Overview
Build a business plan for your own creative practice in this 4-week short course. Most creative training concentrates on the work itself, and this course addresses what surrounds it: how money moves through the creative sector, who funds what, and where an individual practice fits within a market that already exists. You begin with an analysis of the economy you are entering and finish with a document you can present to clients, employers, investors or grant panels.
Workshops are led by professionals who run creative businesses. You will map the sectors relevant to your work and trace how revenue moves through them, define your offer and identify the people most likely to value it, then address the practical structures a working practice depends on: pricing, revenue and expenses, tax, the distinction between freelance and company models, and the funding and grant routes available to creative businesses. Berlin holds one of Europe's largest creative economies, and this course makes use of it, with visits to creative businesses and industry events built into the four weeks.
Your business plan is your coursework. Each day opens with a check-in on your plan and the previous day's work, with feedback from the rest of the cohort, so the plan is tested and revised throughout the four weeks rather than written at the end. The final week covers motivation and burnout, on the understanding that a plan which does not account for how you work is unlikely to be one you follow.
Course structure
Structure
The course runs across four strands, one per week.
Creative economies
How global creative markets work, who funds them, and where your practice fits inside a complex system.
Market literacy and value creation
Define your niche, articulate the value of your work, and identify the people who want it most.
Professional infrastructure
Build the tools and practices you need to offer a product or service to a market and generate revenue from it.
Sustainable creative practice
Recognise the common pitfalls and keep working towards your goals with clarity and perseverance.
Each day begins with a cohort check-in and feedback session. The final day is given over to business plan pitches, presented to the class as preparation for higher-stakes pitches to investors, clients or employers.
Topics covered
The course content will focus on the following subject areas:
- Fundamentals of global economic exchange
- Analysis of global creative sectors
- The future of the creative economy
- Branding, storytelling and attention capital
- Consumer psychology and market research
- Practices and mindsets for creative entrepreneurship
- Employment, freelancing, partnerships and collaboration
- Creativity and finance: revenue, expenses, tax and investment
- Funding routes, grants and fellowships
- Creative business case studies
- Motivation and self-leadership
- Burnout avoidance
- Business plan pitching
Weekly breakdown
Week 1 – Creative Economies
Explore the broad context of global creative economies to understand how they work and where you fit in this complex system
- Fundamentals of Global Economic Exchange: How does currency flow? What is the history of arts and funding? What are the basics of modern capitalism?
- Analysis of Global Creative Sectors: What are the biggest creative markets? How are creatives currently sustaining themselves?
- The Future of the Creative Economy: What are the current economic trends? Where do experts see things going next?
Week 2 – Market Literacy & Value Creation
Define your own creative niche, articulate the value you bring to the world, and identify the people who want it most
- Branding, storytelling, and Attention Capital: What is my offer? What is a brand? How do I tell my story in a compelling way?
- Consumer Psychology & Market Research: How do I find the right people for my products? How do I get them to engage with my story?
- Practices and Mindsets for Creative Entrepreneurship: What should a creative entrepreneur prioritize? What are helpful ways to approach running a creative business?
Week 3 – Professional Infrastructure
Build the technical tools and practices you need to successfully offer products or services to a relevant market and generate revenue.
- Employment, Freelancing, Partnerships, & Collaboration: What formats or business styles exist? How do I build a network and find clients? How do I advance my professional career?
- Creativity and Finance: How should we keep track of revenue and business expenses? How do taxes work? Investments? Are there different funding options? Grants, etc.
- Creative Business Case Studies: What are some examples of great creative businesses? How about some not-so-great creative businesses? What can I take away from these examples?
Week 4 – Sustainable Creative Practice
Avoid common pitfalls and work toward your goals with clarity and perseverance.
- Motivation & Self-Leadership: How do I manage myself and my own needs? How do I stay motivated and resilient in the face of challenges?
- Burnout Avoidance: What is burnout? How do I recognize it and avoid it?
- Business Plan Pitches: How can I pitch my business in an engaging and effective way?
Skills gained
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain how the creative economy is structured and how money moves through it
- Navigate that economy in ways that suit your own skills, interests and values
- Articulate your professional story clearly and convincingly
- Identify your niche and connect with the people who find your work valuable
- Choose a business model or legal structure that matches your goals
- Apply practical financial knowledge to work towards financial stability
- Recognise the conditions that lead to burnout and build a practice that avoids them
- Pitch your own business ideas in a professional setting
This course does not teach technical or creative medium skills. You will not leave with new production, camera or performance skills, and the course assumes you already have a practice to build a business around.
Progression
Most students use the plan they build here straight away, whether that means launching a venture, applying for funding or fellowships, moving from freelance work into a company structure, or approaching employers in the creative sector with a clearer offer. The course also makes a useful foundation for postgraduate study, including the MA in Creative Production (Music), the MA in Creative Production (Film) and the MA in Applied Creative Psychology.
The business plan, market research and value proposition you produce are working documents, built to be presented to clients, investors, employers and grant panels after the course ends.
Learn from the experts
Throughout the programme you’ll learn from industry-acclaimed experts in their field, with a passion for passing on their knowledge to others.
Essential information
Tuition fees
Enrolment fee:* €495
Course fee: €2,005
Total: €2,500
Early enrolment bonus: Apply before the 31st of March to receive a €150 discount on your short course.
Multi Course Discount: Enrol in both a Summer Short Course and a degree course with us in the same year, and receive a discount of €500 off the total tuition fee.
*Enrolment fee is non-refundable.
Timetable
We can’t provide an exact timetable until we know how many students will attend the course. However, you will have an average of 16 hours per week of workshops.
Our campus facilities are open for the students to use beyond the timetabled workshop hours. Our recording and production studios, digital workstations, communal workspaces and equipment from the tech shop are bookable from 10:00 until 19:45 during the Short Course term.
Entry requirements
You should already have a creative practice with developed skills and want to bring a product or service to market. You do not need a business idea or structure in place when you arrive. Applicants must be 18 by the first day of the course. No academic certification is required.
This course suits people who have recently finished a BA or MA and are entering their professional careers, people early in a creative career who want more structure, and people moving between freelance and company models in either direction. It is not designed for people who want to build fundamental creative skills, or for those with an established career already generating reliable revenue.
Applicants must be 18 or over when the course begins. If you're coming from outside the EU, a holiday/travel visa will usually suffice.
For more information, please contact a member of the Admissions team. We love to chat! You can reach out to us at:
Email: admissions@catalyst-berlin.com
Phone: +49 30 2900 9052
Application deadlines
Applications for 2027 Summer Short Courses open 15 October, 2026.
Apply by 31 March and save 150€.
Final deadline: 21 May, 2027
Courses fill on a first-come, first-served basis. Once full, further applications are waitlisted.
