Research into the Companies providing similar services...

http://www.creative-cin.co.uk/

CIN is a creative site very similar to what we are planning to go for. It gives people the ability to put up their contact details and search for new jobs if they are put up on the site.

Events, training and news about the creative industry are also on the website.

It supports the creative industry, and helps individuals to share skills and get jobs they want.

We provide services to help individuals build the relationships they need to be successful – relationships with other creatives, with customers, suppliers, funders and others. In a sector where many people work alone, or in small organisations, CIN plays a vital role bringing people together, sharing information and skills, and providing support and inspiration. We provide services to help individuals build the relationships they need to be successful – relationships with other creatives, with customers, suppliers, funders and others. In a sector where many people work alone, or in small organisations, CIN plays a vital role bringing people together, sharing information and skills, and providing support and inspiration.

If you run your own creative business - or are just starting out – we’d like to encourage you to join CIN as a member. CIN is a non-profit making company effectively owned and driven by our members. Joining us will give you the chance to showcase your work online, get involved and take advantage of our many membership benefits. Of course, there are ways non-members can benefit too – sign-up to our free e-newsletter with just a couple of clicks if you like.

http://www.portfolioworkshop.com/

This portfolio website is for students of the Animation program that people can go to, like a college. It is a course and the students can upload there work to the website to help promote the course and the students to get jobs and promote themselves.

They can be followed on facebook and twitter.

http://www.foliotek.com/learn/StudentPortfolio.aspx

Foliotek is a website for students to upload and keep a back up of all there work.

Assessment Portfolio

In this program-controlled portfolio, candidates demonstrate competency and skill in program-specified outcomes.

Presentation Portfolio

Candidates can share exemplary work in customized presentations. Students control the creation, customization, and accessibility of this type of portfolio. Students commonly use these portfolios as comprehensive resumes.

Scrapbook Portfolio

Students can store and organize their files in one easy to manage online repository. This portfolio is private and student controlled. Students can link a scrapbook file to multiple portfolios. Editing a file updates every portfolio that references the file, making portfolio upkeep less time consuming.

Linkedin.co.uk

Professional networking site.

Its used to display jobs that companies and people need for people such as freelancers.

You can have your own profile with information and personal profile.

It’s a good website for networking with people within the industry as you can create connections with people in the industry and keep in contact with them.

www.myhammer.co.uk

Website for finding tradesmen and people to do a job for you.

You can post jobs and you can search for jobs and apply to do them.

You can sign up for free.

http://www.bigblackbag.com

Saves you Time

Update your web site with just a few simple clicks anywhere at anytime using just a web browser. You'll never have to wait for a web designer to update your web site again.

Gets you Business

Our portfolio websites use standards compliant HTML making all your content highly visible to search engines which translates into customers. We give you complete control over the content and metatags for each web page you create, allowing you to target the keywords that are important to your business. If that weren't enough, we also submit your website to all the major search engines for free!

Saves you Money

Why pay a designer to build and maintain your website? Even your nerdy little nephew can't compete with our prices. Pricing starts at just $8.99/month or $49/year. Pick a package that's right for you and upgrade with more features or bigger packages at anytime. And our highly respected support and advice is always free!

Makes you Look Good

Our system gives you complete control over every single design element making it incredibly simple for you to achieve the look you want without sacrificing good functionality for your viewers. Our templates employ new Dynamic HTML giving you all the animation and pizzazz that you’ve come to expect from websites designed in Flash but do not sacrifice search engine visibility!

http://www.basekit.com

Set-up your own website, you can put it to your own domain name and use templates to create a website.

It ranges from $6 to $24 depending on the package you will like.

http://foliofocus.com/

This Site allows people to upload there work and advertise themselves

Folio Focus is a web design gallery that exists to showcase excellent portfolio sites. Here you will find the best collection of portfolio sites from web and graphic designers, photographers, and other professionals that use a portfolio site.

While there are hundreds of general web design galleries, niche galleries like Folio Focus can prove to be a very valuable resource for anyone who wants to quickly find the best websites of a particular kind. Folio Focus is part of a network that includes four other niche galleries:

Our Competitors in Portfolios and Networking:

Our Competitors in Portfolios and Networking:

We have researched into whats already out there and if its needed:

Behance Network (www.behance.net)

Carbonmade (www.carbonmade.com)

Shown'd (www.shownd.com)

Coroflot (www.coroflot.com)

Professional on the Web (www.professionalontheweb.com)

Deviantart (www.deviantart.com)

design:related (www.designrelated.com)

Portfolio's Friend (www.portfoliosfriend.com)

The Portfolio network (www.theportfolionetwork.com)

Sunoasis (www.sunoasis.com)

Creative Cin (www.creative-cin.co.uk)

Portfolio Workshop (www.portfolioworkshop.com)

Foliotek (www.foliotek.com)

Linkedin (linkedin.co.uk)

MY Hammer (myhammer.co.uk)

Big Black Bag (bigblackbag.com)

Basekit (Basekit.com)

Folio Focus (foliofocus.com)

With all of these websites and companies looked at providing very similar services, we have gathered information of their strengths and weaknesses to try and get the best out of our service. The following applies to the strengths.

