Since 2017, the Business Connect program has provided workshops and mentorship services to creative businesses and freelancers in New South Wales. Now, the NSW Treasury has cut the program in its entirety, effective 30 September. There will be no replacement.
For the past eight years, Creative Plus Business (C+B), has been the specialist creative industries provider for the Business Connect program, which is delivered via Service NSW. In a report on the program’s outcomes, C+B Director Monica Davidson said the scheme filled that ‘profound gap between what creative professionals need and what they have’.
Davidson added: ‘It was the only state-wide program that comprehensively addressed the business challenges faced by freelance and self-employed creative professionals as a result of this inevitable “gig economy”. It was also the only program that brought together creatives from every corner of the cultural ecosystem for peer support and learning.’
Given the unique role of the program, the question is, why end it? ArtsHub caught up with Davidson to look at the Creative Impact Report tabled this week on 4 November.
Business Connect legacy – quick links
Key outcomes of the Business Connect program
Running from 2017 to 2025, the Business Connect program was funded with $3.8 million from the NSW Small Business portfolio and delivered through Service NSW. It made a profound contribution to the state’s creative ecosystem. This is what that impact looks like on paper:
- 17,818 creative practitioners and arts businesses received support
- $3.8 million effectively distributed as a kind of micro-grant for business advice, support and training, equivalent to $224 per participant
- 94% of clients reported an improvement to their main business issue as a result of the creative business advisory services
- 3,818 clients received ongoing, confidential mentoring and advice
- 13,300 participated in workshops and webinars on small business skills, financial literacy, marketing and well-being
- In-person workshops delivered across 49 locations in NSW
- 98% of participants ranked the workshops ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’
- Two-thirds of participants were from outside the Sydney metropolitan area
- Almost a quarter of participants were under 30 years of age, demonstrating a high demand for business skills development and guidance from younger creatives
C+B Director Monica Davidson reflects: ‘For the last 8 years, we have provided the only whole-of-sector small business support program for the creative industries in Australia. Our mission was to foster small business, creative entrepreneurialism and job creation across the state. We are immensely proud of the collective impact we achieved in helping creative practitioners build more sustainable and resilient pathways for themselves and others.’
Testimonials speak to real world impact
The Executive Director of Arts Northern Rivers, Jane Fuller, writes in support of the program: ‘As a RADO [Regional Arts Development Organisation] and service organisation, we want to acknowledge the outstanding work you and your team have done through this program.
‘The quality, depth, and relevance of the support provided has been a real asset to creative businesses in our region, and your commitment has made a tangible difference to so many. It is deeply disappointing to see this program come to an end, as we can clearly see the gaps it will leave.’
Another organisation that benefited was Made in the West Creative. Director Misty McPhail says: ‘When we first met with Monica through the Business Connect program in 2020, we were running Made in the West purely as a volunteer-run community festival event. With her guidance, we’ve launched and developed a social enterprise with a clear business structure, paying clients, and part-time staff.
‘This transformation simply wouldn’t have been possible without the expert, creative-focused advice we received through the program – advice we could never have afforded otherwise.’
Support was not exclusive to organisations, and also offered life-changing opportunities for individual practitioners. Musician and disability advocate and consultant Morwenna Collett states in the report: ‘Working with Creative Plus Business has been absolutely invaluable to my success. Running a small, creative business can be quite isolating and it’s just not possible for me to be an expert in everything, so it’s been brilliant to be able to work with a team of such trusted advisors to mentor me through the challenges and possibilities of sustaining and growing a business.’
Visual artist and Archibald Prize finalist Michael Simms echoes the praise for the program: ‘I have experienced first hand the life-changing impact the organisation has on creative practitioners…The resources, networking events, guidance and mentorship I received have enabled me to successfully grow a sustainable career as a professional visual artist.’
Participation in NSW Business Connect via artform
The NSW Business Connect was the only cross-sector state-funded program in Australia designed to provide professional development and support for practitioners from all areas of creative industry.
The Creative Impact Report states support went to:
- 15% design in all its forms
- 14% screen, media and broadcasting
- 9% writing and publishing
- 5% live music and recording
- 4% fashion and styling
Read: Arts Workforce Scoping Study interim findings indicate crisis across sectors
Business Connect: Why business skills are essential for creatives
According to the 2024 Creative Australia report Artists as Workers, as many as 78% of creatives will work across multiple types of employment. Portfolio careers in the creative gig economy are typically peppered with short-term contracts, freelancing and self-devised projects. However, most report that they don’t have the ability to safely and effectively navigate this life, with 41% saying their business skills are ‘non-existent’.
As government funding via grant systems becomes increasingly competitive, driven by niche categories, and, simply, less money in the pool, business skills are ever-more necessary for creative practitioners wanting to fine-tune their activities to be more sustainable.
The ANA Report Government, Culture and Creativity highlighted the importance of government action to strengthen cultural access and foster robust cultural industries, in addition to direct funding. Creative Plus Business and the NSW Business Connect program were specifically cited in this report as an example of ‘pro-culture’ enablers that are ‘cheaper, easier and more effective’ than direct funding.
C+B’s Creative Impact Report states: ‘Without Business Connect, the NSW creative industries have lost a significant form of infrastructure that has profoundly impacted as many as 5% of our creative workers.’
Key Business Connect programs
Business Connect supported the delivery of the 2022 Northern Rivers Creative Industries Recovery Forum following the region’s devastating flood disaster. Arts Northern Rivers spearheaded the two-day event, which was hosted in Lismore and laid the foundations for a sector-led recovery.
Further program highlights include regular presentations at Vivid Ideas Sydney from 2017 to 2021, including Industrial evolution, which looked at new technology integration; I Will Survive, launched a week after Covid lockdowns; and Slashies, looking at portfolio careers.
In mid 2023, C+B also delivered a targeted initiative called the 50 Plan Project to support creative businesses in NSW affected by disasters such as floods, bushfires and the Covid pandemic. It exceeded its target with 76 participants subscribing to this program, well above the goal of 50.
Realities of continuing the Business Connect program
The Creative Impact Report underscores the importance of specialist, tailored business support as a critical form of infrastructure for the creative sector.
‘The end of the Business Connect program has been very challenging but Creative Plus Business is proud of the impact the program had and the number of people we helped,’ Davidson tells ArtsHub.
‘We’re working hard to find a solution that will continue to provide small business support for the creative professionals of NSW. We are also rolling out a version of the program in South Australia with funding from the Office of Small and Family Business, and we have our paid workshop and mentoring services as well.
Davidson adds emphatically: ‘C+B is not going anywhere! We’re still going strong and excited about our 10th birthday next year.’
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