My mission is to build your capabilities and transform your business.

You want to articulate your vision for the future and develop a strategy for the years ahead, but you are so busy keeping on top of things day to day you need help to make the leap.

Together we develop an implementation ready business plan to show you how to move forward – improving your execution, process efficiency and financials along the way.

I help build the capabilities of your people, strengthen your new business development strategies, create the environment for growth and, ultimately, build long term, sustainable relationships that ensure you are you placed on the client 'invite' list.

General Management - ad hoc or on a regular monthly basis

Supporting small studios with deep knowledge of the industry and decades of hands on experience at an hourly rate.

I understand your people, industry, work, process, marketplace & clients.

Your business employs a unique mix of people and talents. Building it will inspire and improve retention of your most respected and valuable staff. I've built my own successful businesses, developed creative service companies for others and have a high level of emotional intelligence. And I've been coaching and training for more than five years.

Sessions of 1.5 hours+ can be held on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis and are dependent on your requirements and the urgency of the issues that need to be addressed. Regular checkups keep you and your business on track.

I can help you meet your match.

You need another creative service to complement your pitch or client offering, to develop your new brand or to work with you on one of your own projects. I've developed a large network over 30+ years in the industry that continues to grow. Searching for a match for a sensitive or highly confidential project in an open and competitive marketplace can require discretion that demands much more than a LinkedIn search.

I make business-to-business introductions based on your brief, my knowledge of the creative services marketplace and an intuitive, emotional intelligence developed over many years spent matching creative businesses, personalities and skill sets.

I'm not a staff recruitment agent, I'll leave that to the experts. There is no placement fee, financial arrangement, guarantee or ongoing involvement on my part – unless you require strategic or project management assistance, which I am then happy to provide. Just a simple, one off fee for my service, based on an hourly rate.

Industry Speaking Engagements – Festivals & Seminars, Breakfasts or Lunches – experience to share.

As an experienced industry trainer and lecturer, I've done the work, managed the businesses, taught the students, trained the staff and built the capabilities of many design studios, ad agencies, architects and others.

Creative Business Coach is my third business and I'm willing to share what I've seen, done and learnt over 30+ challenging, stimulating and inspiring years in the business of being creative.

Tertiary Lectures & Seminars – educating from an industry perspective.

I've worked as a lecturer and in course development for Advertising and Communication Design higher education courses at the renowned Australian universities, RMIT and Swinburne, from 2007 to 2011. My industry insights have been incorporated into the content of many of the courses, to keep students up to date with industry expectations.

I am also available for guest lectures after having been a guest lecturer, industry assessor and curriculum advisor for Advertising Creative, Design and Applied Art programs at various other Melbourne universities.

Tertiary or Secondary Education Career Guidance – creating a career.

I'm available for group tutorials and, as an experienced university lecturer and industry professional, can answer many of the questions students have about a finding a job and developing a career in the creative industries.

Individual Career Counselling – opportunities & avenues.

We discuss your opportunities in the creative services industries and the avenues available to you when looking for a new job or a graduate position.

Interview Techniques – making the right impression.

I can help you present to the best of your ability. Show your prospective employer your work, who you are and how you think with confidence. Decrease your nervousness and learn how to open up the conversation.

Portfolio Preparation – what works & why.

I can show you how to prepare and present your portfolio in a powerful and logical way. I'll help you tell your story in a way that is clear and convincing.

Resume preparation – making credentials convincing.

I'll help you present your credentials in their best possible light. We'll work out what to include and what to leave out.

Coaching can help you find and sustain a competitive advantage.

Most staff are interested in three things:

• Company brand (culture, values and challenges)
• Interesting work (autonomy, challenges and advancement)
• Compensation (relative and absolute pay, location and lifestyle)

It sounds simple, but investing in your company culture and your people means more committed, enthusiastic, productive and innovative staff. That is what is needed to beat competitors day after day.

Absolutely! I could quote general coaching industry statistics but let's look at the sums instead.

Take a Business Development Manager's (BDM) sales or service target increase.

