The Vision and Mission Statement
The overall business plan, this is such an important step for any small business. These are high-level points, they help define what a business or even just a project is about. I have been going over questions and options that will help me figure out what is driving me to be an artist and how I can get that message across. What do I want to say about my work, and what do I want people to take from it?
Goals and Action Plan
This is a little easier to do, defining concrete realistic goals, along with the pie in the sky – if all the stars aligned goals- to come up with something I can actually and actually want to achieve. Then I get to lay out the plan, what will I do to achieve these goals. Short term and long term, I’m listing the simple tasks like starting a blog as well as lining up gallery shows.
Branding and Logos
I am researching and looking at the myriad of options that are out there for me. It’s a little overwhelming, but I think a very valuable exercise to see what is already out there, to listen to the people who have already blazed trails and to take it all in. I am meeting with a branding and logo designer this weekend. I think this is a really important step that many artists skip for various reasons like I can’t afford it, I already know what I want to do, I’m an artists- I don’t need other people defining me, and on and on. Really I think we all need it, we can’t do everything in our business, we are the experts on our art, we need to acknowledge when we need help. Some of us are able to do and be all of these things, I think that is awesome, but I also think it’s awesome to get feedback and ideas from new sources who see your work from a different perspective- it can’t hurt!
