From Passion to Profession: Encouraging Young Creatives to Pursue Self-Employment
- Ollie England
- Jan 28
- 4 min read
For as long as art and media have been taught in schools, there has always been a tension between promoting creative activities and preparing people for “a real job”. There has been a century of conservatism over what is a ‘soft subject’ and what is ‘academic’, and it has been a career-long frustration for me watching politicians and newspapers downplay art, design and media education as 'Mickey Mouse’ subjects, even when reports constantly confirm that learning about digital culture can have a “profound impact”. But I’m not here to talk about education – I’m here to talk about talent.
It seems obvious that given the financial crisis, the COVID pandemic and the rising interest in people working-from-home (WFH), young people are looking to find other routes to employment. So it is even more ironic now that a growing number of young people who have creative talents are actually more prepared for becoming self-employed and starting their own businesses. The question for me is: how can we help them?
Becoming self-employed – either as a business owner, a sole trader or working freelance – can be a scary prospect for any young person. Especially when they have been taught for years at schools they need to have ‘work experience’ to help them find a ‘career’. So much of careers guidance for young people (where it exists) is aimed at helping people write CVs, preparing for interviews and looking at traineeships, apprenticeships and thinking about ‘career management’[1] – which is all well-meaning and will be helpful to certain people
But what about the young people that do not want a traditional job or would struggle fitting into a corporate environment. Self-employment seems like a massively overlooked option, which is a shame as it would clearly be the most appealing option for a number of young people. Especially those with neurodiversity and other disabilities that would be a barrier to a harsh and unforgiving jobs market.
There are many advantages to self-employment for young people with these challenges[2]:
Flexibility – allows for people to accommodate their impairments or conditions and avoid a challenging 9-5 routine. Business owners can also choose the ‘speed’ of growth for their company or ambitions.
Wellbeing – flexible working can lead to people being more conscious of their needs and lead to higher productivity when people are in the right mindset to work.
No Commute – working remotely can be a great advantage of people who struggle with travel and long working days
Community – growing opportunities to align with like-minded people in similar positions can be a real positive experience for people who find networking/socialising difficult.
Geography – having control over your own employment means that you do not have to relocate to a bigger city and can remain where you feel most comfortable.
It is no surprise to me that research has shown that there are higher entrepreneurial rates of graduates with a known disability.[3] But a huge benefit of working as a Creative in digital roles (illustrators, designers, animators, videographers, web developers etc) is that you do not need a certificate to prove that you have skills. I have interviewed dozens of creatives across BCP and Dorset and 100% of them told me that grades and university degrees did not matter, they only care about your creative skills.
So what are some of the obvious challenges to young people starting their own business or becoming a freelancer?
Financial – young people often lack the economic freedom to launch a business or they might lose access to welfare support by affecting their income (I have a whole blog on this coming out soon)
Networking – Many young people lack a starting point to meet clients or find work and are intimidated (or priced out of) networking events
Sick Pay – working for yourself means that you aren’t entitled to holiday or sick pay.
Regulations – a lot of the rules and regulations are complex and can be overwhelming for neurodivergent people. Insurance, taxes and policies need to be explained in a straightforward and thoughtful way.
The good news is that there are more options than ever for helping young people get support in working for themselves. And it is becoming obvious that many young people want to stay where they already live in order to find meaningful work.[4] GreenShark is here to help exactly these people.
There are a number of other amazing organisations, charities and support networks across the south coast that are supporting underrepresented groups to self-employment. So here on this blog over the coming months we are going to be interviewing and profiling them to showcase what they do. All of them share the same basic principles that we do:
Vulnerable young people need clear and obvious guidance for independence and employment.
Creative talent is more important than academic qualifications for finding digital work
Self-employment is an empowering option for young people with SEND and other disabilities.
BCP, Dorset and Hampshire can be ideal places to start a business and interact with local communities of like-minded people.
If you are part of an organisation that offers self-employment guidance / support or are a young person or parent who wants to talk more about this subject than please get in touch via email or below in the comments.
[1] https://www.thecdi.net/CDI/media/Write/Documents/CDI_120-Career_Guidance_in_Schools-2021-FINAL.pdf
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