BEST PRACTICES FOR ENSURING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF CREATIVE BUSINESSES
October 2026
Like most micro-enterprises, small creative businesses also face challenges related to isolation, uncertainty, income fluctuations, and insufficient recognition of the authenticity of the products created, which affects their sustainability.
Solutions
Through the Skillful AID project, funded by the Erasmus+ programme and implemented by the Foundation for the Promotion of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Brașov, a member of AMCOR, together with the Portuguese partners Storytellme and the Bravery Devotion Association, some solutions to these challenges have been identified, based on good practices in Portugal and Romania. The project has transformed the experiences gained through the exchange of good practices into tools and solutions applicable in entrepreneurial training.
Thus, collaboration within groups of creators with common interests – through joint promotion, creative services barter, combining products/services in a common offer, and sharing resources (workspaces and exhibitions, equipment, etc.) – facilitates the transition from competition to co-creation and is beneficial for overcoming the challenges related to isolation, allowing the development of small creative businesses.
Some examples of initiatives that promote collaboration, identified as part of the project, include the Reduta Brașov Cultural Center, the NOD Workshop in Brașov, the Oficina das Ruas Floridas in Redondo (https://www.cm-redondo.pt/locais/oficina-das-ruas-floridas/), the Casa do Cais – Trafaria Creative Hub (https://www.e-cultura.pt/artigo/34394), and the Casa da Cerca Contemporary Art Center (https://www.cm-almada.pt/casa-da-cerca-centro-de-arte-contemporanea-0).
These multifunctional spaces promote cultural and creative entrepreneurship by combining exhibitions, artistic experimentation, arts education, and local resources to support local cultural traditions, with the local community actively involved in these activities. This approach illustrates the value of community involvement in fostering creative skills and a shared sense of identity.
Creative Ecosystems
At the same time, these initiatives demonstrate how creative ecosystems in peripheral metropolitan areas can contribute to urban regeneration, talent retention, and the diversification of local economies, highlighting the potential to connect creative professionals, micro-enterprises, and community organisations through shared spaces, collaborative networks, and digital visibility.
Organising creative workshops, where the specific processes of a given creative activity are shared, can serve as an additional source of income for small creative businesses and help promote them.
The story behind each creative business sparks interest because it creates an emotional connection with potential customers, reinforcing trust in the authenticity of the products and allowing customers to identify with the creator’s passions and values.
Certifying the authenticity of products is beneficial and necessary to distinguish products created by authentic creators (such as artisans) from imported and mass-produced goods.
An Adaptive Mindset
Operating in an unstable economic environment requires an adaptive mindset—one that views unforeseen changes as challenges and opportunities for growth and focuses on constructive solutions.
Last but not least, digital resilience—the ability to respond promptly to digital risks—is important for supporting the online visibility of small creative businesses, allowing them to reach a wider target audience.
See also CONAF: Legal protection must not become a pretext for imposing new obligations on business owners.
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