Creative Spark Podcast

The topic of this podcast is "The Creative Class". Today’s Podcast includes an interview with Galina Koretskaya from the British Council about the Creative Class in Central Asia. In it we discuss what is unique about the central Asian creative industries, what support they need to help them grow and how the British Council has been working with the creative class in Central Asia. See you soon next season!

The topic of this podcast is "Slow Design".  This episode is on slow design and sustainable entrepreneurship. We interview our guest, Lola Saifi from Human House, based in Tashkent. In the episode we  talk about sustainable practices and sustainable entrepreneurship. Lola is a very interesting representative of the slow design movement.  Slow design is an emerging movement in the European markets, and there are fantastic entrepreneurs also in Central Asia, in particular in Uzbekistan. A slow designer is a creative entrepreneur that looks at how to innovate design practices by building on the heritage and history of local communities, and at the same time using ecofriendly materials. 

The topic of this podcast is "Pitching for Funds". Today’s Podcast will discuss techniques and tips for pitching for funds for your creative enterprise. Our guest speaker Tobias Gould outlines his top five tips for businesses to work on before preparing a pitch for funds. We also discuss the different approaches we need to take when looking to different sources of finance to pitch to.

The topic of this podcast is "Finance your enterprise". Today’s Podcast will discuss how to think about approaching financing your creative enterprise. We start by discussing how to finance your creative organization when your first start your creative business. We then move on to outline the different financial regulations and rules you will need to be aware of before discussing the difference places you might source finance from.

The topic of this podcast is "Accounting for Entrepreneurs". Today’s podcast will discuss how it is possible to use accounting tools in a contextual way - a way that makes sense for individual circumstances. In the episode, we cover things like business plans and break-even analysis, but look at how they can be used flexibly and in a way that helps makes sense of specific businesses, and how they can help with key decisions.

The topic of this podcast is "Managing Risk". Today’s Podcast will discuss topics such as strategies to manage risk in your creative organization, how to work with external organizations on risk, and how to identify risks to your business. This weeks podcast features a discussion with Rajinder Bhuhi who runs the Leicester Innovation Hub.

The topic of this podcast is "Developing your relationship with your suppliers". Today’s Podcast will discuss questions such as what is a supply chain, what are the components of a supply chain and how do we go about establishing and managing our relationships with our suppliers. We speak with the owner of the first Concept Store in Kazakhstan to get her perspectives on managing a supply chain the creative industries.

This week’s theme is social media marketing. This is extremely important in these unprecedented times and businesses need to transform and adapt quickly to the changing business conditions. Our research has shown that social media use is very important for creative enterprises to help them to overcome challenging economic circumstances. In this podcast we discuss the ways in which creative enterprises can make the best use of social media in their marketing.  We discuss these issues with Kamola Ikramova who runs the KI Agency in Uzbekistan and in the podcast we take you through the main social media platforms. Enjoy! 

The topic of this podcast is "Managing your Customers". Today’s Podcast will discuss questions such as "who is your customer", "how to define your customer and why its important to do so" and "how to reach and get in touch with your customers". We also include some thoughts on why its important to include your customers within in your business models and why its important that your business creates value for your customers (building on last weeks topic on value creation). Our guest speaker talks about the techniques she has used to understand her customer base and their needs from her own business experience.

The topic of this podcast is "Create your Value Propostion" Today’s Podcast will discuss value proposition and how it can help you understand what you are providing as an organisation and as a business. We consider questions such as 'does what you provide resonate with the customer, in terms of what they want and what they are prepared to pay'? So, value proposition is a basic equation: you give something and you need to get it back plus an extra for ensuring the survival of the company. Developing a value proposition for an entrepreneur is even more important than it would normally be for other companies. This is because with an established company there will already be a value proposition, and then the task is to improve it and to stay ahead of the competition. Whereas for the entrepreneur, they have to create an entirely new value proposition. About the speakers Dr Marta Gasparin is Associate Professor of Innovation and Design Management at the University of Leicester. She explores how design and innovation emerge, how value is created, and the role of the actors (objects, managers, designers) in the various innovation processes, drawing on ideas from science and technology studies. She is also interested in design theory and the epistemological dimension of innovation, in particular in the relation between design and aesthetic. Professor Paul Baines is Professor of Political Marketing at the University of Leicester. He has worked extensively with both Government and the Private Sector and runs his own market research and strategic marketing company, Baines Associated Ltd. In this podcast series, we discuss business competences that creative enterprises need to develop in order to succeed, such as marketing, innovation, social media use, accounting and finance, pitching for funds, and relationships with supplies and customers. We will also discuss hot topics such as sustainability and slow design.