Creative Plus Business

17/09/2026

The official photos are here!

Jillian and Oumi on stage (and on the winners carpet) at the Business NSW Awards for Sydney. It really was a very special night, with inspiring words from Sydney's Deputy Lord Mayor, Jess Miller, and a town hall filled with amazing business owners and leaders. It was an extra treat to be handed our award by Councillor Olly Arkins, who leads Sydney City's Cultural, Creative and Nightlife Committee.

Next up? Well, we just found out we're a finalist for Most Outstanding Community Organisation in NSW!!

The CPB team will be there in October to find out if another shiny award will be in our office this year. How exciting!

Congratulations again to all the finalists and winners!

10/09/2026

Last night, inside a glittering Sydney Town Hall, Jillian and Oumi took to the stage to receive something very special... the Business NSW Award for Most Outstanding Community Organisation in Sydney!

To be recognised by Business NSW is an incredible honour. When we started Creative Plus Business ten years ago, our goal was simple but ambitious: to bridge the gap between creative passion and commercial viability.

To receive it in the company of so many fabulous businesses, special guests, and folks from the City of Sydney that we have loved working with made it even more special. What better way to head into the final few months of our 10th Anniversary Year?!

We're sending a special thank you to everyone who has been a part of the CPB family. This award acknowledged our work in the Service NSW Business Connect program, where we supported over 17,000 creatives to start, build, and grow their businesses. They are an extraordinary community of creative practitioners we have the pleasure and the privilege to support every day.

Thank you to the judges, and congratulations to all the inspiring finalists in this category. We look forward to continuing to help Sydney’s creative community grow, thrive, and prosper!

09/09/2026

Blue sky thinking is great—if you have a bottomless budget. For the rest of us, there’s Green Grass Thinking 🌿✨

Forget pie-in-the-sky brainstorming. It’s time to prune dead projects, harvest quick wins, and build systems that protect your energy. Real, practical, actionable.

Read our practical guide to grounded strategy: https://creativeplusbusiness.com/green-grass-thinking/

And when you're ready for tailor-made support to grow your creative enterprise (including Green Grass Thinking) we're here to help: https://creativeplusbusiness.com/planning/

Blue sky thinking is a luxury only fit for organisations with bottomless budgets, energetic teams and endless runway. For arts businesses, cultural

08/09/2026

Well that was HUGE! Over four days last week Monica was immersed in Australia's contemporary music scene, and as you can see it was epic! BIGSOUND turned out to be so much more than expected and we're so keen to keep the good vibes and chats going. Getting to connect with so many music sector heavyweights and artists was simply brilliant.

We can't wait for what will come next! 🎶🎸🎤

(showcase images courtesy of BIGSOUND)

02/09/2026

Monica and Robbi are getting ready for the biggest week in Australian theatre - the Australian Performing Arts Exchange (APAX) - and we hope they'll see you there!

APAX is the national market and professional development gathering for performing arts workers, and it's one of the highlights of our conference year. Knowing the conference is sold out just means we know they'll be mingling with hundreds of fabulous artists and arts leaders.

Monica and Robbi will be at QPAC in Magandjin / Brisbane to dive into this year's program: Change. Risk. A hopeful future. Alongside seeing some amazing live performance and being there in person for the Impact Awards, they'll be tackling systems change in practice with amazing performing arts people!

www.apax.org.au

30/08/2026

Need some extra goodness in your inbox? C+B's AdHoc news is coming out on 1st Sept, and this month we're serving up a new article all about Green Grass Thinking, share upcoming events and fun things to get into, and where to find us this month.

Not subscribed? Fix that by following the link in our bio! It takes mere seconds to get some adhoc in your inbox.

28/08/2026

Creative Australia has just launched Creative Workplaces Foundations, and for creative business and arts orgs of any size it's a must-see. And one of those sites that should already be in your bookmarks.

This all-new online framework and tool is designed to help orgs and businesses of any size navigate the complexities of workplace responsibilities. It's not the most thrilling of subjects, but having one place to go that can help us ensure fair work arrangements and policies is literally a first in Australia.

Making changes so that your workplace is fair, safe, and respectful doesn’t happen overnight - it’s an ongoing process - which is where the Foundations framework get interesting. It's designed to meet you where you are, breaking down the process into actionable phases:

Core Values - Grounding your business in the core values of fairness and respect

The Essentials - Outlining the core actions and approaches you need for secure, fair work arrangements.

Journeys - Rather than a one-size-fits-all checklist, the platform treats workplace culture as a continuous journey. It guides you step-by-step through the ongoing process of building, implementing, and maintaining positive workplace standards over time.

Whether you're an independent contractor, running a small studio, or managing a large arts organisation, this is an invaluable tool to protect your people and your practice.

You can try out a journey for yourself or just check out the resources at
https://creativeworkplaces.gov.au/foundations

Fair, safe and respectful creative work — a practical framework for creative businesses and organisations

27/08/2026

In the last few months, the conversation for many of us has moved from 'Are you using AI' to 'HOW are you using AI?' Which is why we need AI protocols. Yes, it sounds stuffy and corporate, but as generative AI floods our work world, ignoring it isn’t a strategy anymore.

In this month's blog article, Monica offers a quick overview of what you need to consider when coming up with rules for your robots.

https://creativeplusbusiness.com/robots-rules-creating-ai-protocols-for-creative-business/

25/08/2026

It's always exciting to see one of our posters in the wild.

Even more exciting that we've had to release EXTRA tickets to the next Thrive Sydney meetup event. There's a handful left if you're keen to join our amazing guests this Thursday! Link in bio.

20/08/2026

This time last month (yes, last month) we joined over 200 live performance creatives, programmers, and arts organisations at Arts on Tour's Salon - and it was an epic day!

More than just an engine-room for touring in the NSW and ACT, the event was a great place to connect with our collaborators from across the region, enjoy amazing performances, and learn about the good things coming to the state's theatre makers.

Huge congrats to and - we can't wait to be there next year!

Images courtesy of Arts on Tour Salon and Syl Marie Photography.