It’s been a busy and challenging first month at Praxis but I’ve successfully finished Module 1 of the bootcamp and I’m moving onwards to Module 2! This week I’m figuring out which career roles and portfolio project I want to pursue. Here I’ll hash out a rough outline of five possible project ideas and narrowing it down to one. Module 2 is the start of the meat and potatoes of the bootcamp and it will definitely be challenging but rewarding. As cliche as that sounds it’s true.
Podcast
So this was originally my first project idea suggested to me by my advisor and it was also something I had thought about before starting the bootcamp. I want to improve on these skills which could be showcased with a podcast of my own.
A successful podcast requires lots of behind the scene work like planning out who I’ll bring onto the show, coordinating a time to record, determine if I’m going to use Skype or Zoom to record calls, and deciding what to talk about. If I choose this as my portfolio project I’ll start off small with a miniseries of eight episodes, and if I love it enough then I’ll continue recording.
Selling Fabric for Fashion Companies
Sales is an integral part of any business. I want to improve on my confidence and know how to actually convince people without the fear of rejection.
A friend of mine has an aunt whose business sells different types of fabric to well-known brands in the fashion industry including athletic wear. I’ll contact her to learn about their sales funnel, create an FAQ page if they need one, learn about different fabrics and the benefits of wearing it, and selling it.
Social Media For an Art Studio
I’ve dabbled in marketing when I was a digital and social media marketer for British Swim School and it taught me things like how to keep people engaged. The posts with the most engagement were usually about funny pets or cute babies. I found that the most successful content has to personally relate with your target audience.
My dad is an oil painter and he needs a social media marketer to help him promote his work and studio on Instagram and build a website. What I would do is help him create an account and build a website with his studio name, instead of a Blogspot, and make it easier for people to contact him. I’ll also recommend him to use a separate email for business purposes.
Starting a Youtube Channel
I have quite a few ideas for a Youtube channel and it could be about makeup tutorials or economics and politics from the perspective of a female anarcho-capitalist.
Either way I would focus on marketing myself to get more views and subscribers. Since I already have an Instagram account I could link my followers to my Youtube channel and post about it on Facebook.
T-shirt Business
Graphic design appeals to me the most and I’m already familiar with it but I could learn more skills.
I think I’m most likely to choose this as my portfolio project because I have an eye for design and it’s something I enjoy doing.
If I end up choosing this as my portfolio project I would create T-shirt designs that appeal to Millennials and younger generations. I’ll need to learn Adobe Illustrator and brush up on my drawing skills.
Traits I Want to Prove I Have
The skills I want to achieve by the end of Module 2 are persuading people to buy stuff, how to get more views, confidence, no fear of rejection, and learning Adobe Illustrator.
I think the most efficient way to achieve all those skills is to start a T-shirt business and learn to implement everything all at once. I’ve decided to choose this as my portfolio project because I’ve always wanted to start my own business and do something that I like.
Hopefully I won’t bite off more than I can chew but I’ll talk to my Praxis advisor for his advice. If that plan doesn’t work out then I’ll just focus on either sales and marketing, or both, and help my dad sell more of his paintings.
More importantly I’ll gain new skills to show my future employer what I’m capable of doing without a degree.