How AI Helped Me Become a Better Parent (and How AI Will Transform Your Creative Business, Too)

Running a creative business is hard. We constantly battle pressures from all angles, creating work and delivering services, whilst trying to deal with all of that other stuff that no-one ever told us about before we started: admin, finance, operations, and sales.

And whether you’re a freelancer or a small business, the truth is always the same…there aren’t enough hours in the day.

This struggle is exactly what led me to explore how AI might help businesses like yours and mine…but it all started with my daughter, Daisy.

To cut a long story short, she was struggling with her maths SATs, and as a busy dad who’d practically learnt this stuff on an abacus, my attempts to help were - at best - dismal. So when I worked out how I could use ChatGPT to help, creating a completely personalised AI Maths Tutor for her, I was blown away by just how powerful these tools could be. That experience was so impactful that Forbes ended up writing an article about it (you can check it out here).

Something struck me at that point: if AI tools such as ChatGPT could do something as specific as creating a personalised tutor ‘out of the box’, imagine how they could supercharge everybody’s day-to-day lives?

Since then, I’ve been working with creative businesses across the UK, helping them harness the power these tools - not to replace their creative output, but to make the business side of things easier. From automating mundane tasks to developing AI-powered workflows, these tools are becoming the “superassistants” many of us in the creative sector never knew we needed.

Why AI is a Game-Changer for Creative Businesses

Having spent twenty years in the creative, digital, and media sectors - often as the “spreadsheet guy in a room full of creatives” - I’ve seen first-hand that creatives can sometimes struggle with the nuts and bolts of running a business. Admin, finance, and operations aren’t typically what gets your typical creative out of bed in the morning.

However, if you can start to lean into ChatGPT for the support you need, when you need it, you can free up time for more of what you do best, and reduce your stress levels at the same time. What’s not to like?

And we need to be clear about where this fits. Because yes, you can ask tools like ChatGPT (and others) to create images, write press releases, design logos…even write a script or generate video. Reality check: most of its junk, isn’t it? We’re creatives, and we know the value of what we do, right?

Where this stuff really will give you a competitive advantage is by supercharging your productivity. Whether it’s helping you stay on top of client communications, generating proposals, or co-authoring funding applications, AI can step in and make sure all those essential, tedious and time-consuming tasks don’t pile up.

Practical Ways to Use AI in Creative Micro-Businesses

Here are a few snapshots on how clients I’ve worked with have already started putting AI tools like ChatGPT to work in their businesses:

1) Speeding Up Complex Tasks

AI can cut down hours of work into mere minutes. For example, an architect I worked with used image processing in ChatGPT to turn a full day’s worth of work into a one-hour task by automating image processing tasks. That’s a game-changer when time is money.

2) Training Yourself (or Your Team) for New Roles

A really powerful use of AI is in personalised training. A business analyst I worked with used the same Maths Tutor example I created for my daughter to teach themselves a new role. It’s a brilliant way to upskill without necessarily having to invest in expensive courses.

3) Turning Funding Applications and Business Proposals Into A Joy (kind of)

One client was able to co-author a six-figure funding bid using a specially trained CustomGPT. The tool was tailored with funder documents, background research, and more: saving them time and significantly increasing accuracy.

4) Repurposing Content for Multiple Platforms

An arts marketing team used a custom prompt to repurpose their press releases into content for social media, blogs, and different parts of their website. In the past, that would have taken multiple people and hours of tweaking—but now, a single prompt does the job in no time.

5. Managing Large Amounts of Information

One facilitator I worked with started to use ChatGPT’s image processing tools to transcribe massive amounts of text from whiteboards after a brainstorming session. What used to be a manual, error-prone task became seamless and efficient.

Boosting Creative Productivity with AI Tools Like ChatGPT

The course I’m delivering for WYCREATE this November, Give Your Creative Enterprise the AI Advantage, is all about making sure that businesses like yours can tap into the power of AI. I designed it specifically for micro-businesses and freelancers in the creative sector, so you won’t feel overwhelmed with techy jargon. Instead, we’ll focus on how AI tools can save time on the business side of things, freeing up more space for the work that matters to you.

And don’t panic! This is all about practical applications. I’ll help you create AI-powered workflows that can be put into action straight away, allowing you to see real improvements in productivity without a massive learning curve.

If you’re based in West Yorkshire and want to get involved, head over to WY Creates for more details. I’ll be there, guiding you through how these tools can unlock more time and energy for what really counts—your creativity.

