering all my products via a trusted postal service. If my company were to evolve enough, I could move to a new house and go to a much more populated area that has a much more active community of filmmakers who could commission me to work on their productions – areas like London.
Comments
Post a Comment