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Resources for Artists

 

FastTrac New Venture

FastTrac New Venture courses are offered around the state.

 

Background on previous training offered

To ensure that artists statewide had affordable training options, the Arts Commission partnered with three organizations to offer training at comparable costs. A portion of the Leveraging Investments in Creativity grant helped underwrite the Artist as an Entrepreneur Institute in Columbia, reducing the cost per person from $450 to $150. Also due to this funding, The Tate Center for Entrepreneurship in Charleston offered a $150 rate to the first 20 artists who registered. And both the artist-focused FastTrac course in Greenville and the general FastTrac New Venture courses around the state were offered for $145.

 

The following courses have been taken by S.C. artists, who found them helpful in creating and managing arts-based businesses. These courses will also be helpful for artists planning to apply for S.C. Arts Commission Artist Ventures grant funding.

 

• The Artist as an Entrepreneur Institute
• Becoming a Creative Entrepreneur
• FastTrac New Venture for Artists

 

Note: Registration is now closed for AEI training.

 

Presented by the South Carolina Arts Commission
Created by The Community Partnership for Arts and Culture, Cleveland, Ohio

 

Location:  Midlands Technical College Northeast Campus, 151 Powell Road, Columbia
Dates:  Monday nights, July 13 - Aug. 24, 2009 (no class Aug. 3)

Registration contacts:  Katie Fox or Eleanor Stein, (803) 734-8696

Schedule:

• 5:30 - 6 p.m.: Bring your dinner and visit with classmates
• 6 - 9:30 p.m.: Class session

Cost:  $150

 

The Artist as an Entrepreneur Institute is designed to provide a comfortable environment where artists of all disciplines and experience can explore the fundamentals of business. By giving artists an opportunity to get acquainted with the topics alongside their peers, and with instructors with experience and an interest in working with artists, AEI enables artists to overcome the perceptual barriers that limit their ability to see themselves as entrepreneurs. By simply following course assignments, participants can walk away from the course with a draft business plan.

 

Course topics include, but are not limited to:

• Considering priorities
• Choosing a business structure
• Understanding consumers
• Developing a brand
• Pricing
• Exploring distribution outlets
• Developing communications strategies
• Funding sources
• Protecting your rights
• Grasping legal issues
• Financing
• Accounting

 

Note: Registration is now closed for Creative Entrepeneurs training.

 

Location:  The Tate Center for Entrepreneurship, 5 Liberty Street in Tate Room 202
Dates:  Opening session is Thursday, Sept. 17; classes run Sept. 22 - Nov. 17 on Tuesday evenings from 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Registration contact:  Jessica Bluestein, (843) 953-6622 
Cost: $150 for the first 20 who register; $300 all others

The Tate Center for Entrepreneurship presents a professional development series specifically designed to guide artists, designers, filmmakers, performers, musicians and others in creative businesses to develop their skills as entrepreneurs. Using a facilitated learning model, the series features experts from a range of creative disciplines, who work directly with participants.  To register, call Jessica Bluestein, (843) 953-6622.

 

 

Note: Registration is now closed for the Greenville FastTrac training.

 

Other FastTrac New Venture courses are offered throughout the state during the fall. A schedule of those courses are available on the FastTrac Web site. The cost is $145 if you register two weeks in advance; $195 regular registration. For more information about FastTrac, please contact Mary Dickerson at (843) 805-3110.

With FastTrac, artists learn and interact with a group of aspiring artist and non-artist entrepreneurs who are trying to put their ideas into action. Participants also work with certified instructors who have start-up business experience and who understand the benefits and pitfalls of starting a new enterprise. The course outline includes:

 

• Exploring entrepreneurship
• Identifying and meeting market needs
• Setting financial goals
• Planning the product/service
• Researching and analyzing the market
• Reaching the market
• Building the organization and team
• Planning for a profitable business
• Monitoring cash flow/seeking funds
• Implementing next steps.