If you’re a creative business or freelancers in West Yorkshire and want to discover how AI tools can boost your productivity and streamline your operations, join my AI course for creatives from this November. Head over to WY Creates for more details and to sign up below:

By Phil Birchenall, Founder of Diagonal Thinking; a specialist consultancy helping companies large and small make the most of AI in their operations. Phil’s AI clients include MMU, Discovery Education, Northumbrian Water Group, SharpFutures, and Port of Tyne. www.diagonalthinking.co

New research highlights contribution to Kirklees’ £250m+ creative economy

New research highlights contribution of freelancers and microbusinesses to Kirklees’ £250m+ creative economy

New research from The Fifth Sector, published in the Kirklees Creative Economic Impact Report 2024, highlights the significant contribution made by freelancers and microbusinesses to the creative economy in Kirklees. Key findings include:

• The cultural and creative industries in Kirklees generated more than £250 million for the local economy in 2022.

• Kirklees is home to more than 3,000 creative freelancers, self-employed and contract workers, making up a third of the district’s  creative workforce.

• There are some 1,700 registered creative companies in the district, with ‘microclusters’ of creative enterprises in Huddersfield, Holmfirth and Cleckheaton

• 99% of Kirklees creative enterprises are microbusinesses, employing 9 people or fewer. 

• Together, freelancers and microbusinesses make up more than 90% of a workforce of 9,400 creatives in the district.

The Kirklees research forms part of wider evidence of skills needs of creative freelancers and microbusinesses, built up by The Fifth Sector, working in partnership with local authorities, creative networks and cultural organisations across West Yorkshire. The result is WYCreate, a programme of sector-specialist training designed to respond to the skills and business development needs of creative workers across West Yorkshire. A range of masterclasses, covering business development for creative freelances, microbusinesses and screen businesses, branding and marketing, financial management, using AI to develop your creative business and a one-day XR workshop, will be delivered through a mix of online delivery and at venues across West Yorkshire.

The current WYCreate programme runs from October to December 2024 - full details of available courses can be found at https://www.wycreate.net/courses 

Meeting the skills needs of Creative Industry Freelancers and Microbusinesses

Creative freelancers and microbusinesses operate on a very different business model from most other small businesses. To be successful in a fast-changing and competitive marketplace, they need to combine a focus on their creative specialism with the ability to quickly ‘pivot’ to take advantage of new opportunities and diversify their revenue streams to create sustainable businesses. Before designing  WYCreate, which is delivering  a series of brand new, FREE training opportunities to creative industry freelancers and microbusinesses across West Yorkshire, The Fifth Sector worked with cultural organisations and creative networks to make sure that the programme addressed both the needs and aspirations of the region’s creatives.

•  For freelancers this means a programme designed to develop their careers and diversify their revenue.

• For microbusinesses, WYCreate will help to increase the resilience and growth of their business and upskill their creative team.

Delivered by a team of experienced and sector-specialist training providers, masterclasses include:

•   Fast Track Your Freelance - how to buildi credibility and visibility as a freelancer

• Finance forecasting for freelancers and screen businesses

• Build your business development strategy the creative way! – a bitesize online course to stimulate fresh thinking about new business

• The branding roadmap for Creativepreneurs

• Give Your Creative Enterprise the AI Advantage, a three-part course mixing online and classroom based sessions to give creative insight to harnessing AI’s potential

• Music Innovators programme from Music Leeds

• An all-day XR workshop at ALT’s amazing Production Park facility

Applications are now open - courses will run from 24 October to 2 December 2024, with more to follow in 2025.

Eligibility

Freelancers If you provide your creative skills and services as an individual to various clients or companies on a project-by-project basis, and are resident in West Yorkshire, then you are eligible for courses specifically designed for freelancers.

Microbusinesses If you run, are a partner in, or are an employee of, a creative organisation with fewer than nine employees and are based in West Yorkshire then you are eligible for courses designed for creative microbusinesses.

click here for eligibility

About WYCreate

WYCreate is a part of You Can Make It Here, a programme of support and investment provided by West Yorkshire Business and Skills, to make sure that West Yorkshire’s creative industries thrive.

The Fifth Sector is a specialist creative industries consultancy, which has been appointed by West Yorkshire Combined Authority to develop and manage a programme of skills and business support for creative freelancers and microbusinesses. 

WYCreate is supported by our network partners: Bradford Cultural Voice Forum, CalderdaleCreates, Wilson’s Republic, Arts Together and Creative Wakefield.

CULTUREDALE

CULTUREDALE MICRO-COMMISSIONS FOR GLOBAL MAJORITY ARTISTS

As part of the 2024 Year of Culture, Calderdale Council is funding developmental grants for global majority artists in order to amplify voices, empower artists, and develop their work.

