Programme
The business surgeries are for people running design businesses or planning to in the future. The advice will cover any aspect of running a business that the creative individual needs help with such as strategy, finances, marketing, human resources or operations in general. The advice given will not be in isolation but through an understanding of the individual's strategy so that the advice fits with what they want to achieve, rather than giving 'one best way'. With this in mind those that sign up to the surgeries should provide information prior to the session to allow for more personal advice which comprises three pages of A4 paper:

Page one - a description of the individual(s) and their background and a clear description of the business
Page two - a list areas they would like help with and why they need that help
Page three - selected images that explain what their business produces

These surgery sessions will be run by Rachel Smart a management consultant for creative businesses. Rachel's background is a degree in design, director of a large architectural practice and an MBA before setting up her own business.

Target audience
Those that are running a design business in areas such as architecture, interior design, public art, graphic design, multimedia design, industrial design and a wide range of designer maker businesses such as jewellery, ceramics and glass.

Programme
This course is aimed at designers thinking about starting up or in the first five years of being in business. The session will cover all aspects of setting up and running a business from the first idea, through the first two years, and beyond to a successful future. Unlike other training available in this subject it is specifically geared to designers and their needs. There will be structured training of what to consider and how to go about it, questions will be answered in class and useful tips given to find further help and assistance after the course ends.

This course will be run by Rachel Smart a management consultant for creative businesses. Rachel's background is a degree in design, director of a large architectural practice and an MBA before setting up her own business.

Target audience
Those that are in the first 5 years of their design business or who are pre-start up that have a clear business proposition.

Rachel Smart Limited is a management consultancy providing services specifically for creative organisations from start up through growth and maturity. The service is based on individual company needs and requirements from short consultations on specific issues through to long term developemnt.

Founder Rachel Smart trained as a designer for 5 years, spending a year of that time on a building site as a labourer, eventually becoming company secretary and director of a leading London architectural practice. Her work there covered the administration of the organisation including strategy, marketing, human resources and finances, during this time profits were raised to 30% of turnover.

While working Rachel completed a distance learning MBA at Durham University Business School combining 3 years of academic learning along side the reality of practice before leaving to set up Rachel Smart Limited. Rachel combines her business with teaching professional practice to academic and design institutions and is completing a PhD at Birkbeck, University of London, School of Management and Organizational Psychology.

The consultancy aims to give clients creative freedom combined with good practice and financial management to allow creative people to run their businesses with greater profits and less stress towards their ultimate goal.