Starting a business can be quite frightening. The failure rate is extremely high for new ventures. For the creative types, business terms and concepts seem like a foreign language. On top of that, there are countless friends and family offering conflicting advice - much of it often incorrect.

If you are the creative type and want to start your own business, the most important thing to do is to start on a firm foundation. Understand the basic business principles necessary for to start and run a profitable business. This is where Doug Richard, author of How to Start a Creative Business, provides a very valuable resource.

Mr. Richard runs the School for Creative Startups in the UK. The school provides training for creative types interested in learning basic business principles so they can successfully start and operate a business. The content of the book is based on the principles taught in the school.

Mr. Richard covers ten steps that are found in the start up of any business. These steps are key to starting on a firm foundation. They involve getting very clear about the proposition - what is your product or service. Is there a market need for what you are offering? Is the market too thin and/or too widely dispersed? What is the competition? He also covers the distribution channels, the pricing models, identifying your key partners and your assets. Finally he covers the key competency necessary for success.

There is a chapter devoted to each question. The format is to discuss the business theory so you have a good understanding of the principle. He then gives a short third party story as an example of the theory. Then there is the most important part of each chapter - Get Your Hands Dirty - this is where Mr. Richard gives you a specific to-do exercise covering what has been discussed. Each chapter ends with “Now you Know” and “What You’ve Accomplished”.

Like many other disciplines, business has a lot of terminology that seems foreign to outsiders. So scattered throughout the book are “Jargon Busting” bubbles. These are commonly used business terms - like burn rate/run rate, TAM, and purchase order financing. These terms are explained in plain English. BTW, TAM is not the Scottish hat but means Total Available Market.

For American readers, since the book was written primarily for the UK market, you will find the British spelling for some words differs from the American spelling. Also you might come across some unique British terms - bespoke is one and it simply means custom made.

The book is targeted to the creative entrepreneur but the principles apply to anyone starting a new business. The book is well written and easy to read. But the real value is in doing the exercises. If you work through each set of “Get Your Hands Dirty” exercises, you will have a great foundation for starting your business on a strong footing. You will have a much better chance of having a successful business.

Spend some time reading this book and doing the exercises - it will pay huge dividends.

I was provided a review copy of this book.

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