Key information
Date: 19 - 20 June 2025
Duration: 2 days
Format: In-person
Fee: £1,000 (no VAT is charged)
Sponsorship: The course is free for successful applicants with a saddlery or leathercraft business in the UK as they will be sponsored by The Worshipful Company of Saddlers (£250 refundable deposit required).
Faculty: Dr Sara Jones , Dr Ruben van Werven, Professor Costas Andriopoulous, Dr Jingshi Liu, and Dr Nettra Pan
Programme overview
The creative industries play an essential role both economically and culturally. Today, creative individuals find themselves at the forefront of innovation, expression, and entrepreneurship.
For someone with a specialist skillset who has spent time perfecting a craft, understanding business operations and strategy is essential for turning your talent into sustainable success.
Who is this short course for?
Whether you're a saddler, leatherworker, jewellery maker, artist, dressmaker, carpenter, or any creative business owner, this 2-day course from Bayes Business School will equip you with the skills and knowledge to take your business to the next level. Open to creative professionals from all sectors, it offers practical tools to help your business grow and thrive. Delivered by our leading academic experts, this short programme will help you better navigate the complexities of the business world.
Course overview
Day 1 AM – Creativity and Innovation in your Business
The morning will cover innovation in the context of a craft business, your business model and includes some practical exercises to get you thinking differently about the future of your business.
Delivered by Dr Sara Jones, Reader in Creative Interactive System Design, you will explore all areas of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Day 1 PM – Innovation for Scaling and Growth
The first part will be delivered by Dr Ruben van Werven, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship. During this session you will discuss the difference between growing and scaling, as well as the various types of external funding available to entrepreneurs who want to expand their businesses. The format for this discussion will be an interactive workshop, during which you will be asked to think about how the topics covered might apply to your own business.
The second part will be taught by Professor Costas Andriopoulos, Professor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. During this session, you will learn best practices for managing the innovation process, how to expand market reach and how you can use customer service as a source of competitive advantage.
Day 2 – Value Creation
The second day will be delivered by Dr Jingshi (Joyce) Liu, Lecturer in Marketing and Dr Nettra Pan, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship. You will gain new knowledge and skills to understand digital marketing and how to gain new customers.
In the first part, you will explore the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape and learn about utilising social media, paid advertising, and SEO and how to create content for these platforms.
Later in the day, you will learn about the properties of technology and recent
technological change and how these created new opportunities for value creation. You will discuss and learn what a futureproof version of your businesses could look like and what individual skills are needed to make this vision a reality.
Guest speaker Bill Amberg, one of the UK’s leading leather craftspeople, will share his practical insights into the craft industry as part of this day. A trustee of Cockpit Arts and the National Leather Collection, he also mentors and supports social enterprises. Bill holds honorary doctorates from UAL and the University of Northampton and is an honorary Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Leathersellers.
Sponsorship and Open Applications
Developed in partnership with the Worshipful Company of Saddlers to support UK saddlery and leathercraft businesses, this course is free for eligible UK-based businesses with Company sponsorship. Creative practitioners from any background are also welcome to apply, with places available for a fee of £1,000 (no VAT is charged).
