Are you a self-starter with a great idea?
BUT...
Feeling stuck, like you are going round in circles?
Doing everything yourself with no one to help?
Only able to get feedback from friends and family?
Lacking focus and overwhelmed by options?
Never sure whether you're ready to launch?
Using technology to create but can't decide if it works?
I've been in your position many times. I understand the frustrations of abandoning a dream project because of not having the support you needed.
The Workshop is a way to help other people with big ideas get up and running, without having to go it alone.
I help independent artists and entrepreneurs to launch their professional ventures by providing creative direction, strategic guidance, practical problem-solving, and the accountability and personal support needed to turn a vision into reality.
I'm Thom Pierce, a portrait photographer, writer, curator and professional project partner based in Bristol, UK.
I have been self-employed for over 20 years in the worlds of music, art, photography and activism.
I have travelled the world, working with acclaimed performers and creating projects that have been exhibited in the most prestigious galleries.
But throughout my career I have longed for a partner. Someone to act as an objective sounding board for my ambitious ideas, and a guide to help me get out of my own way!
First prize is having someone who fully understands what you are trying to achieve and is invested in your success, without taking over the ownership of your venture.
I believe that everyone needs guidance, support and perspective when navigating the many tools, services and decisions involved in turning an ambitious idea into a successful venture.
That's why I started The Workshop.
How We Work
PHASE 1 - BUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS
Throughout phase one, we meet in person, or online, every week for an hour. I schedule an additional hour to review and plan between each session. We work like this until we have progressed through the following stages:
Define
Focusing on clarity, we work through the fundamentals of your idea, it's positioning and purpose; creating a solid foundation to work from.
Strategise
By defining your ideal clients/customers, we devise a marketing plan that considers where to reach them and how to inspire them to take action.
Create
As you build your physical and digital marketing assets, I offer creative direction, technical assistance, motivation and personal support.
Launch
When your fundamental touchpoints are in place, your venture is ready to launch. Together we press the red button, celebrate and move on to phase two.
PHASE 2 - TELLING THE WORLD
Once your venture is launched, we reduce the frequency of our meetings to once a month. As you go about connecting with your clients/customers, we analyse and revise your marketing plan; keeping you motivated, accountable and moving forward.
Creative
Photography & Video
Visual Design
Writing & Copy Editing
Sound Design & Audio Editing
Technical
Design - Canva, Photoshop
Web - Wix, Squarespace, WP
Audio - Logic, Pro Tools, Audacity
Video - DaVinci Resolve, iMovie
Interpersonal
Engaged Creative Partnerships
Accountability
Objective Sounding Board
Personal Support & Mentoring
Strategic
SWOT Analysis
Client/Customer Evaluation
Content Planning & Timelines
SMART Goal Setting
Marketing
Original Ideas & Content Reviews
Newsletters & Mailing Lists
Blogs, Podcasts & Social Media
Exhibition Production & Curation
Admin
Project Management
Book Keeping & Invoicing
Handling Client Interactions
Networking & Communications
WHY WORK WITH ME
The skills that I have developed through decades of experience allow me to provide support to my clients in a wide range of practices. While you get your big ideas off the ground, my role is to provide direction and assitance in the following areas...
The Process
A real-world example of how I work with my clients.
Louise came to me with the dream of creating a business that provided walking tours of her local city. Having worked as a medical professional for 15 years she wanted to reduce her hours and focus on her passion for where she lived.
We discussed her ideas and formulated a solid plan to build the foundations of her new venture. Together, we clarified her purpose and motivations for the project, identified her potential clients and agreed on the marketing touchpoints to reach them most effectively.
We decided that she needed a website, Instagram account, mailing list and flyers to get going.
Louise was frustrated because she could not commit a lot of time to her venture as she was still working full-time, so we decided that she should start a blog, positioning herself as the expert on things to do locally. This meant that she could write short, personal posts about things that she loved, gradually building a database of engaging content for when she was ready to launch.
This database of stories could act as a way to attract potential clients who searched for things to do in the city. When they landed on her blog, she could advertise her walking tours in a banner at the top of the page.
In the meantime I encouraged her to devise a route around the city so that her offer was tangible, rather than just an idea, and we set about designing a website. I set her weekly, achievable goals and held her accountable for writing blog posts which I reviewed as she needed me to.
Although no expert, Louise was able to use the drag and drop features of Squarespace, together with AI, to build a basic website. Together we tweaked it, revising the wording, design and functionality. I showed her how to embed a signup form and advised her on user interface and user experience (UI/UX).
As she had essentially built the website herself, Louise had the ability to update her site whenever she needed to rather than relying on me (or a freelance web designer).
We continued meeting every week until she was ready to launch. Armed with a series of inspirational blog posts and marketing tools, we put together an achievable weekly plan for her to promote her new business.
Moving on to phase two she is now ready to cut back her hours and give more time to her passion project, we check in every month to review her engagement and discuss new ways to reach her audience.
BOOK A CALL
Let's Get Started With A Free Introduction Call
Unlock the potential of your dream venture with a 30-minute Discovery Call. During this focused conversation, we will explore your project in detail, allowing me to provide tailored insights and effective strategies on how I can help you bring your vision to life.
"Thom's sense of drive, timely delivery, flexibility and problem solving attitude, while staying true to the vision, is second to none. Added to which he is a great person and fun to work with!"
Ed Pomfret
Fight Inequality Alliance
FAQ
I work with individual, motivated self-starters, who is passionate about getting their ideas off the ground. Usually they are frustrated and stuck, but sometimes they are already progressing well, just needing a partner to bounce ideas off.
As long as your project is something you are really invested in, it's a valid venture. But if you are not sure about your commitment, or you want someone to take over while you sit back and relax, I'm not the guy for you.
It's a waste of everyone's time and money if you don't show up. To get the most out of our partnership, you need to be willing to put the work in.
Not sure if I am who you need? Book a free call today and we can chat about it.
In short, No.
My role is to guide you and support you through the process of pulling all the necessary parts together. I can give you tips, feedback and assistance while you build your website (or pay a website designer to do it for you) - but it would be out of the scope of my work to create all the content for you.
Having said that, as a portrait photographer and writer, I can offer creative services to my clients on request. This would obviously come at an extra cost, but discounted from my standard rates.
How long the process takes all depends on you, where you are when we start and the capacity that you have in terms of time and budget.
In our initial call we will chat about capacity. It's good for me to know how many hours a week you can put in to your venture and what kind of budget you have. My rates do not change based on your budget, but I need to know if you have the means to employ other service providers to expedite the process.
I can give you a much clearer idea of timelines once I understand your project so book a free call with me today to discuss it.
Yes. All of your information is treated with the utmost confidence - your intellectual property remains your intellectual property at all times. Before we start working together, we will both sign a memorandum of understanding to that effect.
On top of that, any ideas that I put forward during our sessions also belong to you. At no point do I claim to have ownership over any part of your venture.
That all depends on you, where you are in the process and your capacity.
On our free Discovery Call and I will let you know my standard rates and explain how the pricing differs between phase one and phase two.
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Tel. +44 (0)7498 909269
thom@thompiercestudios.com
Bristol, UK
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