Fickle Rooster Productions: making a business from a hobby

It is the dream of many would-be entrepreneurs to slide seamlessly from their pursuit of a favourite hobby into the establishment and operation of a business based on their favourite pastime. The creative industries, including arts and crafts, designer fashion, film, theatre and the performing arts, broadcast media and recorded music (Henry and Johnston, 2005) are a particularly fertile area for the extension of personal hobbies into new businesses. Indeed, being a creative micro-business 'seems to be the ultimate role model in business nowadays' (Poettschacher, 2005, p 177). Focusing on one of the creative industries, recorded music, this case explores the motivations, early setbacks and accomplishments of a business founder within the first three years of trading, as well as providing an account of a business's changing trading focus over time. The case highlights the many and various challenges faced by a new business owner and suggests that business development is often beset by discontinuous and critical incidents.