Foreword by James Purnell MP

T-Shirts and Suits: A Guide to the Business of Creativity

Foreword by James Purnell MP, Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism

"As Minister for the Creative Industries and Tourism, I am pleased to write a foreword to this new guide to the business of creativity.

The UK is arguably the world’s most creative nation. America may have bigger creative industries, but we punch well above our weight. But having creative people isn’t a guarantee of economic success. Arguably, the UK has been great at inventing but not so good at exploiting those inventions. The challenge is to turn that creativity into industrial success and we must find ways to turn talent into hits and hits into profits. In other words, we must become creative entrepreneurs, not just creative inventors.

Publications like T-shirts and Suits will help inform creative talent to become more successful entrepreneurs.

What David has done in this book is to enable the most creative people to also understand and use the best business practices. He has used his experience as a practitioner, consultant and trainer to present key ideas that can be used by creative entrepreneurs, both established and new. Furthermore he has used his own creativity to propose new ideas and to explain vital concepts, for example about intellectual property and marketing, in a clear and entertaining way.

I congratulate this contribution to creative entrepreneurship and I applaud Merseyside ACME’s publication of this book."

James Purnell MP