Do you really need an MBA? 🎓

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1 OCTOBER 2021

Courier Weekly provides inspiration and tools to help you work better and live smarter.

Brought to you this week by Bureau at Design District.

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Your weekly round-up of briefings, trends and news.

Creatives need business skills, too

When designer Stacie Woolsey first started looking into a Master's program, she was quoted an unaffordable amount to study and live in London. So, she proposed an experiment: could she work on live industry briefs with artists and designers in the field, just to learn about what they did? Stacie's story of reaching out to industry professionals quickly spread in the design community - that's how her creative education program, Make Your Own Masters, came about. In January last year, she brought on her first cohort of 11 creatives to follow the same formula of crafting their own education alongside industry professionals.

Financial inaccessibility is still a huge issue in the higher-education space. MBAs can set people back five or six figures, and they're usually only available to people with some prior knowledge of business or management. That not only excludes creative entrepreneurs, but also widens the knowledge gap between them and other business owners. So, creatives are starting to take matters into their own hands.

A new formula

Carolyn Dailey had worked in the creative industry for 20 years, and it was only when she started her own business that she noticed that knowledge deficit. ‘We all had a lack of business training and networks, which made everything a struggle.’ That led her to launch Creative Entrepreneurs, an online membership-based platform that tailors business concepts to creative people. Today, the platform attracts people in a number of creative sectors, including architecture, film and video games.

And there's an even larger gap in newer creative spaces, like content creation, influencing and podcasting, according to Ranbir Arora, CEO and co-founder of Dorm, which pairs aspiring business owners with established entrepreneurs. ‘You can best learn from an experienced entrepreneur when you are in the trenches with them as real partners of a project,’ Ranbir says. ‘This is where you can really see first hand how they tackle deep operational issues [and] how they keep calm under pressure.’ What's unique about Dorm is that the entrepreneurs are rewarded with equity or a share of revenue if the business they’re mentoring is successful.

The accessibility question

A lot of these alternative education providers are offering their services at a fraction of the price of traditional universities. A membership to Creative Entrepreneurs - which has a rich library of on-demand educational content and events - will only cost £30 a month or £300 on a yearly plan. Berlin-based d.MBA costs just shy of €3,000 for a six-week business course that's tailored for designers - a far cry from the six-figure price tags of one- or two-year MBAs offered by universities. Prospective d.MBA students can even gauge whether the course is right for them before applying, by opting for a free seven-day trial that's delivered over email.

Accessibility isn't just about lowering prices, says d.MBA founder Alen Faljic. How a course is structured also has to be fundamentally different for creative professionals. ‘Having small groups of 30 people per cohort means that they can all hold each other accountable.’ Adding a community-based element to education also increases the likelihood that people will see the whole course through. That's why d.MBA completion rates are at 97%, while for most online courses, only 5% to 10% of learners finish the program. Alen and his team are already finding that they have lots more designers applying than they can serve. ‘More people are starting to realize that not having this knowledge is keeping them from growing in their careers.’

For more on how creatives are navigating the business world, check out our latest print edition, out now.

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Inspiration for the home, plus things to eat, drink and wear.

The e-bike boom

One e-bike was sold every three minutes in 2020. Experts predict that 30 million will be sold every year by 2030, with advances in technology, accessibility and the need for easier commuting being a few reasons behind it. Here are five brands leading the way.

•	Crowdfunded in 2017, Swytch wants to bring electrical biking to everyone. The easy-to-assemble Universal eBike Conversion Kit, including a front motor wheel, power pack, handlebar bracket and a universal pedal assist sensor, converts any regular bike into an e-bike.
•	The Cowboy 4 is Cowboy's newest and most advanced edition, winning the Red Dot Best of the Best product design award in 2021. With 50% extra torque power compared to previous models, the bike is made of 200 components and integrates with the Cowboy app, which connects bike to phone to monitor activities.
•	Cake is a Swedish electric bike company blurring the line between bicycle and motorbike. The newest model, the Makka, is available in two versions, the Range and the Flex. With top speeds of upwards of 25 km/h, it can be customized with Cake accessories, from a topbox to an additional passenger seat.
•	The Folding by Ahooga is a lightweight hybrid bicycle, weighing in at 13kg. Combining the comfort and performance of a full-sized bike, the Folding is available in several motorizations, and can easily unwind in and out of its compact position within 10 seconds.
•	Designed and engineered in Austin, Texas, the MOD Easy is an e-bike celebrating World War II motorcycles, featuring a retro frame with a large built-in battery and a powerful motor placed in the center. It can reach up to 45km/h and is available with a sidecar to carry any extra cargo.

BRAND PARTNER: Bureau at Design District

Find your new creative home

After a year of working from home, it's time to reconnect with your community. Meet Bureau, a new members' club for desk-based creatives located in the heart of Greenwich Peninsula's new Design District. Bureau offers space to work and space to connect, with options for hot-desking, fixed workspaces and studio space for four to eight people, thoughtfully designed with creative work in mind.

Get your free month's membership.

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Tips and tools to become better at life and work.

Supporting employees' mental health

With one in six employees experiencing mental ill health, organizations are – now more than ever – expected to have measures in place supporting workplace wellbeing. Nike, for example, hit headlines at the end of August for giving its staff a week-long mental health break. But what can smaller businesses, with limited time, money and resources, do to help their staff?

We asked Dr Nick Taylor, a clinical psychologist and co-founder of workplace mental health platform Unmind, for some practical advice.

Nick’s tips

1.	Train managers in supporting mental wellbeing ‘Training managers for effective leadership, organization and planning is essential, but small businesses need to go further. They need to provide managers with specific training on how to offer mental health support to colleagues – both in person and virtually. Managers should be able to encourage and help employees to use the available resources.’
2.	Move beyond standard, treatment-centric employee assistance programs (EAPs) ‘EAPs are critical for those already experiencing mental ill health. But small businesses also need to put preventative measures in place. These measures should focus on seven crucial areas: connecting with people to find support, monitoring stress levels, taking time off from work, drawing the line between private life and work, staying physically active, getting enough sleep, and finding purpose. By encouraging staff to proactively take care of these seven crucial areas, employers reduce the risk of mental ill health from appearing in the first place – and create a healthy, happy team.’
3.	Fight the stigma ‘Employers should position mental health as something to be understood, nurtured and celebrated in the daily routines of any business. To achieve this, employers and managers can start by talking about their own struggles with mental health, and encourage honest conversations across the workforce.’
4.	Underline the relationship between inclusivity and mental health ‘Lackluster initiatives to promote diversity and equality often lead to mental ill health among minority groups who might struggle to access support. Offer resources that cover a wide range of topics, delivered on various channels, which are accessible by everyone.’
5.	Provide employees with connected mental health tools ‘Since the pandemic hit, we have seen a rise in virtual mental health tools, such as apps, videos and articles. These tools should be accessible to all employees and, most importantly, work in tandem with them. Employers should organize these tools on a single platform that employees can easily access from anywhere.’

Want more tips and tools on working effectively and living smarter?

Visit Courier Workshop

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Other great stuff we loved this week.

1.	The couple that launched a home bakery.
2.	What on earth is ‘productivity dysmorphia’?
3.	A fresh take on tech investing.
4.	Inside a mini mart in LA’s Chinatown.
5.	The Native American women shaking up craft beer.

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Illustration: Lauren Humphrey.