These workshops will:
•    Introduce and apply key business-planning and business-development tools and methods tailored to your design company
•    Give you the tools and understanding to increase your turnover, profitability, range of clients and markets, your potential export market and recognise the value of your intellectual property
•    help unblock barriers to growth by giving space for you to reflect on your business and receive expert advice on how you can move forward
•    help you understand the potential for collaboration and how to collaborate
•    develop your business skills as individuals and support the development of your own design business
•    encourage your design company to be doing what you really want it to do

The workshops are free
But workshop delegates will be offered a place on the basis of a completed application form.  To gain the full benefit of the programme, delegates will be expected to commit to attending all 4 sessions.

There will be a networking opportunity with drinks and nibbles from 6.30pm for those who want to stay and talk to other designers.

Werkshop CIC has extensive experience of delivering workshops to a variety of social enterprises, freelancers and SMEs. The Transformer workshop series is facilitated by Werkshop and delivered by:

Ian Elwick: Founder of The Werks group of work hubs and Brighton Media Centre, Ian, who originally trained as a designer, ran his own design and PR company employing over 30 people working for blue chip companies and market leaders for 10 years. Since then he has offered one-to-one support to a large number of creative companies (most recently through the IGT programme) and run enterprise training courses for creative businesses and for a number of universities including Sussex, Brighton, Portsmouth, Goldsmiths, City and University of Creative Arts (UCA) and currently teaches on the UK’s first Creative MBA at UCA.
Martin Bouette: Course Leader of the innovative MBA Creative Industries Management programme at the University for the Creative Arts, Martin also runs a successful consultancy and undertakes research into creativity and entrepreneurship.

Martin has been a practicing furniture designer and has also completed a doctorate which explored creative graduate careers as well as project managing a number of successful (£1million+) EU funded projects including writing and delivery of the BTEC professional-accredited course Entrepreneurship Training for Creatives (ETC) which has developed new learning materials to support creative business development and been delivered to over 900 creative businesses.
Diane Simpson-Little: Diane is a lecturer in creativity and design on the BSc Product Design course at the University of Sussex. She has facilitated on many workshops in the area of entrepreneurship and has published papers that explore the areas of design as a holistic process and the role of creativity in pedagogic practice. Diane has also taught at Central St. Martins and the Royal College of Art, where she gained her masters degree. Prior to this she has been a practicing product designer and worked at several leading advertising agencies.

These workshops are delivered by Werkshop CIC for the East Sussex, Brighton and Hove Innovation & Growth Team (ESBHIGT) funded by SEEDA. Other IGT partners include Brighton and Hove City Council, East Sussex County Council, the University of Brighton and the University of Sussex, Wired Sussex, Sussex Innovation Centre, MD Hub and Sea Space.
Werkshop CIC  is the umbrella for the creative and social werkhubs of The Werks, WestWerks, Coachwerks and Lewes Werks.
Rodhus Creative Studios provides a modern and inspiring environment for designer makers across all creative disciplines.

Contact Medeni Fordham for more details.