If you pay a BDM $100,000 per annum and expect that person to generate four times as much as their direct cost for the company, that is $400,000 in sales. If sales are currently $250,000 and you achieve an increase of 60%, you have $400,000 in sales.

That's an increase of $150,000. If new biz dev coaching costs you $10,000, you have an ROI of 14 times your investment. If you achieve only a $50,000 increase, you still have an ROI of 4 times the investment.

Staff retention is also a good example, in terms of measurement. It generally costs 1.5 times the salary of a person to replace them. In addition to the position salary, which you often have to increase at replacement time, there are advertising costs, recruitment agency fees, indirect costs such as loss of business and productivity lost while reviewing resumes, arranging appointments, interviewing, reference checking, raising contracts, managing induction and bringing new staff up to speed, which can take up to six months.

Good staff often take knowledge and experience of your organisation and of your clients' brands to your competitors. The loss of a well-regarded staff member can disrupt business and lower team morale. While you are spending time replacing them with someone who may or may not work out, you could take your eye off the ball, risking client dissatisfaction.

If you pay a designer $100,000 per annum, the average cost of replacing that person is $150,000. If you invest $10,000 in coaching, consulting or training to ensure that you improve your company culture and skill base – and so that staff understand their roles and potential career path – this will improve performance, which reduces turnover, increases productivity and raises morale. You also have an ROI of 4 times the investment ($50,000 being the additional cost to replace the employee).

I have a deep understanding of the creative industry and a solid track record. Check my client testimonials to find out what I have delivered for them.

I can set up the environment for growth but, like all things, what you put into it is what you get out of it. So part of what I do is help you maintain your enthusiasm and passion by supporting you with regular coaching sessions, Facebook, the Grow with Jo newsletter and B2B Matchmaker.

We all know what happens when paid work is on. We drop everything and focus on the job at hand. We are busy working 'in the business' and somehow don't get around to working 'on the business'.

The commitment to regular sessions helps you maintain focus on your own business development, which guarantees results for the long term.

Often a combination of all three disciplines achieves the best results. Consultation is focused on addressing specific issues and solving immediate problems. I use a strategic three phase approach. It's often intensive, involves preparation of a comprehensive strategy for the way forward and provides the 'leg up' you need to carry on independently. I also consult on an ad hoc basis at an hourly rate.

Coaching is job focused and performance orientated, directing a person towards an agreed end result. Coaching explores ideas and leads you to your own best solutions for the way forward. For example, improving client service through development of creative critiques, written proposals, presentation techniques, project management, estimating, production scheduling, research skills or biz dev strategy planning.

Mentoring focuses on specific staff members and their careers to support individual growth and maturity. For example, those with more experience working with a less experienced creative or account service person, providing honest feedback and passing on hard won knowledge for the development of their craft.

Tutoring is subject orientated and focuses on improving specific knowledge or skills. I work with universities, students and graduates as a tutor and career counsellor, providing guidance on portfolio preparation, resume development and interview techniques.

Since January 2021 I've worked with ad agencies, brand strategists, copywriters, design studios, digital agencies, film production companies, literary services and editors, marketing companies, photographers and template designers. But that's not all. Like many, when Covid slowed things down a little, I spent time on my side hustle. I finished "Along the Road to Gundagai, the Biography of Jack O'Hagan" (famous Australian songwriter and my grandfather), which I've been chipping away at for the last ten years. If I'd known how much work was involved I probably wouldn't have started! The editing process has been fascinating. It's always great to learn new things. It keeps the mind sharp. I'm pitching to publishers now. And I developed 4 products for Gundagai Visitor Information Centre - on sale now - with two more product concepts in development. Early 2022 has brought global and local disruption with war in Ukraine, rising Covid numbers, an Australian Federal election, an energy crisis and inflation, to mention just a few, but it has also brought greater freedom as we learn to live with the pandemic, a growing economy, the fabulous Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Grand Prix and Rising Festival that brought life back to the city, and several new design studio clients to my door that I love working with. I'm counting my blessings.

