Business Club membership

Hello designer maker, crafts person, graphic or web designer, fashion or accessories designer, product or interior designer, illustrator, photographer, applied artist:

The Design Trust Business Club is for you, if you are a sole trader, freelancer, partner or small business owner looking for …

• practical, bit-sized, jargon-free, specialist business advice – because you want to polish your business skills and knowledge quickly From business planning, visioning, finance, marketing, PR, social media, selling online … to the more specialist topics such as royalties and intellectual property.  We are specialists in micro-businesses who work in design and craft.  Our Business Club members are from across the UK and overseas, some are recent graduates, others are professionals who want to run their own creative business, as well as freelancers and sole traders who have been working for many years.
• flexible and creative online business advice delivered to your studio or home – because you are a busy person! Our Business Club members get exclusive access to 4 monthly online workshops with experts (when you can ask questions), short video interviews with successful designers and crafts people, and professionals who sell or promote your work. Our webinars and master classes are recorded in audio-visual format so that you can watch an ever growing collection of business info & training.  You can join our webinars from wherever you are in the world, and you can watch them again and again if you like – so super easy and flexible to fit in with your work and life!
• real life business tips and insights that you can use straight away  We work with successful designers and crafts people to share their knowledge, and with professionals who can help you to sell your work such as gallery owners, retailers, agents, PR & journalists.  Practical info that is hard to get anywhere else.
• a wide variety of high quality information at a discount to you We work with hand-picked experts and partners to provide you with a wide range of experts. All of them are selected as they are experts in design or crafts. Many of our partners give our Business Club members a discount on their services, workshops, e-books, e-courses, online group coaching, individual consultancy, software packages, etc.

Membership is £8/month or £80/year:

What do you get when you become a member of The Design Trust Business Club?

• The Design Trust Webinars: Join us live to ask your questions directly or access the 60 min. recordings afterwards when it suits you.  Expert business presentations about practical and relevant topics for small design and crafts businesses.  Each session is about 1 hour long, with a themed presentation by an expert. In depth knowledge brought directly to your computer!

• The Design Trust Business Club news: a monthly themed membership newsletter with:
  • Practical creative business tips, tools and articles  to improve your business and marketing skills and knowledge
  • Discounts, special offers, competitions, free e-books and other freebies from our hand-picked partners on a range of business development services and products, incl. creative business books, financial and e-shop software, e-courses, coaching and advice, workspace, …
  • The latest information and sign up info about The Design Trust Webinars and Master Classes.

• The Design Trust e-newsletter: regular news with opportunities and recommended business training for designers and crafts people across the UK (mostly).

• The Design Trust Dialogues: Watch our series of short interviews with successful designers and crafts people, retailers, agents and others whenever you want.  Get inspiration, practical tips, background info and insights directly from your role models and great people who can (help you) sell your work.

• The Design Trust Library: We are creating an audiovisual library with our exclusive webinars and interviews that you can access whenever you want, wherever you are. Each year we want to create and publish a total of 35 audio-visual webinars and video interviews full of practical business advice.

• 20% discount on The Design Trust Book of the Month: Through our partnership with publishers A&C Black we will provide a monthly independent creative business book review,  with additional book competitions and you can purchase ‘the book of the month’ with 20% discount.

• Discount on The Design Trust events and services: we run regular business development events alone or in partnership with others, where you can get inspiring business advice, network with other designers or crafts people, or sell your work directly to consumers or trade buyers.  Some events will be exclusive to Business Club members, or you will get a significant discount.  You currently can get 10 or 20% discount on The Design Trust Get Clients Now! Coaching programme for designers and makers.

Each month we will have a business or creative theme that will be reflected across the different services:

• October 2012: How to use social media to sell yourself and your work
• November 2012: Working with others: partnerships & collaborating
• December 2012: Working successfully as a freelancer
• January 2013: Making time: all about time management
• February 2013: Branding
• March 2013: When the going gets tough
• April 2013: Who is afraid of money? about the emotional side of finance, money, selling etc.
• May 2013: Running a successful part-time business

Recent webinars and video interviews (that our Business Members can still watch) include:

