As a Master’s alumna of
the University of Birmingham with a music degree and
working experience in the UK and
China, Shanshan Shi has used her skills, temperament, networking and passion for
music and the arts to drive and succeed in creating her own business –
CritiClassical.
With a presence in both
the UK and China, CritiClassical organises, coordinates and delivers concerts,
exhibitions, cultural exchange programmes and other events for clients in one
country seeking exposure in the other.
For example CritiClassical creates
opportunities for UK based amateur choirs to host concerts in China while on
the other hand, creating insightful ‘art education appreciation’ touring opportunities
for Chinese art students in the UK.
Successfully
applying for the Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneurship visa has ensured that
Shanshan through CritiClassical could achieve all this.
China, with its 1 billion
population and growing stake in world affairs, presents an important market
characterised by an increasing number of aficionados of western performing
arts. This represents an unsaturated and high-potential market which new and
upcoming UK artists can benefit from in many ways. Facing such a large market, many Western classical
musicians cannot find the right contacts to access it. If I could start a music
management company in the UK, I would be able to build a bridge between
musicians and Chinese audiences.
Shanshan
was supported to do this by the B-Enterprising Team who manage the Start-up
Visa (previously known as Tier 1 GE Visa).
It is very easy to be distracted when you
start a business on your own, but B-Enterprising helped me keep in mind and catch up with a
feasible goal through monthly follow-up and quarterly meetings. This
self-review and timely summary, as well as dialogues with the right people
about your business running, are all very necessary. I often burst out new
business
ideas when writing reports and when I was talking with Kerry
from B-Enterprising team.
I thought classical music is not a hot topic for
entrepreneurship, so the B-Enterprising team might not be able to provide much
help, but when I explain to them my current problems via B-Enterprising
appointments, he would teach me how to find laws and regulations, how to Use
the Internet to find the right industry connections, and how to solve the
seemingly unique problems that are actually very common in the entrepreneurial process.
Shanshan
has fully taken advantage of the recent pandemic despite it impacting her
business she has turned it around and added a new business to her company “I developed a more stable income for the
company via providing digital marketing services. I, therefore, believe that every
crisis is accompanied by opportunities, so keep trying, and keep moving
forward”.
Despite
the strict restrictions in China over the past year, they are now returning to
a new normal. Concert Halls and theatres
are now re-opening and CritiClassical is able to resume some of its previous
services with concert tours in the pipeline for 2021 and 2022. We wish Shanshan
and CritiClassical the best of luck.
Find out more by visiting the CritiClassical website here
Blog edited by Kerry Brunn
With thanks to Shanshan Shi