The last few years have all been busy for Creative Business Coach, especially 2020. Covid-19 and lock downs forced many to reassess what they do, how they do it and where they do it. Agencies and studios restructured, rearranged and improved their time management and lean accounting. Many had to think outside of the square. Freelancers decided to set up that studio they'd always wanted to run, while they had time to reposition in the marketplace. International and national businesses felt more comfortable working remotely than ever before. During the last year I've worked with ad agencies, architects and property visualisation studios, brand strategists, design studios, digital agencies, film production companies, literary services and editors, personal branding specialists and website designers. Let's see what 2021 brings. Happy New Year.

Many of my clients are already focusing on the looming New Year. I wish you all a happy festive season. Enjoy your holidays, however brief, and get some essential Vitamin D so you can hit the ground running in 2018.

Stepping outside my typical creative services comfort zone to work with magician and critical thinking expert Nicholas J Johnson has been fantastic. It's always great to open your mind and learn new things. It was a mutually beneficial experience and fun as well.

Great to refresh for a week in Byron Bay with family and another week in Bali with friends. Ready for the next quarter.

Clients come out of the woodwork for annual financial planning and budget development. It's a great time to review your human resources, capacity and rates and set new challenges.

Hit the ground running from Boxing Day 2016 and didn't look up until June 2017. Handling the diversity of my clients over this six month period was challenging - from high end to micro design studios, ad agencies, animators, digital studios, graffiti artists, interior designers, photographers and creative recruiters to template and document designers. It certainly kept me on my toes.

This issue is all about TRUST – the foundation of all great relationships. We talk about how to back up claims to shift your prospect's focus from the cost to the value of your design service. If you'd like a copy email me directly or subscribe.

Need some super food for that tired brain? Take a quick trip down to Hobart.

There's nothing like spending a whole day immersed in ideas, old and new art, the fascinating and the confrontational - in the extraordinary environment of MONA.

Once on the camouflaged ferry, we know we were in for a really 'cool' day. We talk about WWI dazzle ships, Jimi Hendrix plays loud and clear at 9.30am and 'sheep' chairs grace the deck. The driver's running commentary blows away in the cold wind.

We climb the 90 stairs and warm up to the day on the trampoline. It has bells. Large and small.

Fender Katsalidis' building is dramatic and moody, with exquisite attention to detail and warm, earthy materials – rock, rust and sandstone. Nothing has been overlooked. It's a masterpiece. I can't imagine how challenging and satisfying it must have been to design this building, its environs and the timeless pavilion.

The descent is down a deep spiral staircase to a subterranean bar – not too early for champagne but too early for me. You work your way back through three levels of galleries to the earth's surface in your own sweet way.

There are no descriptors. An iPod touch visitor's guide, with headphones, locates nearby artwork and shares information, 'Artwank' curatorial descriptions, David Walsh's 'Gonzo' commentary, audio interviews with the artists and music – all stimulating and sometimes hilarious – but what I loved most was the juxtaposition of the work, at once disorientating, fascinating and fun.

Joanna Kane's portrait of William Wordsworth from a life mask overlooked the Egyptian Mummy and coffin of Ta-Sheret-Min, which was right next to Stephen Shanabrook's The Moth Collection, remnants from heroin and crack use with a media link to a rockin' song, 'Don't...' by Damian Cowell.

Enough people have written about MONA and the work within its walls, from artists like Sidney Nolan, John Perceval, Arthur Boyd, Brett Whiteley, Wim Delvoye, Damien Hirst, Polly Borland, Greg Taylor and so many more. The collection is great but for me Richard Flanagan captured MONA most beautifully in an article for The Monthly,

'In its free-flowing associations, MONA owes as much to the web as it does to the past, and a visitor doesn't so much visit MONA as surf it. It is as if the museum in its entirety is the artwork.'

We stayed all day, missed the last ferry and took a cab back to Hobart for some killer cocktails at The Glass House. Serious fun. Five stars from me.

This is becoming a habit.

