	Introduction
	1. Getting Started
	2. Personal Qualities
	3. Teamwork
	4. Planning and Developing your Career
	5. Funding and Training Schemes
	6. Commissioning
	7. Developing Contacts and Networks
	8. Promoting your Work
	9. Business Skills
	10. Project Management
	11. Writing a Business Plan
	12. Further Reading

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Credits

This website was produced as part of a project supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the European Social Fund and realised through Higher Education for Capability.

Bournemouth Media School is a full partner in Higher Education for Capability. Copyright is vested in Higher Education for Capability.

The learning materials were written by Amanda Harman. The website was designed and constructed by Sam Bailey based on the Bournemouth University website guidelines. The interviews were conducted by Amanda Harman, audio transcription was by Julie Sharman, and audio editing was by Sam Bailey.

Contents

Introduction
The aims of this resource.

Getting Started
Routes in, education and training, gaining experience, seeking opportunities, developing new skills.

Personal Qualities
What personal qualities are important if you are going to sustain a business or a freelance career? What implications does the way you work have for the other areas of your life i.e. family/friends /free time etc.

Teamwork
Working with or employing other people on projects.

Planning and Developing your Career
How to you plan your career, taking critical decisions and risks, setting goals and objectives, looking to the future.

Funding and Training Schemes
What kind of funding and training schemes are available? What is it for? How will it help you? How to apply.

Commissioning
Channels to go through, how to present your ideas.

Developing Contacts and Networks
Where and how do you get your work? All about getting known and finding work.

Promoting your Work
Making people aware of what you do, track record, marketing, publicity.

Business Skills
How to organise the day to day business of being self-employed. Tax, bookkeeping, cashflows, VAT, and financial planning.

Project Management
Organising your workload, managing budgets. What about the times you have too much work? What about the times when you have little or no work?

Writing a Business Plan
Yourself, your skills, your track-record. Your market, your competitors. Your product, your marketing plans. Your Unique Selling Proposition. Your financial projections. Your financial requirements.

Further Reading