Creative businesses need business support too.
You might be brilliant at what you do.
- Making music.
- Taking photographs.
- Writing.
- Performing.
- Producing.
- Running events.
- Creating work that people actually want to see.
But running a creative business involves rather more than the creative work.
There are emails to answer, projects to organise, people to coordinate, deadlines to keep track of, documents to produce, invoices to chase and a whole host of jobs that somehow end up being done late at night because there simply isn’t anyone else to do them.
That’s where Panda can help.
Panda Virtual Assistant provides practical business, operational and project support to creative businesses, artists, musicians, creative practitioners and arts and cultural organisations across North West England and North Wales.
You get someone who understands the business side without losing sight of the creative work you’re trying to deliver.
The business side of being creative
Creative people don’t necessarily need a traditional PA.
And they don’t always need an employee either.
Sometimes you need someone to come in and sort out the things that have been piling up.
Sometimes you need someone to organise a project.
Sometimes you need someone to create a system because the current one is basically a collection of spreadsheets, emails and crossed fingers.
And sometimes you need someone who can look at the whole situation and work out what needs doing next.
That’s the sort of support Panda provides.
What can Panda do for a creative business?
There’s no standard package of jobs because creative businesses aren’t standard businesses.
Depending on what you need, I can help with:
- Business administration
- Project administration and coordination
- Creative project management
- Event organisation and administration
- Managing deadlines and actions
- Organising files and information
- Reports and project documentation
- ResearchFunding research and application support
- Bid and tender support
- Marketing and social media
- Website and WordPress administration
- Microsoft 365 and digital support
- Preparing proposals and documents
- Coordinating people, suppliers and partners
- General business organisation
- Working out what needs doing next
The important bit is that I don’t expect you to know exactly which service you need before you get in touch.
Tell me what’s happening.
We’ll work it out from there.
Who do I support?
Panda can work with individuals, small businesses, organisations and project teams across the creative and cultural sectors.
That includes:
Artists & creative practitioners
If your creative practice has grown into a business, Panda can help with the administration and organisation behind it.
That could mean managing information, preparing documents, organising projects, researching opportunities or simply getting some structure around the business side of your work.
Musicians & music businesses
Music might be the product, but there is still an enormous amount of work happening behind the scenes.
Panda can support with administration, project coordination, events, research, communications, documentation and the practical organisation that keeps things moving.
Arts & cultural organisations
Small arts and cultural organisations often have big ambitions without a huge team behind them.
Panda can provide additional capacity for projects, events, administration, reporting, research, coordination and day-to-day business support.
Photographers, writers & independent creatives
Whether you’re managing clients, developing new work, publishing, exhibiting or juggling several projects at once, Panda can help organise the business around the creative work.
Events, production & creative projects
Creative projects often involve a lot of moving parts.
- People.
- Venues.
- Suppliers.
- Deadlines.
- Budgets.
- Documents.
- Communications.
Panda can help coordinate the practical side so that the project keeps moving.
More than a pair of hands
I don’t just wait for a list of jobs.
I’ll look at what’s happening, work out what needs doing and get stuck in.
Sometimes you need someone to do the job.
Sometimes you need someone to work out what the job actually is.
Often, you need both.
That’s Panda.
My experience covers creative industries, music, communications, events, business support, project work and digital systems, so I’m comfortable moving between the bigger picture and the practical details.
One minute that might mean helping organise a project.
The next it might mean sorting out a Microsoft 365 problem or pulling together a report.
Both matter.
Creative project support
Creative projects rarely run in a straight line.
There are often multiple people involved, deadlines to manage, information coming from different places and a long list of things that need to happen before the actual creative work can happen.
Panda can provide the practical project support that keeps those things moving.
That might include:
- Setting up project systems
- Creating action lists and timelines
- Coordinating people and information
- Managing deadlines
- Organising meetings
- Preparing documents and reports
- Researching information and opportunities
- Keeping project information organised
- Following up actions
- Helping bring a project over the line
You don’t necessarily need a project manager sitting beside you every day.
You might just need someone experienced to keep an eye on what’s happening and make sure things don’t get forgotten.
Funding, bids & opportunities
Finding opportunities is one thing.
