Ollie Leggett is the director and founder of IE Design, based in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, West Midlands. IE Designs main focus and strengths are web, interactive media, design and brand identity. Currently IE Design employ 14 people and have a client list of mainly high value based companies with a concentration on education and charity based organisations.
Ollie displays characteristics of a cultural entrepreneur by having an individual, collaborative and holistic approach to work, motivated by solving problems and being a servant leader. He has learnt new skills in producing and managing creativity throughout his career, mainly project based work for clients and has managed risk by concentrating on a 20% profit margin dropping clients who do not produce that kind of margin. Ollie’s company is involved in the majority of time, in producing and distribution of his client’s commissions especially around web based projects. IE Design developed a management system for themselves which they then marketed as periscope, an online creative management system for creative enterprises becoming producer and consumer or rather in this case consumer-producer, a trait of a cultural entrepreneur. Ollie foresaw 7 years ago, that interactive and online services would be the way to go and so brought on board Oliver Westmancote, as a company director. Seeing and predicting market needs is a distinct trait of an entrepreneur. (Southam et al, 2005)
Ollie Leggett is a cultural entrepreneur because he inspires artistic leadership in those that work for him in small teams and understands the creative process so managing it effectively to create an economically viable, high culture and value based company that produces visual media in print, interactive or web based output. ‘Forming such a business is not only an economic but also a creative act, for it involves shaping a complex cultural web of identity, relationships, communication, language and technology.’ (Rae, 2007: 194) It could be said from the previous quote, that Ollie Leggett demonstrates this with his management and business leadership service to his customer and employees.
Hope you enjoyed and please comment:
Rai Jenkins
Birmingham City University, Enterprise, blogs, case study, materials, research, students | raijenkins | Friday, April 17, 2009 | 
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Brand Identity, Cultural Entrepreneur, Graphic Design, IE Design, Interactive, Ollie Leggett, Web
Introduction
When you think of the word entrepreneur what springs to mind? Do you envision in your mind a Donald Trump look-alike who is middle aged with an aggressive personality and an expensive suit? I did initially until I found that the word entrepreneur encompasses many varying traits and is not as stereotypical as I once assumed. This assignment aims to enlighten the reader with an academic perspective of what cultural entrepreneurship entails and how various traits and characteristics are found in different types of entrepreneurs.
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In this post I will analyse the unique characteristics of cultural entrepreneurship in relation to the musical instrument inventor Bob Moog and the wider impact of one individual’s creative enterprise since the 1950s.What is an entrepreneur?There are many wide-ranging definitions of an entrepreneur, with connotations of city slickers focused on profit-driven financial deals, or geniuses or hapless inventors being grilled over IP registration and profit projections in the BBC series “Dragon’s Den”.The term entrepreneur was first used by French economist and journalist Jean-Baptiste Say during the French Revolution to describe one who unlocks capital tied up in land and redirects it to change the future. Say was the first economist to recognise change and uncertainty as normal and positive in business.The Beermat Entrepreneur’s describe entrepreneurs as confident, charismatic, have bags of energy, obsessed with work, ambitious, in a hurry, arrogant, manipulative, lack focus and are obsessed with the competition.The risk-taker, the go-getter, the manipulator, the charismatic leader, the opportunist and the serialist are all types and characteristics of the typical entrepreneur. Read more »
The creative industries are currently at the forefront of British government policy. With the sector contributing greatly to the economy, emphasis has been placed upon its regenerative capabilities (visit www.culture.gov.uk). The sector relies heavily upon small medium enterprises (SME’s) which are usually created, developed and managed by an emerging breed of cultural entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs are at the forefront of the sector and are setting a new standard for creative working.
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Moses Whyte runs a social enterprise in Walsall. When I asked him if he considered himself to be a cultural entrepreneur, he looked at me quizzically and said perhaps he was. Then laughing, he said anybody could be anything they wanted to be and as long as it didn’t mean paying more taxes then perhaps indeed he was a cultural entrepreneur.
When I embarked on writing this blog entry, I myself was somewhat uncertain as to whether Moses Whyte and his enterprise, the Trelawny Overseas Relief Association UK Ltd. (TORA), fitted into the category of cultural entrepreneur. The confusion came because TORA is essentially a social enterprise. There is no question about its entrepreneurial factor, but the question arose in my mind, can its specific activities of community outreach and involvement be classified as cultural as in the term cultural industries. After carefully unpacking the definition of culture, I decided that it did indeed fit the category.
