Dominic Power
Case: Dnmark – Creative Business | 10
FURNITURE DESIGN AND PRODUCTION. COPENHAGEN, DENMARK. Dnmark was launched in 2005 by designer and architect René Hougaard and cabinetmaker and product developer Jens Hornbæk. They met when Jens was working at a bigger Danish furniture company where René came to pitch his designs. Dnmark’s concept was based on the idea that the Danish furniture industry [...]
Axiom 3: Only you know your product best – Creative Business | 9
LESSONS Finding a partner is mostly about finding the right one. Be careful about your choice of partner, but also have the courage to go ahead. Take precautions so that you can back out if things don’t go as expected. The investor can function as an active partner who can guide you to the next [...]
Case: Stigebilen – Creative Business | 8
TV AND FILM LIGHTING. NORWAY. Stigebilen is a company that rents out lighting for TV and film production. They have mounted a generator and what is apparently the world’s largest lamp (175kw) onto an old fire truck. The lamp is attached to a turntable ladder and is a very flexible tool for lighting locations. However, [...]
Axiom 2: There is no time to waste. I want to start my business as soon as possible – Creative Business | 7
LESSONS Get experience first Working for another company in the industry is a free way of learning the business. Investors like experience – so do customers. Even if your experience is from another industry you have probably learnt important lessons, for example, about how organizations work. GET A JOB BEFORE CREATING ONE TRIAL AND ERROR [...]
Case: Morningside Records – Creative Business | 6
INDEPENDENT RECORD LABEL. ÅRHUS, DENMARK. Most independent record labels start with one band. In this respect Morningside is no different from any other label. Jesper Broderson had some songs, and to get them heard he put a few of them online for people to download. If people liked the songs they could e-mail him and [...]
Case: Bjartur – Creative Business | 5
PUBLISHING HOUSE. REYKJAVIK, ICELAND; OSLO, NORWAY; ESPERGÆRDE, DENMARK. What could an Icelandic book publisher and a fictional farmer possibly have in common, apart from fiction that is? For those of you not acquainted with Iceland’s most famous fictional character ‘Bjartur of Summerhouses’ the question might be irrelevant. Yet the book publishing company Bjartur not only [...]
Case: Murlyn Music – Creative Business | 4
MUSIC PRODUCTION AND PUBLISHING. STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN. A LONG AND WINDING ROAD TOWARDS SUCCESS Today Murlyn Music is one of the world’s most respected music production companies. Murlyn has written or produced songs for artists such as Madonna, Janet Jackson, Céline Dion, Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears. But 22 years ago, with hardly any previous experience, [...]
Axiom 1: Think big, Stick with your idea, Don’t take second best – Creative Business | 3
Lessons Start small, think long. It will take time and you need to be ready for frustration, disappointment, delays, etc. Start from somewhere. Then modify, reconsider, start again, perhaps even start something new. Successful companies constantly change and modify their businesses. No success exists without previous failure. It Will Take Time A SUCCESS STORY IS [...]
10 ways to mess up your business – Creative Business | 2
In doing research for this book we heard so many things said about how one should run, finance and grow a business. Indeed we noticed that time and time again certain taken-for-granted phrases or axioms were passed out as sound advice. What worried us is that there seemed to be a widespread acceptance of these [...]
Introduction – Creative Business | 1
N.B The series is not yet complete, make sure to come back regulary to read the upcoming parts. THIS BOOK This book busts the myth that there is only one, fundamentally uncreative, way of doing business. It’s a collection of observations and lessons – what we’ve learnt while out talking to a bunch of successful [...]
