Task 8- Other considerations for business

Finance- what sources of funding exist within the creative industries?

One method of funding is through public investment, which can be acquired from many organisations such as:

• Arts Council England
• Creative England
• Arts Impact Fund
• BFI (British Film Institute)
• Innovate UK

These organisations will provide sufficient funds for those within the creative sector, though many provide this funding for very specific sector in the industry. For example, the BFI mainly provides funds for filming and media productions. 

Other creative businesses may fund themselves using personal resources, profits from an existing enterprise, a government grant, a bank loan or private investors.

Insurance- what types of insurance exist for the creative industries?

A highly important kind of insurance to have is Professional Indemnity Insurance (PI) which protects business owners, freelancers and the self-employed if clients were to claim their service was inadequate and possibly sue them. It will protect you if:

• You make any mistakes or the client claims that they've experienced financial loss as a result of your work
• You break the terms of a contractual agreement
• You become part of a dispute over intellectual property

A PI policy will cover defence costs if any of these situations were to arise. 

Another kind of insurance is Employers Liability Insurance (EL), which you are legally required to have if you take on staff, regardless of their permanent, part-time or freelance. This kind of insurance provides you with the cover needed if an employee were to injure themselves at work, as well as help pay for legal representation if a claim was brought against you.

Public Liability Insurance (PL) provides cover if either you or one of your employees causes injury or property damage to a third party. 

Business Equipment Insurance is especially important for creative industries as some form of expensive technologies and important pieces of equipment are often needed (e.g. filming equipment). This type of insurance will keep your equipment protected in case of loss, breakage or theft.

Tax Enquiry & Legal Expenses Insurance provides cover for representation costs if a HMRC (tax collection) investigation so you don't have to pay upfront yourself. It also covers:

• Employment disputes
• Legal defence
• Contract disputes
• Debt recovery
• Personal injury
• Property protection
• Tax protection
• Identity theft protection
• Statutory licence appeal
• Jury service and court attendance

Directors and Officers Liability insurance (D&O) helps with business founders of limited companies if they personally face legal action, fines or prison sentences. The legal representation is covered if the policy cover is triggered. 

Working from home- what are the considerations?

When working from home, employees may be able to claim tax relief for additional household costs such as gas and electricity, metred water and business phone calls, but only if they must work at home and it isn't a choice. Also, they can only claim it for the part that is relevant to their work. 

There are also specific requirements that also must be considered such as:

• Being contactable at certain times
• Working at certain hours
• Being more formally supervised
• Keeping a record of time keeping

These are put in place to to ensure people don't exceed the average working time limit and to ensure they're still doing a good amount of work. 

Home workers are also eligible to be supplied with equipment such as laptops and telephones, though it must be insured under the employee's own insurance. Employers also must ensure that home workers have sufficient work spaces at home with good health and safety standards.

Business rates- what are they?

Business rates are taxes paid on non-domestic properties such as shops, offices, pubs, warehouses, factories and holiday rental homes/guest houses. They are designed to help fund services in a local authority. They are calculated using a property's 'rateable value', which is a property's estimated value on the open market. 

Geography, transport and accessibility- does it matter where a company/organisation is based? Does distance matter?

Where a company/organisation is based is very important because there are many geographical factors that affect a business such as:

• Location: this can affect accessibility as it will be much easier for a consumers to access a business if it's in an urban area, such as a city or town, than if it were in a rural area. The more convenient it is to access a business, the more consumers will be interested in purchasing its products/services
• Population: if there is a larger population where a business is based, then the number of potential customers is higher 
• Other businesses: businesses need to consider what competition they may have within their area. If they're based somewhere with a lot of businesses with similar products/services, then they're less likely to be successful

Websites used:

https://cic-media.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/322389/creative-industries-routes-to-finance.pdf

https://www.caunceohara.co.uk/important-insurance-for-creative-media/

https://www.hiscox.co.uk/business-insurance/professional-indemnity-insurance/faq/what-is-professional-indemnity-insurance

https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home

https://www.questcover.com/resource-centre/hr-guides/attendance-management/working-at-home/

https://www.great-yarmouth.gov.uk/business-rates

https://www.gov.uk/introduction-to-business-rates

https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/knowledge/articles/2021/03/business-rates-guide-for-small-businesses/

https://prezi.com/nadknxxgyrhg/geographical-influences-upon-a-business/?frame=c1b3cadc0d892ea10d98a72f0a03d2262104b375