Creative Businesses in Brierley Hill

Questionnaire

1. Introduction

The White Room have been appointed by Brierley Hill Regeration Partnership
and other local partners to research the Arts & Creative Industry Sector in
Brierley Hill, and to produce a Creative Industry Strategy and Action Plan. As
part of the research we are undertaking a series of interviews with creative
businesses in the area to understand their:

Economic Impact
Demand and uptake of business support
Growth and barriers to growth
Skills levels within the company
Networks
Markets
Workspace needs
Information needs
Graduate placement opportunities

Blog – www.creativebrierleyhill.blogspot.com

Confidentiality. Only be used by The White Room as part of this research.

Any quotes will be anynomised if preferred.

2. About your Company

a) What does your company do (what services or products do you offer)?

b) When were you established?

c) Current no employees (FT, PT, and Freelance)

d) What was your turnover in the last financial year

(please indicate with a X)

Up to £5,000
£5,001 to £10,000
£10,001 to £25,000
£25,001 to £50,000
£50,001 to £100,000
 £100,001 to £250,000
£250,001 to £500,000
£500,001 to £1,000,000
£1,000,001 to £2,000,000
£2,000,001 to £5,000,000
£5,000,001 to £10,000,000

e) Over the last year, has your turnover:

(please indicate with a X)

i) Increased
ii) Stayed the same
iii) Decreased

f) In the next 5 years, do you expect your turnover to:

(please indicate with a X)

i) Increase
ii) Stay the same
iii) Decrease

g) Where are your clients / customers located?

(please indicate with a X)

i) Black Country
ii) West Midlands
iii) North of England
iv) London & the SE
v) Elsewhere in the UK
vi) Elsewhere overseas

3. Business support and skills development

a) Are you a member of any trade organisation or network?

b) Has your company used any of the following organisations for training or
business support within the past five years? (please indicate with a X)

A Further or Higher Education College

A University
Arts Council England
Business Link
Sector specific trade association
Someone else – please indicate

c) If you have accessed training or support within the past five years, please
indicated the nature of this support. (please indicate with a X)

Information services
Business advice
Business / sector networks
Finance / funding
Training / professional development
Mentoring

d) How effective was the support?

e) How easy was it to find out about what support was available to you?

f) Are there any skills gaps in your company that you’re unable to address
through existing training?

g) What support could be provided in future to help you achieve your

objectives?

4) Your business environment

a) What is the main reason your businesss is located where it is? (ie proximity
to owner’s residence, transport, close to customer, cheap)

b) What are your workspace needs? (office space, studio space, a mixture of
both)

c) Do you have any plans to relocate in the next 5 years? If so, please detail
why & where to.

5) The future
a) In the next 5 years, do you expect your turnover to:
(please indicate with a X)

i) Increase
ii) Stay the same
iii) Decrease

b) What do you think will be the key challenges that your sector will face over
the coming years? Please give brief details below.

c) Which of the following would you say are barriers to growth for your
enterprise or organisation?
(please indicate with a X)

Appropriate business premises

Access to finance
Access to sector-specific training, advice and information
Attracting and retaining talent / skilled staff
Limited market for your goods and services
Suitable business networks
Underdeveloped creative and cultural infrastructure
Geographical location

d) Finally, if you could change one thing that would help the creative economy
to grow in Brierley Hill, what would that be?

5. Thank you!

Please this survey email back to brierley.hill@yahoo.com