Actually having the time to research them, organise the information and put together what is needed is another.
Panda can provide practical support with:
- Funding research
- Identifying relevant opportunities
- Organising information for applications
- Supporting funding applications
- Bid and tender administration
- Research and background information
- Preparing supporting documents
I’m not going to pretend I can magically guarantee funding.
What I can do is help make sure the practical work involved in finding and applying for opportunities doesn’t become another job that gets pushed to the bottom of the list.
Microsoft 365 & digital support
Creative businesses often end up with digital systems that have grown organically.
A few folders here.
A spreadsheet there.
Documents in someone’s inbox.
Files stored somewhere nobody can quite remember.
And then somebody says, “Where’s that document?”
Panda can help bring some order to the digital side of your business.
That can include:
- Microsoft 365
- SharePoint and Teams
- OneDriveDocument organisation
- Digital filing systems
- Spreadsheets
- Word and PowerPoint
- Website and WordPress administration
- General digital problem solving
You don’t have to be particularly technical.
You just need to know that the current system isn’t working.
Business support for the North West & North Wales creative sector
Panda is based in Merseyside and works with creative businesses and organisations across North West England and North Wales.
That includes businesses and practitioners in:
Liverpool • St Helens • Newton-le-Willows • Warrington • Wirral • Manchester • Greater Manchester • Cheshire • Lancashire
and across:
Wrexham • Flintshire • Denbighshire • Conwy • Gwynedd • Anglesey
Most support can be delivered remotely, so you don’t have to be local.
But if you’re nearby, I’m also perfectly happy to meet for a coffee and talk through what you’re trying to achieve.
How Panda works
You don’t need to sign up for a huge package.
The right support depends on what you’re trying to do.
🐼 Panda Power Hour
Got a problem you need to untangle?
One focused session to work out what’s going on, identify what needs doing and leave with a practical plan.
£60
🐼 Panda Project
Got a specific creative project, event or piece of work that needs extra capacity?
We’ll agree the scope and I’ll help get it done.
Fixed project scope
🐼 Panda Partner
Need someone in your corner on an ongoing basis?
Panda Partner provides ongoing support from 1–10 hours per week, depending on what you need.
Currently available
Why Panda?
Because I understand that creative businesses work differently.
I’ve worked across creative, cultural, music, communications, project and business environments, so I understand that the thing you need help with isn’t always going to fit neatly into a service menu.
You might need someone to organise the practical side of a project.
You might need help getting your systems sorted.
You might have a report that’s been sitting unfinished for three weeks.
You might have six different things that all need doing and no idea which one should come first.
Or you might simply need somebody who can look at the mess and say:
Right. Let’s start here.
That’s Panda.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Panda can support independent artists, musicians, photographers, writers, performers and other creative practitioners as well as established creative businesses and organisations.
No. Creative industries are a particular area of experience and specialism for Panda, but I also provide business, operational and project support to other growing businesses and organisations.
Yes. Panda can provide practical project administration, coordination and management support depending on the size and requirements of the project.
I can help with funding research, organising information and practical support around applications, as well as bid and tender administration.
Yes. Panda can provide additional project, administrative and operational capacity for arts and cultural organisations.
No.
In fact, sometimes the most useful starting point is simply telling me what’s currently causing you problems.
We’ll work out what you need from there.
Always a creative kid, I started off in radio and progressed to sound engineering and music promotion/management. I further developed that into retail music/media management. I also worked as a Business Start-up Advisor for CreativeBias in Liverpool (Music Development Agency) and was a dancer for many years. My circles tend to be all elements of the creative industry and I strongly believe that the creative arts will aid the healing of the economy. Also I hold the strong belief that the arts is hugely beneficial in the areas of physical and mental health.
Creative work shouldn’t have to compete with everything else, and it shouldn’t be considered an “add-on”
You started your business because you wanted to create something.
You don’t necessarily need to spend every spare hour organising spreadsheets, chasing people, sorting documents or trying to work out why your files have disappeared into Microsoft 365.
That’s the stuff Panda can help with.
Tell me what’s going on. We’ll work out what needs doing.
🐼 Panda Virtual Assistant – operational and project support for growing businesses.
🌿 North Wales hippy
⚙️ Liverpool logic