Category: Free Workshops

To help you develop your business in good times and bad, we’ve launched a series of FREE one-day workshops throughout the UK. Look out for emails from your unions and from FEU Training. Workshop details below.

Creative Productivity – 3 June, Manchester

Posted on

Free workshop for members

The date and time: 3 June, 10.00am-4.00pm

The venue:
Band on the Wall
25 Swan Street
Manchester
M4 5JZ

Improve your time management, remove distractions and zoom through the chores of being freelance. Turn your To Do list into something you enjoy – and do – instead of just dread. Become the one everybody turns to because you never forget anything and you always deliver.

This workshop will help you understand how you work and what you can do to make better use of your limited time, become more productive and feel in control.

Apply online by 26 May

Workshop content

This workshop will help you understand how you work and what you can do to make better use of your limited time, become more productive and feel in control.

Filled with practical advice and time saving tips, the workshop covers:

  • Multitasking – how it can be bad for creatives and what you can do about it
  • Priorities – the difference between urgent and important
  • To Do lists – turning them from something you hate and avoid into something useful
  • How preparation can make you more efficient
  • Computers – time-saving tools that will make your life easier.

Who should attend

Those who are not getting enough done in their working week and are feeling that their work is controlling them rather than vice versa.

Expected learning outcomes

  • A better understanding of how to manage your time and become more productive
  • A better understanding of how to balance your creative and business work
  • Knowledge of how to quickly dispense with chores so more of your time is spent on your talent
  • Specific computer knowledge about what tools will help you and how to use them.

Tutor: William Gallagher

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself.

NOTE: if we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap.

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand. All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a few days of this date.

Further enquiries
e: [email protected]
t: 07710 240585

 

Blogging for Creative Freelances – 2 June, Manchester

Posted on

Free workshop for creative freelance members

The date and time: 2 June, 10am-4pm

The venue:
Band on the Wall
25 Swan Street
Manchester
M4 5JZ

Everybody tells you that you must have a website and you must have a blog but nobody tells you how – or why. In this workshop you will learn the key steps to creating your blog but, more importantly, what you can use one for and how it will become an important part of your creative work.

That’s true whether you’re a writer, journalist, musician or actor: you are already creating work that blogs can showcase and you will benefit from reaching audiences through a well constructed, targeted blog. This workshop will tell you how.

Apply Online by 25 May

Workshop Content

Filled with practical advice and time-saving tips, this workshop covers:

  • the choices you need to make before setting up your blog
  • what exactly to blog about
  • how to reach an audience that matters for all your creative work
  • what to do with that audience – how to engage with them
  • using your blog to make your website fresh
  • creating new material and reasons to contact your clients.

Who should attend?

Those who have thought about writing a blog but are not sure how or really certain why it will help and those who have already started blogging but need help in making their blogs more focused and effective.

Expected learning outcomes

  • a better understanding of what blogs can and cannot do for you
  • knowledge of how to quickly create and regularly update blogs
  • a better understanding of how to exploit your blog and build your audience
  • specific computer knowledge about what tools will help you and how to use them.

Tutor: William Gallagher

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself. NOTE: 1. If we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap. 2. At the workshop, we are required to undertake a short equality & diversity survey. The information provided will be treated in the strictest of confidence and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and will help in our commitment to E & D.

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand. All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a couple of days of this date.

Further enquiries
e: [email protected]
t: 07710 240585

Run a successful social media campaign – 18 May, London

Posted on

Free workshop for members

Time: 10.30am to 4.30pm

Venue:
Equity
Guild House
Upper St Martin's Lane
WC2H 9EG

Social media can be a powerful means of getting your message across and raise awareness of what you do. This one-day workshop will take you step-by-step through running a successful campaign.

Apply online by 8 May

Workshop content

If you are promoting your work or an event, fundraising for a project, or highlighting an important issue, social media provides a powerful means of getting your message across and can be especially useful for freelances who want to try new ways to raise awareness of their work and related issues on a limited budget.

Who should attend

This workshop is aimed at those with experience of using social media but who feel they haven’t exploited its full potential.

Expected learning outcomes

The day will follow three simple steps:

Plan it

  • How to establish a foundation for social media engagement
  • How to identify the right social media channel for the right message
  • How to establish the objectives, branding and key messages for your campaign
  • How to plan and schedule engaging content for your campaign

Do it

  • How to manage your social media updates across Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms
  • How to monitor activity and respond to community reaction
  • How to be ready for any negative feedback
  • How to maintain momentum beyond the official end of the campaign

Review it

  • How to measure the results of your campaign using simple tools and metrics

What should I bring?

You will need to bring a laptop, tablet or smartphone. Computers are not provided. The workshop focuses on tutoring, discussion and group-based exercises.

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself.

NOTE: if we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap.

Tutor: Dan Mason

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand. All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a few days of this date.

Further enquiries e: [email protected] t: 07580 348726

How to drive traffic to your website – 17 May, London

Posted on

Free workshop for members

Time
11am-5pm

Venue
Musicians' Union
60-62 Clapham Road
London
SW9 OJJ

APPLY ONLINE BY 7 May

Workshop content

To maximise your website potential as an online marketing tool, it’s essential that you do everything possible to ensure that your audience can easily find and access it.

This one-day workshop quickly goes beyond the usual focus on search engines (though they are still covered) to understand the growing importance of social optimisation…creating stories and links that stand the best chance of being shared through social channels to build your online presence. It includes:

  • Reviewing basic optimisation skills to ensure your words, images and videos stand the best chance of being found online
  • Understanding how search engines work; the difference between on-page and off-page search engine optimisation
  • Exploring the tricks and techniques used by growing websites and blogs for encouraging greater levels of engagement
  • Understanding what kind of content does – and doesn’t – get promoted on Facebook’s newsfeed and on Twitter
  • Exploring how to encourage sharing through the use of email
  • Creating a schedule of shareable content for your own website or blog
  • Understanding how to measure your success

Who should attend?

Only those freelances who have a website, are familiar with social media and are now looking to build their web presence and improve their ability to draw more traffic to their website.

Expected learning outcomes

  • A greater knowledge of how to get found online
  • A greater awareness of what content works to engage your audience
  • An understanding of key online tools available to create shareable content
  • A greater ability to build your online presence.

Workshop format

Computers are not provided and are not a requisite as this workshop focuses on tutoring, discussion and group-based exercises. However you are welcome to bring laptops, tablets or iPhones if you wish to try out the methods discussed in realtime.

Tutor: Dan Mason


POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself.

NOTE: if we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap.

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand. All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a few days after the deadline.

Further enquiries

e: [email protected]
t: 07710 240585

How to shoot and edit video with an iPhone or iPad – 16 May, London

Posted on

Free workshop for members

The date and time:
16 May, 10.30am to 4.30pm

The venue:
Musicians’ Union,
60-62 Clapham Road,
London SW9 OJJ

This one-day workshop will help you unlock the potential of your iPhone or iPad as a powerful tool for planning and creating high quality video.

Apply online by 6 May

Workshop content

Do you want professional looking videos to showcase your work on your website, a snappy intro video for your blog or maybe you want to make a video marketing story for a client?

Whatever your purposes, you will be guided step by step through how to take better mobile photographs, combining them with audio to create an audio slideshow, then - with an understanding of the importance of good images and sound firmly in place - creating simple videos, sequences and stories.

The day will focus on using your iPhone (5 or 6) camera or iPad/iPad mini plus the iMovie app to edit video. Along the way, you will also discover some of the best kit to use plus iOS app alternatives used by the professionals.

Who should attend

This workshop is aimed at creative freelances, journalists, bloggers or anyone interested in learning or improving their ability to make professional videos. No prior knowledge of professional video shooting or editing is required.