It's the fourth time I've been invited to do a training seminar on for AGDA's Spit 'n' Polish. I spent 14 October with Melbourne designers at CATC – Billy Blue College of Design presenting three training sessions – The Value of Your Brief, Quoting – an Art and a Science and Deadlines & Accountability. It was a good day with an enthusiastic and diverse group prepared to give up their Saturday to improve their client management skills. Our focus was on simple and effective ways to make and save money by managing both clients and projects for good returns and high profitability. Some of the things we covered were how to:

• build your new business development strategy into the brief
• protect both your own and your client's interests in your quotes
• articulate your strategic thinking and charge for it
• reconcile projects and gather insights for the ongoing profitability of your business

I was invited to speak about Great Client Management at the AGDA Design Means Business event on September 14th, along with Greg Branson, Design Business Council, Michele Dowdle, Sladen Legal and writer Andrew Pegler. It was a great night with the Melbourne design community. Here's a brief synopsis of my talk:

Account directors and managers are responsible for managing client relationships and expectations. They represent the voice of the client to the studio and the voice of the studio to the client. Like an agent, they grow the relationship and work towards the best possible project outcomes for both sides. Great relationships are built on the trust that you are immersed in your client's business and sector, can share valuable strategies and insights, and will nurture the relationship from initial contact to after sales service and beyond.

I've been planting seeds for years in an attempt to bring my grandfather's story and music back into focus. My friend and neighbour, radio pioneering and sound recording legend, Bill Armstrong, provided unwavering support and enthusiasm. Bill introduced me to Barry Humphries a few years ago and I could not have wished for two greater champions than these.

As artistic director of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2015, Barry Humphries celebrated the legendary Peter Dawson and Jack O'Hagan in the world premier of Peter & Jack on 7 June. I spent several weeks working on the show with Barry, the writer/director, Rodney Fisher, and the musical director, Vanessa Scammel.

Jack O'Hagan wrote many wonderful songs. Australian standards Along the Road to Gundagai, Where the Dog Sits on the Tuckerbox and Our Don Bradman. But it was the songs and stories that are almost forgotten that show what a great talent Jack was. As Barry Humphries said to me when we met, 'If Jack had been born in America, he would have been world famous'.

Learn more at www.jackohagan.com.au, see pics in the 2015 event gallery and watch Jack perform his own songs on film in 1931.

I spent 12 July with 20 designers at CATC – Billy Blue College of Design presenting three sold out training sessions – The Value of Your Brief, Quoting – an Art and a Science and Deadlines, Accountability & Job Reconciliation for the Australian Graphic Design Association. It was a good day with an enthusiastic and diverse group prepared to give up their Saturday to improve their client management skills. Our focus was on simple and effective ways to make and save money by managing both clients and projects for good returns and high profitability. Some of the things we covered were how to:

• build your new business development strategy into the brief
  
• protect both your own and your client's interests in your quotes
  
• articulate your strategic thinking and charge for it
  
• reconcile projects and gather insights for the ongoing profitability of your business.

Luckily, the college had another workshop on the same day with excess catering so we all got a fabulous free lunch as well. Thanks Billy Blue! www.billyblue.edu.au

On 21st June I have the opportunity to pitch a personal project I've been working on for several years now - Along the Road with Jack O'Hagan, The biography of a great Australian songwriter. I had three minutes to pitch to either a publisher or a literary agent. Now I know what I put my students through for all those years as a lecturer at Swinburne with 5 minute brand presentations for their final year assessments! Fingers crossed it gets picked up.

From July to October 2013 we worked together on Business Strategy, Business Structure and Service Capability. Providing in-depth consulting as a TAS (Training Advisory Service) consultant through Enterprise Connect to the Seesaw management team was a great experience that helped reposition the business and resulted in a rebranding exercise that is about to be launched. In the meantime, check out www.facebook.com/seesawstudiomelb and instagram.com/seesawstudio

See Anita Ryley's testimonial

For the last three years I have been given the opportunity to lecture on 'Finance and Creative Business' to a mix of students across communication design, photography and fashion at The Academy of Design Australia. We discuss that old chestnut 'Will your passion support you?' as part of their business feasibility study project. www.designacademy.edu.au

