I have a confession to make. I’ve never written a business plan in my life.
In college, I was an Entrepreneurship minor, and in the final course of the program, you wrote a business plan. But in a major case of senioritis, I didn’t take that course, opting instead to take Wood and Mixed Media, which meant I didn’t have to leave the art building my last semester. (The business building was SO far from the art building!)
And I didn’t write a business plan when I launched my business either. (Opting instead for a “try it and see” approach.)
Ironically, I did teach a course on writing business plans as part of a university program that gave students a master’s degree in the business of art and design. Which is precisely where I learned that most artists are REALLY bad at writing business plans.
I’m not saying that from a place of judgement. Like I said, I’ve never written a plan for my own business.
Because despite being quite the business nerd (I could talk numbers and business strategy all day), business planning is not something I get excited about.
That’s because, as a creative, my interests are always changing. It’s hard to stick to a plan when you feel the sudden pull of inspiration.
I’m sure you know the feeling.
It’s that feeling when you know you SHOULD be doing other work, but you just can’t stop yourself from making that new thing RIGHT NOW.
It’s why I’ve spent the last three weeks powdercoating chain rather than doing whatever work I was supposed to be doing. (I honestly can’t even remember what that was now.)
It’s why I don’t make editorial calendars. (I want to be free to blog or email or post about the thing I’m most excited about in that moment, which changes often.)
And it’s why, while I do set revenue goals for my business each year, I leave plenty of space for flexibility in how I’m going to meet those goals. (And I often drastically rewrite them a couple of months into each year.)
As an artist or creative trying to build a successful business, it might be easy to get down on yourself for your lack of ability to create (or stick to) a plan.
But I know (from experience) that for many artists and creatives, a formal business plan is just too structured. I don’t know about you, but I became an artist and creative entrepreneur because I didn’t want anyone else telling me what to do. (Even if that person is me, in the form of a plan I wrote six months ago!)
Plus having a plan doesn’t guarantee that your business will succeed.
And the reverse is also true. You can succeed without a formal business plan.
So if having a plan isn’t a predictor of success, what is?
The first key is action.
I’ve made my business work all these years without a plan because I take action. I try things. I seize opportunities. I get in my studio (and on my computer) every day and do the work of putting my work out into the world and (more importantly) asking for the sale.
I would argue that in the world of creative business, action takers actually beat planners nine times out of ten. The action taker has their website launched and is making sales while the planner is still polishing their business plan. The action taker is out in the real world talking to potential customers while the planner is working on imaginary customer avatars. The action taker is generating cash while the planner is still thinking things over.
Taking action also gives you something valuable that planning alone doesn’t – real world information.
This is the other reason the artists in my business planning class were so bad at writing business plans. Most had gone straight from undergrad into this master’s program. They had zero experience in the real world trying to sell their art or creative services.
The best creative business owners put things out into the world, get feedback (often in the form of sales, or lack thereof), and then adapt from there.
Which brings me to the second key to success – alignment.
Often as artists or creatives, we start our businesses by following the path others have taken before us. We apply to the same shows our heroes are doing. We look at other makers’ websites for inspiration. We try a certain product mix because we see it working for someone else.
And in the beginning, this can be super useful. And it might even help your business grow.
But the problem is that, as creatives, we are all different. We all have different strengths and personalities. (Despite quizzes that tell you you’re one of only nine personality types.) And as we start down one path in our business, we might realize that it’s not the right path for us.
Maybe a certain kind of show or social media platform is super draining for you. Maybe you don’t like making that kind of work as much as you thought it would now that it’s selling. Maybe there are easier ways to make money (for you) than the path you’re currently slogging along.
The reality is that you don’t know any of this until you try things. But once you try them, you need room to adapt. You need to be able to constantly tweak your business until your skills, creative passions, offering, and marketplace are all in alignment.
Which is impossible to do if you’re beholden to a piece of paper you created before you really knew anything about what would and wouldn’t work in your creative business.
So if you’ve been beating yourself up about a lack of plan in your creative business, I’m giving you permission to let that go. Instead of a plan, I want you to focus on action. What is something you can do TODAY that will move your business (or your art) forward? What is one thing you can do that you’ve been putting off because you thought you needed a plan in place first?
And once you’ve started taking action, make sure you carve out time for reflection, so that you can make sure your creative business is in alignment with your own skills and personality. Start by constantly asking yourself if the things you are doing are working, not just to make you money, but working for you.
And if they aren’t, feel free to change them.
Because as artists and creatives, we have passions that can’t be contained in a single business plan. And it’s time we accept that as our strength, rather than viewing it as a weakness.
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Are you ready to ditch planning and focus more on bringing your business into alignment? The Alignment Retreat is available exclusively inside Artists & Profit Makers. When you join, you get full access to all the recordings and resources from the Alignment Retreat, plus a private forum and monthly coaching calls to ask questions! Head to artistsandprofitmakers.com to join today!
