Common creative business challenges

Even before the global pandemic, creative businesses faced a host of challenges that were threatening their long-term survival and prosperity. Those that seek to become successful in the creative industry need to acquire a wide range of skills. No matter how adept they are at their core duties, they still need to learn how to budget efficiently, build an audience, market their brands and generate long-term audience engagement. Read on to find out more about the most common creative business challenges.

Budgeting

Budgeting is one of the biggest creative business challenges. It’s essential that creatives find out how much it actually costs to create their art. Tracking expenses is a must. All purchases related to your work need to be recorded. Not only will this help you comply with tax legislation, but it will make it easy to plan ahead and make accurate financial forecasts too. If you go over budget, the consequences can be catastrophic. The longer you spend in your industry, the easier it will be to determine what you can and can’t afford to buy for your business. As your income may fluctuate wildly, it’s always best to avoid making huge purchases until you’re confident you won’t come to regret them later.

Marketing

Marketing is another big creative business challenge. No matter how impressive your creative work is, you’re unlikely to make much money if your potential audience doesn’t know about it. It’s vital to generate a strong online presence and to create a website so you can showcase your work. There are several high-profile platforms out there that also enable creatives to show off their efforts. Remaining active on social media will also tell you who your audience is and who is the most likely to be interested in your work in the future. Always interact with your followers and reply to any comments that you receive so you can build brand loyalty.

Pricing

It’s very important to be careful with pricing when you are launching a creative business. If your prices are too low, you may struggle to recoup the costs of any materials used to create your work. Charge too much and you may struggle to generate any sales at all. You may wish to start off reasonably low and raise your prices later once you have built up your reputation. However, avoid selling yourself too short or you may be unable to turn any profit at all.

Talk to AO Accountants today

If you are starting a new creative endeavour and need help with accountancy and bookkeeping, AO Accountants can help. We have vast experience in supporting creative entrepreneurs and can help you remain fully compliant with HMRC legislation whilst making your business more tax efficient.

To find out more give us a call on 020 7164 6507 or by sending an email to contact@ao-accountants.co.uk. Alternatively, you can complete the form on our website and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

 

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