The Creative Careers Handbook: a cross-platform guide to creative enterprise and entrepreneurship

The Creative Careers Handbook project is a cross-platform initiative that empowers students and early-career creatives to explore and plan sustainable futures through freelancing, entrepreneurship, and portfolio work. Led by Dr. Allan Taylor, Head of Leicester Media School at De Montfort University, the project combines a forthcoming textbook
(under contract with Bloomsbury), an e-learning resource series, and a coordinated digital campaign across major social media platforms.
The central focus of the project is to demystify career planning in the creative industries, especially for students from non-traditional or underrepresented backgrounds. The handbook is supported by a companion suite of resources, including:
Online video lectures and digital worksheets aligned with each chapter of the book, allowing learners to engage flexibly and interactively;
Podcast interviews and video case studies with working creatives and entrepreneurs to humanise career pathways and offer peer-level role models;
A multi-channel social media campaign (across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn) that disseminates accessible, engaging content and encourages user-generated storytelling and peer mentoring.
This initiative not only equips students with tangible skills in business planning, self-branding, and creative freelancing, but also acts as a scalable model for integrating enterprise education into the creative curriculum. The project aims to increase confidence, enhance visibility of alternative career paths, and provide a lasting set of tools that students can carry with them into their professional lives.