The Art of Starting: How to Build Your Creative Business from the Ground Up

Written by Iona Mathieson and Romy St Clair

Narrated by Iona Mathieson and Romy St Clair

‘Together, these two have created a flourishing business’ - Vogue

Ditch your day job or set up your side project with this ultimate guide to starting and running your own creative business.

The Art of Starting guides you from the first step right through to the everyday running of a successful creative business. Whether your passion is in craft, photography, food, fashion or design, this audiobook is full of indispensable advice. Iona Mathieson and Romy St Clair are two entrepreneurs who learnt the hard way and are here to share everything they wish they’d known at the start. Their practical advice helps you to use what you already know and develop future proof skills in a fulfilling job that works for you.

In The Art of Starting you will:
– Discover your strengths, foster community and create meaningful client relationships
– Learn how to value yourself, your product and negotiate fees
– Find out what school didn’t teach; from tax and accounting to social media management and developing community

Iona and Romy started their floristry business SAGE Flowers with no formal training and less than £1,000. In a few short years, they grew a floristry empire, have been lauded as London's go-to florists, and have an enviable client list including Mercedes, Nike, Glossier and Fenty. In The Art of Starting they share tips and secrets from experts and entrepreneurs so that your creative business will succeed too.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Release date: Apr 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9781529077605

Iona Mathieson

Iona Mathieson is one of the co-founders of SAGE Flowers in Peckham, the cult floristry business that has taken London and the industry by storm. Along with her business partner Romy St Clair, she is an advocateshe is an advocate for young female entrepreneurship, diversifying and decolonizing floristry and sustainability, and use their platform to progress these topics. Iona and Romy started SAGE with no formal training, less than £1,000 and a couple of wooden pallets in a South London car park. Fast forward a few short years and they have grown a floristry empire, regularly being lauded as London’s go to florists and leaders of the Gen Z floristry movement with an enviable client list including Mercedes, Nike, Glossier and Fenty. As outsiders to a traditional business, they have disrupted the industry by giving back to their local community through their Future Flowers scheme which offers funded placements to diversify and decolonize floristry. In their first book, The Art of Starting, they share tips from a range of experts and entrepreneurs and the secret to success.