What to expect

At Advantage Creative, we believe creative industries have specific challenges and need help and assistance to raise themselves above the parapet of profit in the commercial world. Perceived as hard to sell, creative works are, therefore, a subjective purchase. A Creative Entrepreneur Bootcamp from Advantage Creative is a comprehensive grounding in all a new entrepreneur could wish for as they launch their new business ideas. This blog aims to explain what you would expect and gain from attending one.

Who are the facilitators?

Advantage Creative has considerable experience designing and delivering programmes supporting creative industries’ development. The speakers and facilitators of our Creative Entrepreneur Bootcamps are selected from a range of experienced consultants. Therefore, you can expect to learn from their wisdom and experience. In addition, you will receive a polished and well-versed talk from the keynote speakers with informative slides and handouts.

What will I learn at a Creative Entrepreneur Bootcamp?

There is a lot to learn! Bootcamps, by their very nature, are intensive. Overall, the aim is to inform you and allow you to practice the skills taught. We typically hold eight workshops over five days, interspersed with keynote speakers, mentoring sessions and speed networking. However, if we design a boot camp for your organisation, it will be around the aims and objectives and may differ in length or content.

The workshops will equip you with a suite of essential business development tools. The mentoring sessions develop your creative business skills and help you form your own business goals. Overall, you should be able to make some fantastic contacts with your fellow participants through teamwork and networking.

Who typically attends?

Our Creative Entrepreneur Bootcamps are sometimes attended by people looking to break into a creative industry or set up their own businesses, or sometimes designed for those who have already been trading in their business for some time and are ready to scale up. The numbers of attendees range from 8 to around 20 participants. These attendance numbers allow us to give everyone the attention and opportunity to take part in activities. Working in teams, you will discover each other’s strengths, aspirations, and expertise.

A full itinerary

Here is a sample itinerary and examples of what you will learn from the sessions.

Day one of the creative entrepreneur bootcamp

On day one, you will learn about the new opportunities available to creative businesses. These sessions will help you develop your vision and purpose and develop a community around them. Also, you will discover how to map your assets and resources. Plus, we uncover your strengths and superpowers.

Keynote speakers with give you real-life case studies, thus inspiring you as they describe their learning journey and how they overcame obstacles.

Day two

Day two will see you building on the previous day by looking at sales and how to land deals. For instance, you will learn how diversity within your business can attract customers and promote your business.

Keynote speakers will explain the importance of business planning. Another key point is what essential tools are worth investing in and how to oversee the day-to-day activities.

Day three

Day three explores the concepts of storytelling and sharing stories. Let your creativity shine through stories of benefits rather than straight-up sales blurbs.

Keynote speakers will review the power of networks and collaboration, which can help your business seem like a more expansive organisation. As a result, you can then work on larger projects and apply for funding schemes.

Day four

On day four, we take you to the next steps to scale up your creative business. Learn how to develop your dream team to deliver your vision.

Keynote speakers will explain the difference between entrepreneurship and leadership. In this case, you will discover how to have more avenues of revenue and less hands-on responsibility.

On the final day, we help you with tools and techniques to help you put your personal development plan into practice. We end the day with speed networking and a round-up of what you have learnt over the sessions.

How can I get on one of these Creative Entrepreneur Bootcamps?

Keep an eye on our website for forthcoming dates. If you manage an organisation, creative hub or creative community, contact us to learn how we can organise one for you.

Example of a Creative Entrepreneur Bootcamp

The British Council commissioned us to deliver a five-day Creative Entrepreneur bootcamp in Kuwait. We partnered with Kuwaiti creative media consultants, Khaleejesque, to help us design the content specifically for our target audience.

In the first instance, the Bootcamp was advertised through social media posts by our partners Khaleejesque, and The British Council in Kuwait also posted on their social media platforms. Creative Entrepreneurs were invited to apply for a place using an online link to a simple google-form, and from the long list of applicants, a selection panel chose 20 of the most promising entrepreneurs to attend.

We assembled a team of 4 UK coaches to travel to Kuwait, to join our project partners at Khaleejesque and guest speakers to deliver the 5-day programme. Undeniably, the local expertise of our project partners helped us immensely in identifying guest speakers and tapping into local knowledge about entrepreneurship and business development in Kuwait.

The British Council commissioned the Bootcamp as part of their strategy to forge stronger connections between the UK and Kuwait. A particular focus was placed on appealing to female participation to support gender equality and support female leadership in the creative industries: 80% of participants were female entrepreneurs.

Kuwait TV took a special interest in the Bootcamp during the week and conducted interviews with participants and consultants, which formed part of their coverage of the event on Good Morning Kuwait.

The British Council were exceptionally pleased with the outcomes we achieved, and 87% of the participants rated the bootcamp as Excellent or Very Good on the evaluation forms.

I wanted to thank you again for everything; it was a pleasure working with you.

This is the first time for me attending a mentoring program. I learned a-lot from you, and the most important thing is your guidance.

feedback from one of the mentees

Would you like to know more?

Finally, we are always interested in welcoming creative entrepreneurs onto our bootcamps. If you’d like to know more about upcoming events or to talk with us about providing a bootcamp for your creative hub or community, please contact us at .