The Business Side of Creativity: The Complete Guide to Running a Small Graphics Design or Communications Business (Third Updated Edition) [Paperback]

Cameron S. Foote (Author), Mark Bellerose (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 2006

Hailed by one reviewer as the creative business "bible," and considered the authoritative book on the subject for over ten years, The Business Side of Creativity is back, updated and revised to include even more invaluable facts, tips, strategies, and advice for beginning creatives.

Every year the market for creative services expands, but the competition is increasing even faster. Today, success hinges not on talent alone, but on a thorough understanding of the business side of creativity. The Business Side of Creativity is the most comprehensive business companion available to freelance graphic designers, art directors, illustrators, copywriters, and agency or design-shop principals. Cameron S. Foote, a successful entrepreneur and editor of the Creative Business newsletter, guides you step-by-step through the process of being successfully self-employed - from getting launched as a freelancer to running a multiperson shop to retiring comfortably, and everything in between. Sample business forms and documents to help put the information into practice are included in the appendixes, and are available for downloading at www.creativebusiness.com/bizbook.html. How should you organize? What should you charge? What marketing techniques yield the best returns? How do you know when it's right to expand? What are the most effective strategies for managing employees? How can you build salable equity? The Business Side of Creativity delves into these questions and hundreds more and gives you practical, real-world answers and invaluable expert advice.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cameron S. Foote is the president of Creative Business, a Boston-based business-information resource for the design community. He is the author of The Business Side of Creativity, The Creative Business Guide to Running a Graphic Design Business and The Creative Business Guide to Marketing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Third Updated Edition edition (September 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039373207X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393732078
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #258,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #84 in Books > Arts & Photography > Business of Art

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Business Side of Creativity gets right down to business., March 30, 2007

By 

Matt Deyoung "10-Spaces Consulting" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Business Side of Creativity: The Complete Guide to Running a Small Graphics Design or Communications Business (Third Updated Edition) (Paperback)

I read a lot of business books so I tend to think I won't get much out of any one book. That's not the case with this book. I highly recommend the book to anyone who works in any kind of creative/freelance setting.

Cameron Foote really gets to the heart of the details of creative business. Most books like this take a 10,000 foot view of all the issues. I end up being frustrated with not really learning tactics, just strategies. With this book, even the generic business issues are dealt with in a way that's relevant to creative/freelance businesses.

When I first got the book I skipped to the chapter on how to go after the right business. I then read the chapters on how to make money in the business. After those chapters I realized there wasn't anything in the book I wanted to skip. I wound up reading the whole book back to back (and for a business book that's a big compliment--at least coming from me).

This may sound like a glowing review--that's because it is. I was very impressed with the level of detail and relevancy the book has to what I wanted to know. I found a few mistakes I was making with the way I was running my own business. I used the tips Foote gave and improved the issues immediately.

One last reason you might consider this book--in the Appendix there's a ton of helpful resources. Not only that, if you log on to the author's website, you can find about two times the forms found in the book. I wound up using 3 forms the author gives away on a daily basis.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A complete & practical resource, May 22, 2007

By 

Janice King "Author, "Copywriting That Se... (www.writinghightech.com) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Business Side of Creativity: The Complete Guide to Running a Small Graphics Design or Communications Business (Third Updated Edition) (Paperback)

Cam Foote's book is a complete resource for new freelancers and a great "reality check" for experienced creatives. I have read his material for many years and always found it practical, clear, realistic, and helpful. Although his focus may seem to be almost entirely on graphic designers, as a copywriter I found most of his information applicable to my own business.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book if re-directed to the right audience, August 3, 2008

By 

L. BEATTIE "Designer" (in Asia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Business Side of Creativity: The Complete Guide to Running a Small Graphics Design or Communications Business (Third Updated Edition) (Paperback)

The sub-title of this book is "The Complete Guide to RUNNING a Small Graphic Design or Communications Business" and as such I have given it a 2-star rating. If it was re-titled "The Complete Guide to STARTING a Small Graphic Design or Communications Business" then I would probably give it a 5-star rating for readers based in the USA and a 4-star for those elsewhere.

If you are in position where you are considering starting up your own business or going it alone as a freelancer then this book contains a lot of valuable information and good advice and I would highly recommend reading it before you go any further.

Those outside the USA should be aware that some sections of the book will not be relevant (for example those focusing on company registration procedures and tax issues) as they are based on US law and regulations -but there is still a lot of other good advice.

I would estimate that around 3/4ths of the book focuses on pre start-up and start-up issues so, if like me, you are currently running your own business then much of the content is already redundant and, while the remaining content is informative, this does limit the overall usefullness of the book.