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Feb 28, 20178 min read

5 minutes with George Taylor

George and I met whilst I was still at university, we’ve helped each other over the years with various creative projects. I spoke to him recently about his business Creative Industry Hub, his trip to Fashion Week, and being a musician…

Hi George! How are things going? Are you still living up in Leeds?

Hey Mica! Cheers for asking to do this with me! Yes I am still living in Leeds, but I am moving back to London soon. This realisation all started when London Ethnic invited me to the London Fashion Week opening reception at the Houses of Parliament recently, and it was amazing (just like the old London days that I have missed SO MUCH!) I also went to the Paul Costelloe show the day after, which I was really grateful for, as Paul spoke at one of my fashion events, so it was a real pleasure. The point I am trying to make is that during that period, I met so many great people and had such an amazing time. I came home with this weird buzz that I haven’t experienced in such a long time, and certainly not one that I have ever experienced in Leeds, so on the coach home, I finally had the ‘epiphany,’ and realised that it’s time to go home to London. After all, it was this buzz that got me into events in the first place! Not that just, but London is where the creative industries are located any way (contrary to what my Northern friends may think or argue otherwise), so I guess it makes complete sense. It’s what I know, it’s what I love, and it’s where I have built my network and established myself over these past few years. Although saying that, I have enjoyed living in Leeds and I don’t regret it one bit. Firstly, it’s much cheaper than London and much slower paced up here, so I have learned a lot about myself whilst living up here, and for that I am grateful. But the time has come to go home…

Amazing realisation. Yes there is no where like London. So tell me about Creative Industry Hub. You mentioned on social media that you’re shutting down the business? Sadly, that’s true! Again, it was another epiphany I had. I have sacrificed years of my life organising events for creative industry professionals, but it has come at the cost of my own health, and as much as I LOVE what I do, and as much as I am proud of everything I have achieved, I am not willing to sacrifice any more. I actually set the first business up (when we first met a few years back) at a time when I was struggling to find a stable job. I wanted a better life for myself, but the business didn’t make enough money and it eventually drove me into the ground to the point where I was homeless for three months. After moving to Leeds, I came up with a better version of my former business and decided to give it another go, and although we’re in profit and it has been much more successful than last time, I am still not in the best financial situation, and I have come to realise that it is going to be very hard to scale it up to the size that I want. And at 28 going on 29, my dream is to be financially stable. Although we have helped thousands of people get where they want to be, I haven’t helped myself get where I want to be. The whole thing has been one big irony, really. For example, that event you came to with Noelle Reno was one of the biggest ironic moments of my life. Here I am, organising a prestige event for well-paid and well-dressed fashion professionals and hanging out with a self-made multi-millionaire celebrity selling the illusion that everything is OK, when in reality, I had nowhere to sleep that night and I kept it to myself. I have had lots of those situations in the past couple of years, and that is why I have decided to end it.

I’d love to hear in detail about the journey of Creative Industry Hub. I still remember when it was called MyEventBucket! What drove you to want to start an events company? How did you come up with the name? Well as I mentioned above, I set MyEventBucket up out of desperation, and the reason I called it that was because I wasn’t sure what events I was going to organise, or which ones would sell, so I decided to create a platform for testing out my ideas, and it just so happened that the music and fashion events were the most successful, which was great as I am a musician so it worked out to my advantage! Prior to that, I had worked in the events’ industry for a year for some high-end venues as a Business Development Manager, and at festivals with big artists, so it made sense to go into business with something I had some knowledge in and had a big passion for, and even today with everything that’s happened, I still love the events industry and consider myself an Event Manager through and through! The reason I launched Creative Industry Hub, was because MyEventBucket was too broad a name, and by 2015, I was pretty much an expert in the creative industries because of what I had done and achieved, so I decided to hone in on that.

You’re still going to run your break through to fashion event every year. Is that right? What made you come to this decision? Mainly, it’s because BTIF 2016 was my most successful event to date, and also, it was my favourite and most memorable one, and the feedback was immense! There is a real need for it, as there just isn’t enough support out there for fashion designers. I don’t want to walk out of CIH (my second business closure) with nothing empty-handed, and as I have nearly finished organising this year’s event, which is going to be huge, I have decided that I want to keep doing it as a standalone event, because I love it so much and I guess I want to hold on to it.

So I hear you went to fashion week? How did that come about? Did you enjoy it? Well actually, you are partially responsible for that. When I asked you to send me a database of well-known designers, you mentioned Paul Costelloe, and he ended up being the headliner for BTIF 2016! His daughter, Jessica (a lovely lady who I finally met at LFW), gave me the ticket as we have stayed in touch since then, and I got to meet him again which was awesome.


