Developing and implementing a business plan can be a daunting task for most of us. We might assume that the creative practitioner – especially those without a background in business – would find this process even more challenging. When we think about what developing a business plan entails, however, we find that the creator is actually well-suited to meet this challenge: introspection, observation, and expression are traits of the successful entrepreneur!

A business plan can assist in translating those creative skills into tangible visions, bringing them into the world as a foundation for your practice. The challenge is speaking to your strengths, ideals, and aspirations in a clear manner that is easily structured. The formulaic structure of a business plan can feel constraining at first so let’s consider the purpose of this document:

What is a Business Plan?

According to the United States Small Business Administration, a properly crafted business plan offers a, “roadmap for how to structure, run, and grow your new business.” For organizations, the business plan is a way to share that roadmap with employees as a way to help navigate uncertainties and fluctuations in the market (Henry). The plan can also be instrumental in reminding individuals what the core values of the enterprise are.

For many artists, the business plan is an opportunity to brand their work. This is a different approach than those entrepreneurs who have a tangible product or process to pitch. Instead, the creator is pitching themselves as both product and process! Despite these differences, the important similarity is that the business plan must provide details that the investor, agent, grantor, or purchaser need to proceed with consideration.

How to Write a Business Plan?

There is no one true way of crafting a business plan and there a numerous templates and models available online and within the shelves of how-to books. Some of the core components of most business plans include:

• Mission statement
• Problem
• Solution
• Target audience or market
• Budget and revenue stream
• Expenses
• Contingency plan
• Milestones

In The Corporate Energy Strategist’s Handbook, Jimmy Jia states that it is most important to consider what the audience finds most important (p. 156). What information do they need first? For creative practitioners, knowing your audience is complicated because your immediate audience – an agent or publisher, for example – is often different from your ultimate, ideal audience; an editor or producer will want to be sure your work is profitable; an agent will want to be confident that that can adequately represent your work to potential publishers; a grant proposal reviewer will want to be sure that your work addresses the needs of the project.

Each of the statements below should be included in your business plan. The order you arrange them in, however, may change depending on who your immediate audience is.

Executive Summary

The executive summary is a short, yet well-crafted summation of your values, objectives, and target market. Like any introduction, this should be written last – once you have the remainder of your business plan completed.

Mission Statement

Whether you’re a corporate strategist or an up-and-coming author, your business plan should start with a mission statement. In this statement, you should address the following questions:

• Whatis your practice, your craft and process? What do you make?
• Whydo you create? What values inspire you?
• Whowill you be creating for?

The mission statement should be very clear and concise. A more conceptual mission statement may come off as unclear or obtuse. But doesn’t that convey the creative spirit of my work? Consider what the audience for a business plan is after: consistency, reliability, and stability. An editor, for example, will want to know that you’ll have the manuscript finished on time. A public arts commission that is offering grant support will want to also be sure that the project will be completed in a timely manner. The mission statement conveys these ideals.

Value Statement

The value statement can be an optional addition if you want to communicate how you identify with the purpose of a grant or are aligned with a particular quality of a publisher. At a time when personal values are cultural capital, a value statement can help articulate how your work will also reflect a publisher or organization in the greater community. This is especially important for those just beginning their professional practice and may yet be relatively unknown.

Ideal Audience

Unlike a “target audience,” which is typically a data-driven construct formed by demographics and analytics, the ideal audience is the community or audience that you have in mind when you are creating. Who is this community you are writing to? Who is that person you think will value your work because it “speaks” to them?

What are the needs and wants of this idealized audience? What are their problems you hope to alleviate? What is their desired lifestyle, their aspirations, and dreams? Following your value statement, a description of your ideal audience communicates your ability to connect with similar audiences being sought by the publisher or organization.

Your Voice. Your Niche. Your Brand

When discussing your creative work, it can be challenging to describe the qualities that distinguish your work from others. Your voice describes the signature characteristics of your work. To put it into marketing terms, this i

Are your characters realistic or satirical? Are you exceptional at describing fantasy settings? Do you specialize is honest (at time scathing even) commentary? You may also need to describe your genre and medium as well.

Description of Products and Services

In this section, you’ll layout a “menu” of the skills you offer to a client. What are the tasks your able to perform? What are your specialties? What services can you also provide? Don’t overlook those services that may be secondary – even those that you might not be thrilled to offer! Some examples:

While you will want to prioritize those skills that are relevant to your objective and audience, you should also include those that a client may find beneficial. Design skills, for example, indicate an appreciation or knowledge of layout and style treatments. Some secondary skills might include:

You should also include so-called “soft skills,” which describe your work process and how you work with others. Research and problem-solving skills are considered soft skills as well as collaboration and leadership. Although these skills might not be included in a “menu” of offerings, you may consider adding a short list of these qualities. Additional soft skills include:

How you indicate and describe these offerings and skills is up to you. A list may be a good way to stack up your secondary skills. You primary, applied skills might be more elaborate and descriptive.

Industries Worked

Create a list of industries you have worked in. This is valuable because it displays the contexts in which you developed your skills. Working in restaurants, for example, teaching you a number of soft skills (communication, managing multiple tasks). Restaurant experience can also provide insights about the needs of the service industry: menus and promotion, outreach and employee communications.

Works

Develop a list of works you’ve completed and those currently being worked on. This is useful for demonstrating a work history but also provide yourself with documentation of your accomplishments. This list may be short now but it can provide a good reminder of what your objectives and goals are.

Completed works

You will also want to present a list of products and projects you’ve completed. These are published works as well as presentations given, apps you’ve developed and lengthy projects you’ve collaborated on. Include dates completed.

Works in progress

In this section, you should also present a list of projects you’re currently working on. This is important to indicate what your current focus is. Include products that are actively being designed, creative works that need to be revised, and accounts that are in negotiation. Include anticipated dates of completion.

Avoid listing ideas and “dream” projects

For most of us, this list is much longer than lists of our completed projects and those in progress. A good practice is to begin a document of ideas and keeping track of your brainstorming. Because the business plan needs to be concise and precise, however, these should be kept separate. Consider these goals to work into your future plans!

Production

Once you thoroughly described what you can do, you’ll want to describe your work process, schedule, and plan of operation.

Education

Although your previous and current education is important, it’s crucial you are attentive to the areas for further development. Your formal training says a great deal of your goals and objectives at a specific time in your life and career. For the purposes of a resume or CV, these are important to include. In a business plan, however, you want to be focusing on your growth and development.

• What areas do you need to improve?
• What skills do you need to thrive in your target market?

Works Cited

Henry , Zoë. “How to Write a Business Plan: A Step-By-Step Guide.” Inc.com. www.inc.com. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.

Jia, Jimmy Y. Communication: Using Structures to Send Information. In: The Corporate Energy Strategist’s Handbook. Palgrave Macmillan, 2020.

U.S. Small Business Administration. “Write Your Business Plan.” www.sba.gov. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.