A Business Plan - Why Have One?

One thing that's important for business owners (and that includes independent artists) is to have a clear set of goals. Where do you want to be in 9 months, 2 years, 5 years and beyond? Take some time to think about this and then write your goals down. This can be done informally in a note pad, or formally, as with a business plan.

A business plan takes considerable time to research and to write, is it worth it? Most financial sources require a business plan before they will consider investing in your business. This includes banks, venture capitalists, and sometimes your own family. A property owner may require a business plan before he will consider leasing his property to you. Potential employees may want to see the plan before coming to work for you. Significant suppliers often will ask for your plan, and with a good plan you may be able to get better credit terms than without one.

But, the most important reason for a plan is to give yourself a guide to your future. A well written plan provides a road map to your business's growth, allows you to measure progress toward your goals, and it lets you know if the business climate is changing (and whether you need to change your plans too). It will guide you in your decision making throughout your business.


The next blog will talk about the business plan in more detail.....

See you next week!!

Thank you,
Kerri

Moving Forward

I recently took a short business course geared specifically toward creaters/designers and gathered some useful information. For those of you who are already successful in your business, this will just be a refresher. For those of you who are just starting out, or who want to fine tune your business, I'm going to be doing a short series on business basics.

The first topic will be Branding.....

1. Develop a consistent body of work (can be mixed mediums if style is consistent)

2. Establish your core identity (decide what's most important to you and have that guide your business decisions)

3. Your visual branding has to fit your work

a. Logo - can be a small section of one of your products
b. Font - use the same font on all literature
c. Color Scheme - use the same colors on all literature

If you follow the above list, peope will better be able to recognize your work and identify with you.

For more information on this topic, please check out the site

www.madsencycles.com

Hope this gave you some food for thought....
Kerri