I have always been to the smaller fashion shows, so it was a real buzz being able to sit in that chair and watch such a large-scale fashion show with such a ground breaking designer who I have actually interviewed on stage in front of 150 designers! It just shows how powerful networking can be, and my network is certainly my strongest asset. I’ll never forget that day…

Tell us a little bit about your background….where in the creative industry does your heart truly lie? I started playing guitar at 13 and recorded my first album at 14-15, and got involved in an audition to become the new guitarist of Limp Bizkit when I was 18 and became semi-famous through that at the time, back when MySpace was still around, so I was one of the first ‘viral’ musicians back in 2006!


I then played in a band at Uni called ‘Identity Thief’ from 2009-2011 and we played at music festivals and got on the radio, so I’d have to say MUSIC! I’m actually writing my first music release since 2011 at the moment and it’s going really well. But that’s one of the reasons I was so passionate about CIH, and why I am still passionate about helping creative professionals, because I am one myself. I am my target audience. I know how hard it is, and I know what it looks like from the inside, which if I say so myself, was a lot less glamorous and closed off since our events came about! Thankfully, we have helped thousands of people since 2013, and I hope to continue in some way, as well as releasing my own music again.

This is a silly one. What did you want to be when you grew up when you were younger?


A musician! And I became one! I am hoping that when I release this new record, I’ll be able to live my biggest childhood fantasy, and actually do this as a form of career. Fingers crossed! But recently, I have decided I’d like to be an author so I might write a book next year…

Do you have any entrepreneurial advice for anyone wanting to start their own business? I will list some things that I have learned from making my own mistakes and getting it wrong over the last few years: – Do your market research. How big is your market? How many people are there in the UK that want/need your service? Use research archives, articles and data to find this out. – Speak to your ideal customer in volume and find out how much they’d pay for your service. GET YOUR PRICING RIGHT AND DON’T BUILD YOUR PRICING STRATEGY WITHOUT RESEARCH. – Obviously make sure your margins are decent. Aim for 30-70%. – Establish your sales channels and routes to market. How are you going to sell this thing? How are you going to reach people? Work on volume if possible. – Do your competitor research and make sure your USP is a big one. Too many recruitment consultants set up yet another copycat agency with no USP and wonder why they can’t get past 4 employees. Don’t be that idiot. – Love what you do. If you’re not passionate about what you do, and it doesn’t run through your blood, you will fail. Business is a lifestyle choice and it isn’t for everyone. – Become an expert in at least one industry and stick to that industry because your contacts will always be there, and it gets easier to get things done as your network and reputation grows. If you fail, re-enter that industry. – Take time out. Be militant. Digital detox. Have fun. Stop when you’re stressed out. Years of panic attacks, depression and burnout isn’t worth it, and you’ll achieve just as much on 8 hours a day as you will on 12. – Make sure your logo, branding and copy is TOP NOTCH. Get good at branding and learn marketing and sales even if you hate it. You will fail if you don’t! – Learn basic accountancy skills and get good at making targets, forecasting, pricing up and budgeting, because it’s easy to take your eye off the ball whilst the cash runs out… – And be willing to give up once you have exhausted every opportunity and it hasn’t gone your way. Getting it wrong is OK. Because you can do it better next time.

Here’s a fashion related question. What do you think your personal style says about you? To be honest, it’s completely ironic that I have worked with the biggest fashion icons and brands in the UK, and I don’t even dress that well myself! But that’s because of a mixture of money issues and mental health problems such as depression. So I don’t think that my style at this stage says much about me. Maybe HELP?!


Although I can’t wait for the day when I cruise down Oxford Street and treat myself to a nice coat and a nice pair of shoes, just like the old days! And when I do that, I hope people would think ‘he looks like a smart chap.’

Finally. What’s next for you? Any immediate plans? Anything you hope to do in the future? Well firstly, it’s to get a decent job and move to London and finish this record, and get BTIF 2017 out the way which is going to be AMAZING. After that, I guess it is to start writing my first book and work on new business ideas until I find something that really bites, and then when the time is right, I’ll enter on this insane and crazy path again.

But I do want to start performing live again. I miss it so much. So in the end, I guess my life will be a weird and diverse mix of business, music, writing and having as much fun as possible along the way, and when I am in the position to do so, GIVING BACK! I’d love to help homeless people, people with depression and from abusive backgrounds (I was brought up in one of those), and creative people who want to make money doing what they love.

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