· Showcase online of peoples work

· Links everyone together

· Anyone can view the portfolios

· Jobs can be advertised

· Can be translated into a few languages

· Sign up for free.

· Can comment on services done by the person and put recommendations on.

· Jobs can be quoted for jobs.

· Can be linked and followed on Face book and twitter.

· Free e-newsletter for non members too

· Holds a clear creative directory for people to advertise jobs they want done

· Jobs can be searched through location and company and job type

· Hold special networking events

· User friendly set up.

· Accessible on the Iphone.

· When registering allows user to identify themselves as a person just looking for a job, just an employer and both.

· Very easy registering process

· The personal account page is very clearly laid out and easy on the eyes- nice light colours.

· There is a specialist section on the portfolio site, this is useful to employees as they can search by specialty with regards to software.

· Good layout and easy to navigate

Things to which we may want to avoid…

· Cluttered website – too much at once

· Have a big upload space as a limited upload space, may not be enough.

· Make clear who’s portfolio is being viewed and ensure that it cannot be changed from people on the outside.

· Not having the browsing easy to navigate, as getting to and from the homepage should be easy to use.

· Make sure the portfolios “look” are not all the same and unique.

Is the idea Needed?

Is the idea needed?

At current students produce their own websites and promotional materials. Ravensbourne college is in dire need to promote the work in which students do at the college and show the quality and standard that can come out of going to Ravensbourne. At current the Ravensbourne website only shows a small percentage of work that is produced by Ravensbourne students.

This could also be a way to link more within industry, Ravensbourne students are more taken on by people in the industry because of the level of work that comes out from its students, if they could also see and link with students, it would be easier to as students, get jobs.

The idea is also to get collaboration within the college and promote jobs that maybe needed to be done between projects at the college. For example if and animator needs a sound designer, the job can be posted. At current emails are sent which do not always get received. The same as if someone from the industry wants a student to do a small bit of design work for them they can look at the profiles and get in contact with the students direct rather than going through lecturers.

This idea could even get expanded through set up for other universities and companies who want to offer creative field job opportunities.

To_PUT_IN_THE_BLOG

- Any interesting material you stumble upon which has to do with your enterprise or topics covered in E&E

- Lecture notes

- Notes from independent learning on the VLE (Moodle)

- Research: findings along with critical evaluation of sources and methods used

- Motivation for or reasoning behind decisions made throughout the process

- Feedback: from friends, tutors, customers or whoever

- Visual: Sketches, storyboards, visualization of ideas, photographs of your progress

Project Brief

SESSION 1: Introduction

Last year, you came up with a 'pretend' business plan that you pitched in a 'Dragons' Den' type set up. In level 3 you will instead do something very hands-on. Again, you will look at trends and do market research but this time you will use these insights to design and produce actual products and services.Your task is to create something that will bring you revenue, an enterprise related to your discipline or interests.

Whatever enterprise you decide to work on, it:
- Should potentially bring revenue (or a confirmed purchase order) before the end of the course (so no abstract businesses)
- Be approved at Formative Assessments
- Be presented in a professional manner and be representative of you as a creative professional: ideally it will be a useful addition to your portfolio or CV so don't waste the opportunity.

This project is a chance to meet and network with people who may influence your future and last but not least an opportunity for you to make some cash!

As soon as you have come up with a business idea and have decided whether to work on your own or in a group, you will write a brief project plan based on the project plan template below to include time line and budget. This needs to be handed in by the 28th of April so that the we can assign a tutor/assessor to you for Formative and Summative Assessments. At the end of the project you will use this initial project plan in order to analyse your endeavour and compare it with the actual results- you will discuss these with your tutor and fill out a project report. Perhaps you ended up with a completely different product or service having gained market insight? Maybe you surpassed your targets? Miscalculated the time needed for the tasks set?

You will describe your learning journey through an individual online (b)log which you are expected to update at least once a week. Logs can be concise and mainly visual or more text based/ storytelling. They can be an internal affair (password protected) or form part of your marketing. You will make notes yourself on the feedback you receive at formatives and include this on your (b)log. As part of your submission at the end of term, you'll hand in a link to your learning log. For marking purposes, make sure you keep your blog online until marks have been received.

