Business plans

Roadmaps are really important. I like the paper kind personally, because you never know when your car could be hit by an EMP or the electrical just blips out and your GPS goes Kaput. There is something about putting your ideas down on paper that not only solidifies it in your head but, gives you something to look at and keep you motivated and inspired. Many creative types seem to think because they are free floaters and dreamers that there is no need for a plan- art happens right? Well, just because you paint a picture and post it online or in a gallery does not mean that it will sell. I know so many scrapbookers that think because they post their work in an online gallery here or there that they will be "discovered" and their hobby will magically transform into a multi-million dollar money making machine..... just like all those other "famous" scrappers.... Wrong. I do not care what you are setting out to do, if you think somewhere in the back of your head, "hmmmmm, I bet I could sell this somewhere and at least pay for my addiction to paper...." you need to have a roadmap- something to help you think through the randomness in your head and sorts things out in a real and organized way. One of the exercise I go through in my own world is making it a point to define the task. What does it mean to market, what is a brand, who is my market, where will I sell my work, where will I need to work, what tools will I need ????..... To be successful as a creative trying to eek out an existence in this world, there has to be a method to your madness.

Although I have a formal business plan that graphs out my goals and ambitions for the next 10 years, I always carry a Moleskin Wallet where my immediate thoughts and seeds of random inspiration go as I go through the day. Business plans need to be detailed yet, the need to be flexible too afterall, you never know what amazing opportunities you never thought could happen will just fall at your feet and carry you in a new direction.