Links:
Above are links to my social media (Instagram), email and Linktree.
Instagram is extremely important for my business as it allows me to connect with my customers to explain what I can do for them in a visual and therefore understandable way. It allows me to showcase my experiences and promote myself to a wide audience.
Having a dedicated email for the business means that I can separate business and pleasure. I believe that in doing so I will be able to look after my mental health because I can filter the notifications outside of working hours. It also looks more professional to prospective clients.
The Linktree is helpful as it has all of my links in one place. As this is a business-within-a-business, so to speak, the linktree allows me to share all areas of Violet Live Events and makes navigating between social media accounts, portfolio items or contact details with ease.
Logo and Branding:
The idea for this freelance business is to make it a sub-section of my already established “Violet live events” business. This made designing the logo easy as I could use the pre-existing logo as a starting point. The logo and branding theme is paramount in ensuring your business stands out. I have chosen a light purple or violet shade colour (E5D0EB) which helps the customer to associate with the name of the brand ‘Violet’ with its namesake colour. The smaller “live sound” text is in a separate font from the main logo and ties into the design of the treble clef placed in the centre of the o.
A good business typically has a tagline, which sums up the work that they carry out. For Violet Live Sound, I wanted to have a short and memorable slogan which incorporates the fact that the business is a female-led audio company. I therefore came up with Sound Heard Everywhere. The first letter of each word spells out SHE and the slogan itself shows potential clients that we are a company that can help with their live sound anywhere.
Business Card:
I have designed a business card. This is useful for my business because if I attend a networking event or meet an interested potential client, I can hand a business card to them, which will allow them to know how to contact me and stay up to date with my events.
Design 1 –
Design 2 –
I prefer design 2 as this has a QR code and allows for any updated information to go through the linktree, meaning I do not need to reprint cards, and helps the recipient of the card to access my details or portfolio quickly. The QR code also makes it easy for customers to contact me as the linktree page has a ‘contact us’ section.
Another reason why business cards are great is that any clients who do not use social media platforms are still able to contact me. This shows a larger level of professionalism as I am easily reachable and cater to people from all walks of life.
Uniform Design:
I contacted a couple of embroidered work uniform companies in Bradford to get quotes about hoodies with the violet logo on for myself and any crew I may hire to wear on jobs.
After comparing the prices I decided to follow up with one of the companies to request one of the hoodies for myself.
Invoice Template:
I have created an invoice template, which will be useful due to the nature of the business. As it is freelance-based, I will send invoices to each individual or company that utilises my services. In the above template, I have used the example of one day being hired as a sound technician in a support-only role. Without invoices, I would most likely not be paid for my work.
Another great reason for having invoices is that it is much easier to keep track of expenditures and payments for tax purposes. This means that the tax self-assessment you do will be evidenced and easily worked out therefore saving time and effort. In future, if I hire an accountant they will find their job more straightforward too.
Risk Assessment:
This is a quantitative risk chart which I can use to assess how likely and fatal a risk on a job may be. This will enable me to create a coherent risk assessment and limit the possibility of injury or damage.
Risk assessments are detrimental to the business because without them there is no preparation for the prevention of possibly damaging events.
Contacts List:
- Jim Mitcham (Sound Engineer)
- Gail Simpkins (Venue Programmer)
- Luke Mayo (Sound Engineer)
- Alexey Newton (Sound Engineer/Performer/Producer)
- Sam Drake (Videographer)
- Danny Hardaker (Videographer)
- Rowan Stothard (Videographer)
- Sinead Campbell (Bradford Producing Hub Music Instigator/Performer)
- Lisa Mallaghan (Bradford Producing Hub Director/Performer)
- John Dey (Performer/Teacher)
- Eric Hayes (Performer/Producer/Teacher)
The above-mentioned people are all industry professionals that I already have a relationship with. Each one can be valuable for advice and possible work opportunities.