A freelance career in the creative arts: Online Course from OpenLearn

A freelance career in the creative arts is a free badged course which lasts 8 weeks, with approximately 3 hours’ study time each week. You can work through the course at your own pace, so if you ...

Syllabus

- Introduction and guidance
- Introduction and guidance
- What is a badged course?
- How to get a badge
- Acknowledgements
- Week1Week 1: What is a creative freelance career?
- Introduction
- 1 What are the creative arts?
- 2 What is a freelancer?
- 3 Taking the leap
- 3.1 The ability to diversify
- 4 Portfolio careers
- 4.1 The organic approach
- 4.2 The planned approach
- 4.3 Planning a portfolio career
- 5 Creative career collaborations
- 6 Why do creative businesses hire freelancers?
- 7 This week’s quiz
- 8 Summary of Week 1
- Further research
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week2Week 2: Spotlight on me
- Introduction
- 1 Testing my idea
- 2 Do I have what it takes?
- 2.1 Key skills and attributes for becoming a freelancer
- 2.2 Auditing my own skills
- 3 What I need to learn
- 4 Pros and cons of working for myself
- 5 Goal setting for the future
- 6 This week’s quiz
- 7 Summary of Week 2
- Further research
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week3Week 3: Identifying my support network
- Introduction
- 1 Helping myself to thrive
- 2 What support do I need?
- 3 Organisations that can help
- 3.1 Online support
- 3.2 Face-to-face support
- 3.3 Choosing the right support for me
- 4 People who can help me
- 5 Sharing the experience
- 5.1 Who do I already know?
- 6 This week’s quiz
- 7 Summary of Week 3
- Further research
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week4Week 4: Identifying my audience
- Introduction
- 1 My potential audience
- 2 Market research
- 3 Target markets and target audiences
- 4 Narrowing my target audience
- 4.1 Audience segmentation
- 4.2 Visualising my ideal customer
- 5 Competitor analysis
- 6 This week’s quiz
- 7 Summary of Week 4
- Further research
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week5Week 5: Promoting my offer
- Introduction
- 1 How to make my business stand out
- 1.1 Naming my business
- 2 Marketing my business
- 2.1 Creative content marketing
- 3 Pitching my idea
- 4 Connecting with my target market – useful tools
- 5 Marketing on social media
- 5.1 Promoting on Instagram
- 5.2 Choosing what’s right for me
- 6 This week’s quiz
- 7 Summary of Week 5
- Further research
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week6Week 6: Investigating investment
- Introduction
- 1 What funds do I need?
- 1.1 What are my costs?
- 2 Sources of funding – public money
- 3 Sources of funding – crowdfunding
- 4 Other sources of funding
- 4.1 Start up loans
- 4.2 Business angels
- 4.3 Competitions
- 4.4 Trusts and foundations
- 4.5 Artists in residence
- 5 Applying for finances
- 5.1 Applying for a grant
- 5.2 Applying for a bank loan
- 6 This week’s quiz
- 7 Summary of Week 6
- Further research
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week7Week 7: Business structures and other practicalities
- Introduction
- 1 Options for structuring your business
- 2 Sole trader
- 3 Limited company
- 4 Charity vs social enterprise
- 5 Taxes and insurances
- 5.1 Intellectual Property (IP)
- 6 Other business practicalities
- 6.1 Quoting and invoicing
- 6.2 Legalities to be aware of
- 7 This week’s quiz
- 8 Summary of Week 7
- Further research
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week8Week 8: Making it work
- Introduction
- 1 Planning your next steps
- 2 Developing a business plan
- 2.1 Visualising your plan
- 2.2 Reviewing your plan
- 2.3 Financial planning
- 3 Contingency planning
- 4 Maintaining motivation
- 4.1 Tackling procrastination
- 5 Managing your success
- 6 This week’s quiz
- 7 Summary of Week 8
- Further research
- Where next?
- Tell us what you think
- References
- Acknowledgements

A freelance career in the creative arts

3D Wooden Textiles for Beginners

Digital Brand Strategy: Elevate The User Experience

Flavorful Food Illustration with Watercolor

FPGA computing systems: Background knowledge and introductory materials

Freehand Sketching with Acrylic and Watercolor

Fundamentals of the Chinese character writing. Part 2