Writing a Business Plan for an Artist’s Business
Writing a business plan is essential for any artist looking to start and establish their own successful business. A business plan serves as a roadmap for your business and helps you to articulate your goals, strategies, and financial projections. It provides clarity and guidance not just for you, but also for potential investors, lenders, and partners who may want to learn more about your business.
When crafting your business plan, it’s important to consider several key elements. Firstly, clearly define your vision and purpose. What is the purpose of your art business? What do you hope to achieve? Understanding and clearly communicating your goals is essential for your success.
Secondly, identify your target audience. Who is your ideal customer? What demographics and interests do they have? Understanding your target market allows you to tailor your marketing and sales efforts to effectively reach and engage your audience.
Thirdly, conduct a thorough analysis of the market and competition. What is the demand for your artwork? Who are your competitors and what are they offering? By understanding the market and your competitors, you can identify unique selling points and position your art business in a way that differentiates it from others.
Next, outline your marketing and sales strategies. How will you promote and sell your artwork? Will you leverage social media, art galleries, or online marketplaces? Your marketing and sales strategies should align with your target audience and be cost-effective.
Furthermore, consider the financial aspects of your business. Calculate your start-up costs, ongoing expenses, and projected revenue. This will help you to determine the profitability and sustainability of your art business.
Finally, don’t forget to include an executive summary that highlights the key points of your business plan. This summary provides a quick overview of your art business and should capture the attention of potential investors or partners.
In conclusion, writing a business plan for an artist’s business is essential for success. It allows you to clearly define your goals, understand your target market, analyze the competition, develop effective marketing strategies, and evaluate the financial aspects of your business. By following these steps, you can create a comprehensive and impactful business plan that sets the foundation for your artistic endeavors.
He was one of my favorite students in the class I used to teach on starting a business. He challenged assumptions, occasionally on the basis that art was above—or immune to—cash flow. He was engaged, intelligent, and eager to learn; yes, one of my favorites.
“You aren’t going to sell paintings?” I responded. “You don’t plan to pay your rent and other expenses? You don’t care if checks bounce?”
How you make money is at the heart of an artist’s business plan.
He begrudgingly agreed that an artist wanted to survive like anybody else.
On reflection, he liked the idea of making a living without abandoning his art. He saw himself in a condition similar to a professional, like a bookkeeper or consultant, faced with doing what he loved, with a plan.
In this case, being an artist meant creating paintings for walls. But “artist” can mean a range of related things, from fine art and commercial art to design, writing, acting, stand-up comedy, and live art. Whatever works for you and people who combine talent, passion, and hard work as a way of life. Hats off.
So how do you make a business plan and optimize the business side of your art? Here are some suggestions.
The big idea: making money
The first hurdle for the artist business plan is the business model, or how you make money.
If you’re a performer, it’s about gigs, managers, and selling your work. Maybe you’re okay with being the starving artist, but if not, it’s “show me the money.” Don’t discount the obvious—search the web for “where to sell my paintings.”
Don’t discount related businesses. Writers teach literature, painters teach fine arts. There are galleries and websites buying, selling, and collecting art. Be as creative with the business model as you are with your art. Stand-up comedy is tough, but some people get around gatekeepers using YouTube and downloads.
One favorite artist-with-a-plan story is Paul Anthony and Rumblefish. He was a talented musician—a drummer who built a business around selling music rights for films and ads. He started from his dorm room at the University of Oregon in 1996; he sold his company, Rumblefish.com, for $27 million in 2015.
Eventually, settle on how you hope to make money. Talk to people, search the web, sample websites, ads, displays, prices—get as much how-to information as you can and settle on what you’re going to try.
That is the heart of your artist business plan: how you make money.
Strategy and tactics
Strategy is focus. It’s as much about what you don’t do as what you do. Figure out where you are going to concentrate your efforts. It could be as simple as what kind of work you sell, to whom, and through what channels. Or it might be what kind of performance and how you reach the gatekeepers. Think about what makes you different, who will buy from you, and what you sell to them.
With strategy set, you need tactics to execute. Tactics are decisions you make about pricing, channels, websites, social media, managers, agents, stores, overhead, allies, and so forth. Make sure your tactics match your strategy.
Milestones and metrics
Think through manageable and measurable milestones. It might be your first gig, your first painting sold, your first painting available through a website, or reaching a certain number of likes or followers. Spell it out so you can aim for it and work toward it.
Metrics help you track progress. Units sold, gigs, unique visitors, conversion rates, viewers, likes, follows—avoid generalities. Keep it concrete and specific so you can use it to guide yourself and optimize your business.
Essential business numbers
Although many people fear forecasts, don’t. It’s easier to do essential forecasts than to run a business without them. A simple sales forecast can help you track actual results, compare them to the forecast, and analyze the difference. What went right? What went wrong? Where were you off? Lay out a forecast to follow up with the management of it.
And yes, I know, you’re an artist, but it’s good for the bank balance. You can do it, and it will help you succeed. Consider this previous post:
Do a spending budget linked to the sales forecast. Much of your spending—marketing activities, for example—ought to have a direct connection with projected sales. For more on that, try my recent post on my blog here at : How to Do a Spending Budget. That’s part of a whole series I finished recently, on standard business plan financials.
And, most importantly, plan your cash flow. Make sure you have enough cash in the bank to pay your rent and bills. Having enough sales is a critical first step, managing spending is next, and then make sure you have the full cash flow, including things like loan repayment, buying inventory, and supplies. For more on cash flow, try this post: How to Forecast Cash Flow.
Remember: It’s planning that matters
The point of the business plan for most artists isn’t just having the plan; it’s using it to optimize your business. Expect the plan to change often. Use it like a dashboard, a tool for checking your progress against goals, tracking results, and making regular course corrections. Think of it as a business navigation system, which includes destination, route, and real-time information to adjust the route as you go.
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I’m Andrew Brooks, a seasoned finance consultant from the USA and the mind behind phonenumber247.com.
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