What do you think?
The Creative's Guide to Starting a Business: How to turn your talent into a career
WINNER OF THE BEST START-UP INSPIRATION BOOK AWARD AT THE 2019 BUSINESS BOOK AWARDS
'A book to devour from start to finish - easy to do as it is accessibly-written and oh so fascinating - and then to dip into later for reference.' - Joanna Reeves
Do you have a passion for making beautiful objects? Are you wondering whether you can take the next step and turn your creativity into a career?
This inspirational guide offers easy-to-follow advice from talented and creative industry experts. There are practical exercises that will help you sell your creations, choose the right time to start your business, and guide you through as you do so.
With The Creative's Guide to Starting a Business, you will discover the best way
Create pieces that sell
Write a business plan
Identify and reach customers
Research the competition
Price products and test the market
Promote the business successfully
Packed with interviews, encouraging real life stories, and tips from successful entrepreneurs who started with a passion and turned it into their own successful, creative business, this practical guide will take you through the very first steps of defining creative and financial success to ultimately establishing a rewarding start-up.
'A book to devour from start to finish - easy to do as it is accessibly-written and oh so fascinating - and then to dip into later for reference.' - Joanna Reeves
Do you have a passion for making beautiful objects? Are you wondering whether you can take the next step and turn your creativity into a career?
This inspirational guide offers easy-to-follow advice from talented and creative industry experts. There are practical exercises that will help you sell your creations, choose the right time to start your business, and guide you through as you do so.
With The Creative's Guide to Starting a Business, you will discover the best way
Create pieces that sell
Write a business plan
Identify and reach customers
Research the competition
Price products and test the market
Promote the business successfully
Packed with interviews, encouraging real life stories, and tips from successful entrepreneurs who started with a passion and turned it into their own successful, creative business, this practical guide will take you through the very first steps of defining creative and financial success to ultimately establishing a rewarding start-up.
- GenresBusiness
224 pages, Paperback
Published January 29, 2019
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 28, 2019
I read this because it was a category winner in the Business Book Awards, and therefore eligible for 'Business Book of the Year' which I was responsible for selecting, but I started it with a vague sense of imposter syndrome. I'm not a 'creative', or at least I didn't think I was. Now, having read the book, I recognise two facts:
1. all entrepreneurs are creatives, because they're making something from nothing, bringing into being something that exists only in their imagination;
2. all creatives who begin a business face almost exactly the same issues as every other entrepreneur (with a few distinctive twists).
This is a simply written, honest and generous book, and its greatest gift is summed up right at the start: 'Anyone can start a business and it isn't very difficult.' Hard, yes - and Harriet Kelsall makes no bones about the long hours and difficult days ahead, sharing the low moments from her own journey as well as those from several contributors, but entirely doable. She breaks down the business of business into digestible steps - creating your product idea, identifying your market, reaching your customers, pricing, testing, marketing etc - and writes sanely and without pretension throughout. It's a refreshing antidote to the woolier 'follow your dream' types of the genre.
It ends rather abruptly and the last paragraph is focused on the author's business rather than that of her readers - I'd have hoped for a final word of encouragement or a reflection on creative entrepreneurship, maybe - but that's a tiny gripe in a truly excellent book.
Highly recommended for creatives, obviously, but there's much in here for any entrepreneur.
1. all entrepreneurs are creatives, because they're making something from nothing, bringing into being something that exists only in their imagination;
2. all creatives who begin a business face almost exactly the same issues as every other entrepreneur (with a few distinctive twists).
This is a simply written, honest and generous book, and its greatest gift is summed up right at the start: 'Anyone can start a business and it isn't very difficult.' Hard, yes - and Harriet Kelsall makes no bones about the long hours and difficult days ahead, sharing the low moments from her own journey as well as those from several contributors, but entirely doable. She breaks down the business of business into digestible steps - creating your product idea, identifying your market, reaching your customers, pricing, testing, marketing etc - and writes sanely and without pretension throughout. It's a refreshing antidote to the woolier 'follow your dream' types of the genre.
It ends rather abruptly and the last paragraph is focused on the author's business rather than that of her readers - I'd have hoped for a final word of encouragement or a reflection on creative entrepreneurship, maybe - but that's a tiny gripe in a truly excellent book.
Highly recommended for creatives, obviously, but there's much in here for any entrepreneur.
May 23, 2019
If you want to start, or accelerate, a creative business, this is a terrific resource. It does exactly what it promises, joyfully and practically.