The beginning of a new financial year is often a good time to take a fresh look at things. At Rare Identity, a Sydney studio specialising in the property, corporate and financial sectors, we undertook a review of account service operations and company procedures. We held staff reviews and developed an action plan that covered items ranging from database training, brief formats, promotion, team professional development and quality control. Check them out here rareid.com.au

It was a real privilege to have an office in The Dome of The State Library of Victoria for the year of my Creative Fellowship to work on the biography of my grandfather, Along the Road with Jack O'Hagan. The collegiate atmosphere and the support from the staff of the SLV was wonderful. The Dome is the most beautiful room in Melbourne. The book feels like a never-ending project but one day it will be finished. It's hard to complete such a huge project while working at the same time. The context for the story of the man and his music is the enormous advancement in media technology during the 20th century in Australia from silent film to talkies, the introduction of radio and recording, theatre to advertising and of course the launch of TV. 'Helluva ride' as Jack would say.

Together we undertook a major overhaul of the Oomf infrastructure which resulted in a new recruitment database, new internal job descriptions, business development targets, reporting procedures and greater staff engagement. If you need creative staff check out Oomf here www.oomf-recruit.com

Good to see another of our marketing strategies kick in for Loop 8. A 2012 ARCHITEAM Residential Alterations category High Commendation was awarded for Loop 8's collaborative inner city apartment renovation with Sean Van Der Velden. Check out The Lily Pad. Congrats to Glenn Irwin.

It's always great to my current and past clients on a winning streak.

Tank Branding won an AGDA award for the Loop 8 identity and is also featured as a winner in the 2011 Brand New Awards publication (USA).

Studio Binocular won a 3D Design award for Queens Park Wayfinding signage.

Sweet Creative won an identity award for Ilbijerri Theatre Company branding.

Congrats to everyone!

I've been fortunate to be awarded a study grant to work on my other passion – the story of my grandfather, Jack O'Hagan, MBE, a Melbourne composer of Irish background and one of Australia's most prolific composers of popular music. The biography/autobiography will document his life and great legacy to Australian social culture and musical heritage from 1920-1968.

From Australian classics such as Along The Road To Gundagai, to quite literally hundreds of other popular songs, musicals, film scores, and radio jingles, the music of Jack O'Hagan was the soundtrack of Australia for a nation still bleeding from the Great War, dancing through the Jazz Age, and then hauling itself out of the Depression.

Most Australians know the songs Along The Road to Gundagai, Where The Dog Sat On The Tuckerbox and Our Don Bradman. His career spanned huge changes in 20th century technology – from sheet music to silent movies, talkies, theatre, recording, and the introduction of radio and TV. Jack's legacy is huge and will be celebrated.

Visit the State Library of Victoria website.

Tank Meets Loop 8

Once an agent...after taking a Brand Workshop with Glenn Irwin of Loop 8 Architects and developing the sales and marketing strategy for the company, I introduced Glenn to another of my clients – Tank Branding. Tank created a brand and website that resulted in a great new look for Loop 8 Architects and a High Commendation at the 2011 MADC Awards.

LOOP 8 ARCHITECTS REBRAND (Desktop Magazine)

TANK has designed a brand identity for Melbourne-based Loop 8 Architects which works on multiple levels: a symbol communicating Loop 8's collaborative approach and a living brandmark that can embrace new colours and photography.

The brandmark highlights Glenn and his team's collaborative ethos. The figure 8 became a symbol to communicate Loop 8's methodology, a visual device showcasing the continuous links through their work and a living, fluid symbol that can evolve over time and surprise the viewer each time they saw it.

According to Jim Antonopoulos, executive creative director of TANK, "We were delighted to work with an architectural firm with a collaborative philosophy similar to our own. Our strategy included the development of a brand identity that was both meaningful and will continually evolve, just like a good business relationship, keeping the visual imagery contemporary and fresh over the years to come. We worked with Glenn Irwin [Loop 8's principal architect] and his business development consultant Jo Gilbert to understand the business and develop an identity that was both unique and meaningful." – Desktop Magazine

loop8.com.au