Master the money side of your creative business.
CREW’s CLIMB Course, Cashflow in the Creative Industries: Finance & Foundations for Business is now accepting applications.
CLIMB Courses offer targeted, flexible learning for entrepreneurs and SMEs across the creative digital ecosystem, focusing on the critical skills needed for market and business growth. They are a key part of CLIMB – Creative Leaders Innovating for Market & Business Growth, a wider programme of supports and tailored growth opportunities for high-potential digital creative businesses.
To see the full range of CLIMB Courses, head over to our CLIMB programme page.
About Cashflow in the Creative Industries: Finance & Foundations for Business
This is a hands-on, interactive short course is for creative entrepreneurs and businesses who want to get confident with their numbers, without having to navigate complex financial jargon. It covers the fundamentals of financial management (budgeting, financial planning, pricing and projections) and applying for tenders, providing practical templates and resources which enable you to navigate your finances with confidence. It also features a clinic with a creative industries tax specialist to offer support on specific tax queries relevant to your industry. Suitable for anyone in the creative industries who wants to strengthen their financial foundations and plan for sustainable growth.
Course Overview
This workshop reframes finance as a practical, creative, and empowering business tool, supporting participants to make informed decisions around budgeting, pricing, cashflow, and planning. Participants actively work on their own businesses throughout the session and leave with a practical financial toolkit they can continue to use independently.
Topics covered include:
- Reframing finance for creatives: Building confidence, reducing fear around numbers, and treating finance as a strategic tool for decision-making.
- Understanding your numbers: Introducing the core financial concepts every creative business needs to plan effectively and make informed decisions.
- Budgeting and financial planning: Reframing budgeting as a supportive planning tool. Covers monthly and project budgets, planning for irregular income, and scenario planning (best/realistic/worst case).
- Pricing & cashflow: Mastering these core concepts to sustain creative business: cost vs value-based pricing, building profit into prices, managing cashflow timing, late payments, and creating buffers.
- Financial projections: Understanding how pricing decisions directly affect projections, planning, and sustainability, and creating a simple 12-month projection.
- Integration: To ensure learning is applied beyond the workshop, with clear next steps and financial habits to implement.
An opportunity to avail of 1:1 advice on any queries relating to tax obligations and reporting with creative industries tax specialist Sarah Ryan (PwC)
Winning public sector work takes practice and skill. This workshop provides the resources and roadmap to refine your Go /No Go decision making process, as well as advising on how to prepare strong tender submissions.
Topics covered include:
- Understanding public procurement in Ireland
- Sourcing tender opportunities
- Understanding the Tender Documents
- Guidelines for successful tendering (10)
- Writing compelling tender submissions
- Navigating eTenders and submitting responses
Cashflow in the Creative Industries: Key Dates
- Application deadline: Tuesday March 24
- Course delivery dates: Thursday March 26, 9.30am – 4pm & Friday, March 27, 9.30am – 1pm
Key Details
- Location: This course is delivered in-person at CREW- Creative Enterprise West, ATU Galway City, Wellpark Road, H91 8K85.
- Facilitators: Shirley Havley (Halvey & Associates), Sarah Ryan (PwC) & and Donncha Hughes (Business Advisor)
- Cost: €160
The course is being offered to the SME at 20% of the market rate (the full programme is valued at €800) with the remaining 80% supported by Enterprise Ireland Smart Region scheme. In order to avail of this discounted rate, all applicants are asked to confirm that they have the appropriate De Minimis balance to accept the support. More information on De Minimums State Aid can be found here: State Aid | Enterprise Ireland
How to apply
You can apply for the course by filling out an application form by Tuesday March 24, which you can find here: https://crew.acceleratorapp.co/apply/program/climb-cashflow-finance-and-foundations
Please note that there are a limited number of spaces for this course. For more information contact Stephanie Ford, Programme Associate: Stephanie.ford@crewdigitial.ie
CLIMB Courses are delivered by CREW as part of the CLIMB programme and are co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Northern and Western Regional Programme 2021–27.
