Start Up Wednesdays - Project Management

What makes 'the dream' work after university?

• Doing jobs you dislike to fund what you dream of. 
• Networking. 
• Helping others out and build a support network. 
• Enthusiasm and passion. Always have the dream in mind. 

Potential businesses I would set up...

• Self employed illustrator.
• Illustration collective. 
• A shared studio space where freelancers can rent desks/spaces. 

Self employed illustrator. Explain it.

• Setting up my ow business so I can work for myself as a freelance illustrator. 

What does it look like?

• Me working in my own studio space taking briefs from clients and also selling my own work through some form of shop. Success would be when clients would approach me for work rather than me having to search for the next job and also making enough money to be comfortable and afford my own studio space whether this is external or a specific work space at home. 

What is it? Simply. --> P R O J E C T M A N A G E M E N T --> What does it feel like? The dream.

If you know 40% of how to get there, you'll learn the rest on the way. 

There are visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learners. If you ignore one of these groups when on your journey to being successful you will lose some of your audience. 

My Responsibilities

• Staying motivated and be the driving force behind it. 
• Build and maintain good relationships with clients and audience. 
• Produce high quality work consistently. 
• Find funding, sort costings and consider logistics. 
• Self promotion. 
• Materials and manufacturer sourcing. 
• Make a profit. 
• Accounting, taxes and legal stuff. 

Share an idea and it will grow, especially if you share it with the right people.

Who else can I involve?

• Family and friends. 
• Potential clients. 
• Potential audience. 
• Accountant. 
• Agency. 

If you're going to do something, set a time limit otherwise it will never get done.

A Gantt chart is a timescale which lists and prioritises tasks over a time period. 

Costs

• Funding (an income for me).
• You may need to make compromises to get where you need to be, like working for little or no money or working on projects you don't really want to do. 
• Premises (from home or external studio)
• Manage and discipline yourself with time and money. 
• Co-operative working, you are sometimes stronger as a collective or team. 
• Consider what you can get for free and use it! 

Measuring Success

• What will success look like?
• Costs and profit. 
• Satisfaction and how it feels. 
• The feedback you receive and the reputation you build. 

Reflection

I did find this session useful and engaging. One of the session tasks involved making a Gantt chart as a pots-uni plan which was a good exercise to do. It started me thinking about time scales and setting myself targets to make sure I do progress when I leave rather than getting into the rut of doing a job I don't want to do for longer than necessary.