Harriet Kelsall is the founder of a highly successful bespoke jewellery business in the UK, on numerous industry boards, and a regular mentor and advisor on creative businesses. She does a superb job of using her own story to illustrate the points she’s making, and particularly going into her decision-making processes of why she made certain decisions. The challenge of a creative business is often knowing which opportunities to pursue, and this feels a very practical guide to working that out.
It’s blissfully free of jargon, though it’s straight-talking. If you don’t have the determination needed, she says, then don’t do it - at least not yet. I loved that one of her first chapters is about defining what success means for you. It’s easy to get dragged down by the hard work of a new business if you don’t have a clear vision of what you truly want from it, whether that’s a business that works around family life, or one you can immerse yourself in fully.
The stories, examples and worksheets strike a balance that many books miss. By the end you’ll understand where you are now, what possibilities there are, and how you can choose the right ones for you. But you’ll also have plenty of stories of how other people have used the ideas she talks about to grown their businesses, from plus-size fashion to Pantone-coloured macaroons. I particularly like how she revisit the same businesses from different angles, rather than finding new ones for each chapter. It gives a good sense of how a creative business owner needs to master multiple areas, from identifying your market to choosing your distribution channels.
It’s particularly aimed at product-based creative businesses, and that’s where the case studies all come from. If that’s where you are, I’d say it’s an essential read. But it has lots to offer to anyone who takes a creative approach to a small business, and wants some new ideas and encouragement.
This book won Start-Up Inspiration of the Year award at the British Business Book Awards in 2019 - a highly competitive category. There’s still not the level of support for creative businesses in the UK that there is for other sectors, so I’m particularly glad that this is such a great champion for creative work.
Harriet Kelsall is the founder of a highly successful bespoke jewellery business in the UK, on numerous industry boards, and a regular mentor and advisor on creative businesses. She does a superb job of using her own story to illustrate the points she’s making, and particularly going into her decision-making processes of why she made certain decisions. The challenge of a creative business is often knowing which opportunities to pursue, and this feels a very practical guide to working that out.
It’s blissfully free of jargon, though it’s straight-talking. If you don’t have the determination needed, she says, then don’t do it - at least not yet. I loved that one of her first chapters is about defining what success means for you. It’s easy to get dragged down by the hard work of a new business if you don’t have a clear vision of what you truly want from it, whether that’s a business that works around family life, or one you can immerse yourself in fully.
The stories, examples and worksheets strike a balance that many books miss. By the end you’ll understand where you are now, what possibilities there are, and how you can choose the right ones for you. But you’ll also have plenty of stories of how other people have used the ideas she talks about to grown their businesses, from plus-size fashion to Pantone-coloured macaroons. I particularly like how she revisit the same businesses from different angles, rather than finding new ones for each chapter. It gives a good sense of how a creative business owner needs to master multiple areas, from identifying your market to choosing your distribution channels.
It’s particularly aimed at product-based creative businesses, and that’s where the case studies all come from. If that’s where you are, I’d say it’s an essential read. But it has lots to offer to anyone who takes a creative approach to a small business, and wants some new ideas and encouragement.
This book won Start-Up Inspiration of the Year award at the British Business Book Awards in 2019 - a highly competitive category. There’s still not the level of support for creative businesses in the UK that there is for other sectors, so I’m particularly glad that this is such a great champion for creative work.
August 26, 2025
I loved this book! It felt like being coached by a close friend. Harriet isn’t afraid to be honest and shine a light on the tribulations of entrepreneurship that people often romanticize. Yes, there are plenty of anecdotes/case studies. And yes, some of them feel a little “well, duh.” But others sparked “aha” moments of inspiration that I find priceless. It’s not a long or redundant read. If you’re already moderately well-versed in things like developing a business plan or you have a mentor, you can probably skip this. As a creative starting from the ground up, I’m very thankful for Harriet’s advice and the sharing of her journey. This book left me with a lot of knowledge and confidence.
January 26, 2023
This book had a lot of actionable advice like working out a business plan , deciding pricing , and other related business topics.
She often would use examples of other creative businesses to conclude some of her points. At times these examples were interesting , but they also could get a little repetitive and disengaging as a reader.
She often would use examples of other creative businesses to conclude some of her points. At times these examples were interesting , but they also could get a little repetitive and disengaging as a reader.
September 27, 2019
A bit repetitive in parts but generally informative with exercises to build your business plan. Case studies sometimes helpful.
September 27, 2020
Pretty boring. And not much help really.
September 1, 2023
Some good points and I liked the personal stories but there were perhaps a few too many personal anecdotes and stories. Wish there was more detailed information and perhaps something new.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews