Digital Media

Starting a Digital Media Business: A Guide for Digital Media Entrepreneurs

This handy, practical resource can save you time, money and frustration.

With the assurance that "There is no better time to be an entrepreneur, especially in the digital media industry", CHRC's "Starting a Digital Media Business" guides you through the thinking and steps of that exciting undertaking.

From an insightful self-assessment about "being your own boss"; to practical steps on things like "how to best leverage social media" and "what you need to track, report, measure"; to reflections on "when times get rough - where to find inspiration and overcoming the fear of failure", you will find this to be a trusty guide in the good times and the not-so-good times.

Written by Lynda Brown, who has years of experience in the DM industry starting her own business and coaching others along that path, this latest CHRC offering is landing right where the need is greatest: among the start-ups that feed the multi-billion dollar industry at the heart of Canada's digital economy.

"I really liked the tongue in cheek writing style and logical step-by-step approach used by the author and thought she did an excellent job of removing the rose-coloured glasses without throwing ice water on the would-be entrepreneur." (DM employer)

"Reading through the manuscript took me right back to the time when I planned and assembled a digital media business of my own that employed 17 people at its peak. This logical and user-friendly manuscript would have been an invaluable guide in that process." (DM employer)

Starting a DM Business is one of a suite of products to help the DM industry, including a competency chart and profile for an interactive DM Team in our Digital Media HR Toolkit, and the recently revised Interactive Zone (for young people seeking careers in the DM industry). Check out these valuable resources and let your friends and colleagues know about them too!

Table of Contents

• Being Your Own Boss
• Starting with the End in Mind – Types of Digital Media Businesses
• Don't Quit Your Day Job – Your Own Financial Assessment
• Know Thy Competition – How to do a Quick Competitive Assessment
• The Canadian Digital Media Landscape
• The Global Landscape
• Where To Get Help
• If you Build It – Assessing your Market Need
• Money Matters
• The Great Canadian Startup
• Legal Considerations
• Attracting the Right Team
• Developing a Brand in 4 Easy Steps
• Being Social
• Time Sinks and Burning Money
• A Business Plan is Not a Doorstop
• The Importance of Measurement
• Operations or Taking Care of Business
• The Pitch Tool
• Basic Business Development Tools
• Go/No Go – When Times Get Rough