Logos

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!

The Long and Winding Road Back

I’ve realized that the way back is a very twisty and windy road. I have looked back at all of my past posts (five, clearly I am not a blogger!) and they are all about starting again and again… and again. It would seem that I’m not serious about this… but that is not the case! I am realizing that none of this is actually starting again, it is all part of the journey. All parts of my life are connected and will make sense together eventually.

Next Steps

Now I have to figure out how to put those skills into a business plan for my art business. It’s one of the hardest things as an artist. Creating is the fun part, we get feedback on how people feel about our work and usually, it is positive. We live for that!

Having to track inventory, sales, create letterhead and logos, communicating with clients and keeping contact lists is mundane and certainly does not feel creative. But really without a good business/marketing plan, we are winging it and it shows. I had no idea how important this all was early on in my career as an artist. Now that I have had some perspective I can see, it’s essential. So I will embark on this endeavour with excitement for the spreadsheet, create goals and tasks, contact lists, social media streams, and interesting content for my website and utilize systems to streamline all of this. Then I can get to the fun part of creating.