10 commissions of up to £1000 each are available. Please read the full guidance document at the link below before applying.

Deadline: 10am Wednesday 4th September 2024

Learn more and apply

July Newsflash

July Newsflash 

Recruitment for a CalderdaleCreates Manager is now open!
See below for this and other opportunities.

Also make sure to check out the new CultureDale Summer Programme.

CALDERDALECREATES MANAGER ROLE NOW LIVE!

Arts Council funding has been secured to support a managerial role for CalderdaleCreates, who will develop plans to grow, thrive, and create a sustainable operating model for the future of the network.

We are looking for an experienced individual at ease with partnership working to support and represent CalderdaleCreates in high level meetings, including cross-sectoral partnerships in key areas such as education, social care, health, employment and skills, business and regeneration.

For the full role profile and job details, please view the vacancy via the link below.

Application closing date: 11th August 2024

View the role and apply here

West Yorkshire's Thriving Creative Sector

West Yorkshire's creative sector, home to around 9,000 businesses, employing over 48,000 people and a further 40,000 freelances and contributing almost £2 billion to the regional economy, is the fastest-growing creative sector outside London and Scotland. With support and investment from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the region offers a thriving environment for creatives.

The region's creative landscape has seen significant developments, including Channel 4's relocation to Leeds, Kirklees Year of Music 2023, Calderdale's 2024 Culturedale events, Wakefield's year-long Our Year 2024 festival, and Bradford's designation as UK City of Culture 2025. These initiatives create opportunities for local creatives to engage within the region and form connections nationally and internationally.

Tracy Brabin, the Mayor for West Yorkshire, has confirmed, "We are seizing the opportunity to build on our success and consolidate our position as a world-leading creative powerhouse." Those words have been backed by investment in West Yorkshire's creative industries, with a £1.7 million package announced in 2023 to help boost the sector. The 'You Can Make It Here' support package assists people entering the region's growing creative industries, upskilling them through a bespoke range of initiatives, including training accelerators and mentorships.1 The WYCreate programme of skills and business support for creative freelances and microbusinesses, which will launch in September 2024, forms the latest addition to this.

The digital revolution has created a platform for cutting-edge games production, marketing and advertising, and a thriving film and TV sector. In the performing arts, Leeds stands out as the only English city outside London with active producing companies in theatre, opera, ballet, and contemporary dance. Some of the skills needed to sustain and grow these jobs have been here for centuries: design, publishing, making, and performing. Other skills are newer: film and TV, gaming, and digital. All of them are on an upward trajectory.

A major player in the creative sector is Screen Yorkshire, founded in 2002. It has been a driving force in bringing national and international productions to the region to showcase its landscape, heritage, and architecture. West Yorkshire is also home to established independent production companies such as True North, which champions the showcasing of the region’s stunning landscapes and diverse communities.

The region's freelances and creative businesses have access to world-class production facilities. Tileyard North, situated next to the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield, will provide a hub for the largest creative community outside London, featuring The Gallery event space and studios for over 200 artists, musicians, and creative innovators. Also in Wakefield, the innovative Production Park Studios has attracted names such as Cirque Du Soleil, Coldplay, and Hugh Jackman to use the first arena-sized full production rehearsal facility in Europe. Its degree-accredited specialist live event training facility, ALT, offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and other training for creatives of tomorrow.

Freelances and Creative Businesses

Freelances play a critical role in West Yorkshire’s creative economy by enabling businesses to manage and reduce entrepreneurial risk, de-risk market uncertainties, and reduce the amount of finance required for innovation and business start-ups, ultimately promoting innovation, enterprise, and growth. Our analysis indicates there is a community of around 40,000 creative freelancers across West Yorkshire.

 Freelance and self-employed creative businesses may be expected to generate greater revenue than those in other occupational categories due to their higher levels of knowledge and skill. The total contribution of freelances to the UK economy in 2022 was estimated at £139 billion.2

1. https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/all-news-and-blogs/west-yorkshire-sees-job-growth-as-creative-sector-booms/

2. https://www.ipse.co.uk/policy/research/the-self-employed-landscape/self-employed-landscape-report-2022.html
   
   

WYCREATE

We are excited to announce a new programme of support for creative freelances and businesses in West Yorkshire. From the summer of 2024 , the WYCREATE programme will deliver a  region-wide suite of training for creative industries freelancers and micro-businesses, from basics on how to survive and thrive as a creative freelancer, to subsector-specific sessions and masterclasses on subjects such as law, IP, finance, marketing, and more.

To register go to https://www.wycreate.net/programme