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So you fancy yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you have what it takes?
So what is an entrepreneur? It is said that an entrepreneur ‘can look at something and see an opportunity where you or I would just see an everyday thing’ they gain inspiration everywhere, from their own experience, their own needs, and from others. A ‘successful entrepreneurship is basically a successful commercial application of an innovation’, but what personality traits do they possess? Is there a common theme for such traits and do these differ between ‘cultural’ and other entrepreneurs?
To look at these clearly and produce a rough guide of helpful points several case studies will be used, including Richard Branson and Sarah Doukas (founder of Storm modelling agency) among others. How did these iconic entrepreneurs start out, what encouraged them to achieve and can anyone really do it?
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What is an Entrepreneur? What is a Cultural Entrepreneur? Am I an Entrepreneur or could I be considered a Cultural Entrepreneur? Well let’s start with just the entrepreneur as oppose to the cultural entrepreneur. The dictionary definition of an entrepreneur is a person who organises and manages any enterprise, esp. a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk. So then what is a cultural entrepreneur, what makes a cultural entrepreneur different from a ‘normal’ entrepreneur?
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In order to look at what defines a cultural entrepreneur we need to first take a look at what we might consider are the attributes of entrepreneurs in the business world.
It is difficult to be definitive of the particular characteristics that mark out an entrepreneur. Obvious examples of entrepreneurs will spring to mind; Richard Branson, James Dyson, Anita Roddick. They have a well-defined PR and self-promotion skills that make them very visible. But what makes them, and other less well-known individuals, achieve the high levels of success and wealth. We will see that they do have certain traits and all entrepreneurs will possess some of these to a greater or lesser degree. One of their traits is that they recognise their strengths and have considerable self-confidence but also are aware of the skills that they may be short of and ensure that they acquire those skills from elsewhere. They are driven people, having clear goals and the ability to plan to achieve. They may have a brilliant idea themselves, find one or have one presented to them. Their talent is then to act as the catalyst in turning the idea into a successful venture.
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Through using a particular example, this blog entry shall address the issues of what makes a cultural entrepreneur and what characteristics define one.
Emma Pook and Adjamiba Clubwear.
Adjamiba Clubwear celebrated its 3rd birthday as a business last December, and reflected on how much the business has developed over the short time it has been up and running. The business offers “Made to Measure & Custom Made Cyber Clubwear, Cyberwear, Ravewear, Dancewear, Accessories and Fluffy Legwarmers”. Emma Pook, the Managing Director and Designer, started off working by herself and now employs three people for manufacturing and production, has a loyal voluntary promotions and web team, and works with models, photographers and club dance troupes to expand the brand.Emma is not the stereo-typical hard-nosed ruthless business woman however…here’s what some of her clients have said about her:
“She puts her customers first and is always accommodating, she involves customers in her business and is friendly and approachable yet always professional”- Kirsty
“She has compassion and the personal touch” – Annie
“She cares about her customers, and she always goes out of her way to warn people of busy times” – Chrissy
It is clear from these comments that Emma is very friendly in business and customer-focused. But does this make her entrepreneurial? Let’s see…
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An introduction to “Entrepreneurship”
In business there is a difference between someone that manages the business and someone that can lead it (Lee, 2006:81), and a leader with a visionary outlook is seen to encompass an “Entrepreneurial flair.”
So what exactly is the meaning of the word “entrepreneur” and what can be described as “entrepreneurship?”
Like many definitions there is not one fixed term; David Rae (2007) describes an entrepreneur as a person who acts in an enterprising way, identifying and creating opportunities through business ventures (3-5). Viewing entrepreneurship as the “subject” of entrepreneurs, “encompassing both the academic knowledge and practical skills used to be an entrepreneur. John Legge and Kevin Hindle (2004), discuss an entrepreneur as one who is an enterprise creator and agent of change, a builder of teams and organisations providing leadership (15). While David Kirby (2003) author of “Entrepreneurship,” describes the term as those who are visionaries seeing opportunities and taking action.
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