Developing a Business Plan:
The first step to successfully building a business in the Visual Arts industry to develop a business plan. Many entrepreneurs are suggested to just start and not over analyze the situation at hand. They often quote the popular key term “analysis paralysis” which encourages young business owners to “just do it” or “launch quickly”. Although that may seem exciting and you’d like to get started with building your business right away there’s a problem. The problem is that going into a business right away can easily ruin your reputation. This isn’t a multi-level marketing business that’s done for you. You’re not simply a pawn in a giant team of sales people.
You are a fundamental part of your business. If you try to build too quickly or start working on your business without a sound fulfillment plan you will fail. You might not fail right away. You might not fail for years, but those parts of your business that aren’t set in stone such as fulfillment and order processing will significantly slow you down. You will look unprofessional to many people. An unprofessional look will hinder the success of your business.
It is vital to develop a business plan. Your business plan needs to include 3 major parts:
- Fulfillment – Never do the work yourself. You will fall into the trap of being self-employed if you’re doing all the work yourself. Being a perfectionist is great for the people that are doing the work for you, but keep in mind you cannot be a perfectionist in your business management role. You need to have a sound fulfillment team setup prior to launching your visual arts business.
- Sales – Your sales funnel needs to be build out extensively. You need to do major research on your customers. You also should focus the research on your ideal customer. Knowing which kind of customers ask the least questions, pay the more and appreciate the work you do the most is key to growing your business. Wasting time catering to everyone is a waste of time.
- Referrals – Referrals will be the lifeblood of your business. A referral is the best customer that you can get. They come pre-sold and will help you push through those plateaus with ease. The problem that most business owners have is that they don’t bake referrals into the deal. Give your customer 2 separate prices. The first price will be higher and will not include a mandatory referral. The second price will be lower, but will bake in mandatory referrals to the deal.
Lesson Take Away: Develop a Business Plan
Homework: Watch this video below about Developing a Business Plan