Maker Entrepreneurship Program

Brisbane City Council has offered the Maker Entrepreneurship Program since 2020 to provide opportunities for makers to grow their business. This fully subsidised micro-business training supports entrepreneurship at the local community level to elevate the independent, artisan and bespoke creators of Brisbane to help grow our city’s maker economy.

2025 program

Take your maker business to new heights with the free Maker Entrepreneurship Program 2025. Build your knowledge and gain the skills, tools and resources to run and grow a sustainable creative business over 4 business development workshops facilitated by artisan and experts from the maker sector. Bring all your learnings together with a bonus photo and styling workshop run by local photographer Debi Brett.

The workshops will cover topics including:

• business planning
• fundamentals of finance
• how to sell your products 
• product photography with your smartphone*.

*Participants who complete all prior sessions will be eligible to attend a product photography workshop in May 2025.

The business development workshops will be held at the Suburban Business Hub, Nundah. Participants will have the opportunity to select their preference for attending on weekdays or Saturdays. Session dates and options are outlined in the online application form. Note, the photography session will only be available on weekdays.

Eligibility criteria

A maker is someone who creates a tangible item either by design or fabrication. For example, artists, sewers, printers, potters, metalsmiths, jewellers, woodworkers, designers and more.

To be eligible to apply for the Maker Entrepreneurship Program, applicants need to:

• be an existing maker business
• be currently selling your handmade products, have stock on hand, and an online presence
• be able to dedicate approximately 25 hours of your time for the sessions and agreed activities/tasks
• have a current and active ABN or ACN
• be physically located within the Brisbane Local Government Area.

How to apply

Complete our online form to apply for the program. In completing the form, you will need to:

• select your preferred attendance option (weekday or Saturday)
• provide links to your website and/or social media
• attach a minimum of one photo of your product/s.

Applications close 11.59pm Friday 20 December 2024.

More information

For more information about this program, email economic_development@brisbane.qld.gov.au or call Council's Business Hotline on 133BNE (133 263) to learn more about Council's support for makers.

To stay updated about opportunities for Brisbane makers, subscribe to Council’s Business in Brisbane e-newsletter.