1. How to get into the press, a video interview with Grant Gibson, Editor of Crafts Magazine
2. How to get started with your own online shop with Guy Schragger of Supadupa
3. A self-assessment tax Q&A webinar with Dean Shepherd of Tax by Design
4. Business planning? The creative way! with Patricia van den Akker
5. Making sense of your business plan with Alison Lewy of Fashion Angel
6. Getting your online shop ready for Christmas with online marketing experts Handmade Horizons
7. What are retailers looking for? with Clare Yuille of Indie Retail Academy
8. Blogging for design with Katie Treggiden
9. Getting started with Twitter with Justyna Sowa
10. Unlock your Twitter Brilliance with Alicia Cowan
11. How to manage Twitter – an introduction to Hootsuite with Justyna Sowa
12. How to successfully network online with Justyna Sowa
13. How small designers can sell to big retailers with Clare Rayner
14. How to make the most of your (Christmas) craft fair with Patricia van den Akker
15. Online web reviews with online marketing experts Handmade Horizons
16. How to create your online brand for your online show with Guy Schragger of Supadupa
17. Mindful productivity & digital well-being with Sinead MacManus
18. How to protect your ideas and designs legally with Maxine Horne of Creative Barcode
19. Making money from your intellectual property: licensing & royalties with solicitor Niall Head – Rapson
20. How to conquer your cashflow with Sarah Thelwall of My Cake
21. Creating successful collaborations & projects with Alison Coward
22. How to get your creative work done with creative business coach Mark McGuinness
23. Visioning and why it is important for your future business with Deborah Henry – Pollard

In the next coming months we have webinars, online masterclasses and video interviews planned on:

• How pinterest can help your creative business
• How to deal with rejection & criticism with creative business coach Mark McGuinness
• Stop procrastinating!
• Who is afraid of money?
• More video interviews with major online retailers and high street retailers, editors of major crafts and design magazines

8 reasons to become a Design Trust Business Club members:

1. We are design & craft business development specialists: we only work with small design and craft businesses (most of them sole traders or freelancers), so we understand your business challenges and your market.  All our partners are specialists in design and craft – from individual consultants and coaches, to non profit organisations and commercial marketing businesses.
2. We only give real life, practical, inspirational, bit-sized and jargon-free business advice: not just from specialist business advisers and trainers, but also from designers and crafts people running their own successful business, and people who sell or market you and your work such as galleries, retailers, fair organisers, agents and PR consultants.
3. We have a wide range of expert business advice and knowledge: to get you the info in a way that works best for you: Read in depth business & marketing blogs or recommended books, check out up-to-date listings with high quality business training and opportunities, watch The Design Trust Dialogues video interviews with creatives and marketeers, ask your questions directly to the experts in the webinars, participate in a recommended course from our selected listings or The Design Trust Online Business School, or contact one of our recommended advisers or consultants to get intensive 1-2-1 advice.
4. Not just advice but also tools, products and services to run a better business: we work with selected business advisers, trainers, consultants and coaches to improve your business knowledge, skills and emotions through 1-2-1 or group sessions.  But we also recommend business books we like, outstanding multi- media and group coaching courses, tools to help you in your creative business planning, practical financial software and accountancy services for creatives, and specialist e-commerce software for small design and craft businesses.  We are searching across the world to select the best ones for you.
5. Affordable and easily accessible whenever you want, wherever you are: most of our resources and recommended tools are available online, so you can read business information, listen to recordings and watch videos, wherever you are in the world, at whatever time it suits you. We know that you don’t always want to travel to London, Birmingham or Manchester … we provide you with business advice right in your own home – wherever you are in the UK or even abroad!
6. We don’t just do the talk, we get you into action: Getting business advice is the easy bit, actually using and implementing the info to improve your business is far harder!  You can start by joining The Design Trust Challenge straight away!  We know how tough it can be, and how easy it is to procrastinate or to let fear stop you. We give practical tips that you can start using in your business today.  And especially through our own and partner’s group coaching programmes we help you to get into action and turn your dream into reality!
7. Opportunities to get work: we have an up-to-date listing with recommended opportunities (incl. commissions, competitions and calls for exhibitions), and work with commercial partners to sell your work with online retailers, at trade or craft shows, and your own web shop.
8. Saving you money: As a Design Trust Business Club Member you will get significant discounts on our own events and e-courses. We also work with partners to save you money on other relevant memberships, business and creative books and magazines, business training and coaching, freelance workspace in London, e-commerce and financial software.

The cost of the membership is just £8/month or £80/year:

Frequently asked questions:

I would like to pay without PayPal, is that possible? Yes, you can pay by credit or debit card.  When you click the monthly or yearly membership button above you will go to a PayPal page.  It is a little hidden, but the last line states ‘Don’t have a PayPal account? Pay using your credit or debit card’ and click that.

I don’t live in the UK, can I still become a member? Yes, you are very welcome.  As an online business club we very much welcome international members!  At present the membership fees are quoted in GBP £ and when you click through the financial process you will be informed what that daily conversion rate will be for your currency.  If you become a monthly member your subscription payment will differ depending on this conversion rate.

What if I change my mind?  If you want to cancel your annual membership in the first 30 days, then just let us know and we will fully reimburse you without any problem.  As a monthly subscriber you can cancel your membership at any time by changing your PayPal account setting.