Research...

1. The Industry - research into the industry, will it benifit from this idea?

2. Marketing analysis - who are our target audience? where are they located? is there room for expanding?

3. Competitive analysis - who are our direct and indirect competitors? what are their strengths and weeknesses over us?

4. Marketing plan - sales strutegy, pricing plans, promoting our site, is there any merchandise? ( work closely with finance )

5. Management plan - legal strugtures, management resourses such us internal team and external, and any other human resourses needed.

6. Operation plan - where will we be located? facilities needed, equipment needed. what skills do we need to get this up and running?

7. Financial plan - where will we get the money from? how will we use the money? this needs to be quite detailed and analised before we submit

What We plan to do....

Portfolio website and merchandise Stall. Website will have portfolio of Ravensbourne students

work, each student has a separate page. Student will pay for the page. The website will have both

individual portfolio pages and a merchandise page for the BA Animation films Practice. There

will also be a stall that will advertise the website and sell merchandise. If the stall runs out of

merchandise then this can direct customers to the website. These two assets will be closely linked

and will advertise each other.

The merchandise will be Posters, Postcards, pencils, Badges, mugs and t-shirts.

Money will go straight to the degree show.

Measurable aim(s) of Enterprise.

To connect the student network and gain a substantial exposure.

Profit of £3 per person.

Experience of working as a team

exclusive network.

There is a degree of exposure.

To be used as a form of communication.

Future prospects.

Monthly premium- £1 a month subscription.

Evolution of the site.

Attract industry people to come and visit the college

Attract teaching.

Post future events such as the degree show.

Agency website.

Offer a service to set up portfolio sites for other universities.

USP.

An asset to the University.

Can connect the college students together- if somebody needs a sound designer then they can see

the other students work.

Visable to everyone but membership exclusive to Rave students.

Customisable. Full control of your page.

Networking opportunities.

Advertising free.

Potential evolution of the site over time.

Promotion.

Advertise it to people in the industry.

Exit strategy.

Worse case scenario- doesn't work.

Liquidate assets- sell the space to another organisation.

What we have to do for formative

PROJECT PLAN

Please address each section- no more than MAXIMUM 2000 words in total. Can be filled out as a team. Your response should be in the format of a PDF or Word document and uploaded to Moodle by the 28th of April 5 pm.

Name of enterprise:

Student name(s):

If you are working in a group, please add each members role/responsibilities/tasks next to their name e.g. Sarah Smith- project manager


- Summary of enterprise:

Describe the business opportunity and how you can exploit it. How will you make money? What are you selling? What is your USP? Mission statement?

-Measurable aim(s) of enterprise

Can be described in monetary and/or other terms. Self promotion? Social or political aims- raise awareness? (‘Triple bottom line’?) Realise an idea? Get experience? How will you measure whether you have achieved your aim? There should be numbers attached to each aim (ie make 10 new contacts, increase hits on my website by 70%, fund my final project with £200 etcetera)

- Your target market:

Describe your target customer/ what is the segment of the market you are aiming for? What research have you conducted/ will you conduct? How have you decided what customers to target? What are their characteristics? What benefits are you in a (unique) position to offer them?

- Promotion strategy and partnerships
How will you utilize and develop your networks in this project? How will you reach your target market? Use of social media?

Action Plan- Please insert a schedule (GANTT chart or similar) mapping the enterprise from planning stage to execution

What will you do and by when? If you are working in a group, assign a clear role along with tasks to each group member.

Budget- please insert a profit/loss budget.

How much will you spend? What are your sales/ income targets? Different scenarios- best case/ worst case

Exit Strategy/ Risk management

What is the worst case scenario? If you are investing money, how much do you stand to lose if the enterprise fails? Can you liquidate your assets? How can you manage the risks?

Finally, please give the link to your blog:

Enterprise & Entrepreneurship

The aim of this unit is to create a working business in which we cant create revenue. This revenue and money can then be put towards our Degree show in June.

Im one of the researchers for this project, looking into companies that offer similar services and determine whether our company will fit into our target market...

Group Members and Roles:

Carlos Carrillo- Team leader/Director

Mariluz Noto - Resource Manager

Fahran Younas- Marketing, design

Andy Kinnear- Legal structures

Chris Caldow- Designer

Alex Caldow- Logo designer

Ben Keswick- Market research

Kofi Ansah- Web design

Dean Pankhurst- Finance

Tara Dulake- Market research

Keith Trodd- Market research

Hayley Allen- Promotion

Marios Economides- Schedulling/Finance