Expected learning outcomes

By the end of the day you will:

  • Learn the essentials of mobile photography
  • Edit and share images using free mobile apps
  • Create an audio slideshow with images and (music and recorded voice)
  • Shoot video interviews that look great online, using professional approaches to lighting and the shooting environment
  • Understand the key principles of video storytelling
  • Create sequences of video clips that build into a snappy intro video or video news story
  • Edit video on your mobile using iMovie
  • Transfer clips over the internet and upload video to sharing sites such as YouTube

What should I bring?

You will need to bring your own iPhone (5 or 6) or iPad/iPad mini. You must have the iMovie app (£2.99 or free on new mobiles) already installed. Other apps may be downloaded during the workshop, so please bring your password for the app store so that you can download apps. Please check that your software is up to date (go to Settings > General > Software Update).

We have a limited number of basic tripods and mounts for use during the workshop. However, if you’d like to do this course using an iPad or iPad Mini it would be advantageous to bring your own mount.

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself.

NOTE: if we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap.

Tutor: Dan Mason

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand. All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a few days of this date.

Further enquiries

e: [email protected]
t: 07580 348726

Effective communication – 29 April, London

Posted on

Free workshop for members

From convincing someone to commission your work to asking for better terms and conditions, this workshop will help you develop your communication skills so that you achieve better and more consistent results.

The date and time:
29 April 10.30am to 4.30pm

The venue:
Musicians’ Union
60-62 Clapham Road
SW9 OJJ

Apply online by 19 April 2016

Have you ever found yourself speaking to someone who you just can’t seem to get through to - perhaps who seems to misunderstand your point or not even give you time to make it?

This often happens between people with different communication priorities and thinking and language patterns. This one-day workshop will help you develop more flexibility to be able to effectively communicate with a broader range of people to help you achieve your aims and build better working relationships.

This workshop is a high level introduction to a broad topic and part of series of workshops we will do throughout the year covering ‘communication skills’. We will share some of the easier-to-spot language patterns and motivational strategies that can allow you to communicate better in the future.

Workshop content

This workshop includes:

  • key principles of communication
  • learning to focus on how someone speaks as well as what they say
  • identifying your own language patterns and preferences
  • using questions to demonstrate people’s preferences
  • fun exercises to help us learn about ourselves and others

Who should attend

Anyone who would like to explore the art of communication and the use of language to see how being a better communicator can help them to be more persuasive and effective when working with people.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the workshop, you will:

  • understand more about the complexities of communication
  • have worked with several language patterns
  • have a greater understanding about how misunderstandings occur
  • have tools to try out and expand your own flexibility in language

Tutor: Muriel McClymont

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself.

NOTE: if we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap.

 

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand.

All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a couple of days of this date.

Further enquiries

Email: [email protected]
Tel: 07580 348 726

Finance for Freelances – 22 April, Brighton

Posted on

Free workshop for members

Essential for every freelance, this workshop will help you improve your financial management from how to work out your tax to cash flow forecasting.

The date and time:
22 April 2016, 10.30-4.30

The venue:
Friends' Meeting House
Ship Street
Brighton
BN1 1AF

Tutor: David Thomas

Apply online by 12 April 2016

Workshop content

Full of tips, discussion and practical exercises, this workshop will help you understand, organise and plan your finances more successfully. You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and will receive handouts and links to useful spreadsheets and templates. It includes:

  • Making the most of your money
  • Types of freelancing
  • How tax works and how it works for you
  • Getting organised to manage your finances
  • VAT: important issues for freelances
  • Improving the process of getting paid
  • Planning for success
  • How not to run out of cash.

Who should attend

Freelances who wish to improve the way in which they handle their finances. No financial training or experience is assumed.

Expected learning outcomes

The workshop aims to provide you with a better understanding of how to plan and organise your finances. You will more clearly understand the importance of good record keeping and how to maintain cash flow along with issues surrounding tax and national insurance.

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself.

NOTE: if we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap.

 

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand.

All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a couple of days of this date.

Further enquiries

Email: [email protected]
Tel: 07580 348 726

Realistic Optimism – 18 March, London

Posted on

Free workshop for members
Getting real to achieve your dreams!

