So, you've set up a company, decided a cool name and bought yourself a domain name to get yourself online and showcase your awesomeness.
But then something strange and unexpected happens: within days emails start flooding in, and not of the good kind - they're asking for money for SEO services, domain registrations in other countries, and warning you that your registration isn't complete until you pay to get it onto the Whois databace, etc.
This is a scam.
The same thing happens when you register for a Trade Mark, or register with Companies House: you'll be advised to invest in Trademarking your name with lots of registries, or to buy expensive accounting and other businesses services.
Ignore them!
If you've bought your domain via Wix, Go Daddy, 1&1 or similar domain registry, everything that needs to be done will be. If you're concerned, speak to your provider.
Building a site
When it comes to building your site there are many ways to do so workout codeing knowledge or expensive designers.
I used 1&1 for years and had very simple sites, but found they were a little buggy to use. Although all our domains are registered with them, they link to sites built on other platforms.
For the past few years I've used Wix and found them infinitely easier, more versatile and cooler to use. Wix is designed for Google, so their sites are automatically mobile friendly!
SEO, Meta Tags, blogs and a host of integrating apps are also freely or cheaply available to maximise your sites visibility online.
However, my main reason for choosing Wix: I could design an entire website for free and pay only when I was happy to launch it! No free trial, no deadline or rush to complete, I could take my time to do it properly.
Selective Services
When you set up as an actor there are plenty of people who will advuse you to spend money with them: Spotlight, Equity, Actor's Centre, Showreel and Voice Demo providers, Photographers, etc.
These aren't scams - they're offering services to advance your career. However, be selective and shop around for the classes, Photographers and agents which are right for you!
When you set up a company, the number of businesses who try to take your money are in the thousands. There are whole trade shows devoted to it.
Yes, you need an accounting, marketing and business management platforms, but these dont need to cost a fortune. Shop around, explore free trials, give yourself time to research properly. If it sounds too good, smells fishy or just looks odd, it probably is.
Speak to fiends and colleagues, see what they use. People are generally more helpful than you expect!
Our Recommendations
These are platforms we use to manage Theatre Workout. They integrate with each other and make our life easier.
Other options are available.
Accounting: Xero - Its online, cloud based, intuitive and pretty cheap.
CRM: Capsule - a very simple, cloud based system to manage contacts, opportunities, jobs, problems and mailing lists. Integrates with many other platforms.
Email Marketing: Mailchimp - user friendly with segmentation options for your contact data. You can also automate a lot of the work to save you time.
Social Media: Hootsuite - manage all your social media profiles in one place and schedule posts to publish when you want them for maximum impact
Check out Theatre Workout's talks on tge business of Theatre, perfect for students planning to enter the creative industries.