The date and time:
18 March, 10.30am to 1pm

The venue:
Musicians’ Union
60-62 Clapham Road
SW9 0JJ
T: 020 7840 5506

How do you manage your goals to make sure you achieve the ones you really care about? How do you stay in touch with why they matter? And how do you know how effective the action you are taking is in helping to fulfil them?

We all have various goals and ambitions. Some will be firmly placed on our horizon, and every step we take moves us closer to it. Others, we may even joke are, “Pie in the sky!”

In this short session we will help you connect your motivation to your goals and give you some ideas on how to tackle some of the blocks that may be preventing you moving towards them!

Apply online by 9th March

Workshop content

This workshop includes:

  • what makes a goal realistic
  • what are the key ingredients for a good plan
  • how to get motivated to achieve our goals
  • strategies to identify where you need to take action.

Who should attend

Those who need a boost in motivation and want to pick up strategies and ideas on how to clarify and achieve their goals.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the workshop, you will:

  • be clearer about what makes a good plan of action
  • be clearer about what motivates you
  • have more information about what may be holding you back
  • have some useful tools to apply to your goals in the future

Tutor: Muriel McClymont

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself.

NOTE: if we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap.

 

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand.

All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a couple of days of this date.

Further enquiries

Email: [email protected]
Tel: 07580 348 726

Finance for Freelances – 25 Feb, Bristol

Posted on

Free workshop for members

Essential for every freelance, this workshop will help you improve your financial management from how to work out your tax to cash flow forecasting.

The date and time:
25 Feb 2016, 10.30-4.30

The venue:
The venue
Bristol Old Vic
King Street
BS1 4ED

Tutor: David Thomas

Apply online by 15 Feb 2016

Workshop content

Full of tips, discussion and practical exercises, this workshop will help you understand, organise and plan your finances more successfully. You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and will receive handouts and links to useful spreadsheets and templates. It includes:

  • Making the most of your money
  • Types of freelancing
  • How tax works and how it works for you
  • Getting organised to manage your finances
  • VAT: important issues for freelances
  • Improving the process of getting paid
  • Planning for success
  • How not to run out of cash.

Who should attend

Freelances who wish to improve the way in which they handle their finances. No financial training or experience is assumed.

Expected learning outcomes

The workshop aims to provide you with a better understanding of how to plan and organise your finances. You will more clearly understand the importance of good record keeping and how to maintain cash flow along with issues surrounding tax and national insurance.

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself.

NOTE: if we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap.

 

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand.

All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a couple of days of this date.

Further enquiries

Email: [email protected]
Tel: 07580 348 726

Diversify your Portfolio – 19 Feb, London

Posted on

This workshop will help you explore how to use all the great skills and talents you have to diversify your career (often to support your core work), increase your choices, efficiency and your earning potential.

The date and time: 19 Feb, 10.30am – 4.30pm

The venue
Equity
Guild House
Upper St Martin’s Lane
London
WC2H 9EG

Tutors: Muriel McClymont and Sue Walker

Apply Online by 10 Feb

Content

While we have a preferred field of work, most freelances quickly realise that there are unavoidable downtimes where the work we want to do is thin on the ground.

This is why it’s useful and sometimes crucial to be able to transfer our skills (and perhaps gain news ones) to create other areas of work that are satisfying and lucrative and may allow us to support our core career in the long term.

By the end of this workshop, you should be able to:

  • Recognise the benefits of diversifying your career
  • Start to assess and identify your previously unrecognised, ignored or under-valued saleable skills
  • Understand how to start putting your portfolio career together
  • Explore ways of marketing your portfolio career
  • Have a better idea of how to manage your portfolio career.

Who should attend

Freelances working in the creative industries who wish to find new ways of using and updating their skills to create more work opportunities.

Qualifications

No formal qualifications are needed to attend this workshop.

 

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself.

NOTE: if we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap.

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand. All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a few days of this date.

Further enquiries:

Email: [email protected]
Tel: 07580 348 726