Or, figuring out this “business plan” thing
Despite New Year’s being the arbitrary reset/”fresh start” that it is, I’ve been more of the mindset that January is cold, and dark, and also the month of my birthday, so I’m going to do whatever I feel like doing, which I’ve been thinking of as a kind of “hibernation.” I don’t mean that I’m going to stop painting or anything, but admittedly a good portion of December was spent painting things I thought might sell well and working on a commissioned piece for a coworker/friend. I also spent a fair amount of time getting some marketing “stuff” together (I got business cards!) and populating my Etsy page and this site. There’s more work to be done, but from a shopper’s standpoint (shopping being one thing I am very good at) these next couple months will be a slow season, which means it’s a good time for me to reduce my focus on the “marketing” stuff and work on my skills as an artist. Specifically, I plan on painting bigger, more detailed pieces and studying some of the “masters” whose work I admire.
Don’t worry, though (not that any of you were) — I have been working on a tentative month-to-month business plan (which starts in January mostly because it means the crazy holiday season is behind us, and yes, it includes “hibernation”). Some of the goals in that plan include connecting with local arts groups, finding and participating in face-to-face markets and events, and attending a couple of seminars at my library which will focus on marketing research and the logistics of operating a small business in Illinois.
It’s a little overwhelming when I list it out like that, but that’s like 3 or 4 months of work right there, broken down into smaller, more manageable steps. In the meantime, though, back to painting, because I won’t have any patrons at all if I have nothing to show them.
Do you have any ambitious goals — creative or otherwise — for the year? If so, how are you managing them?
Fairy Tree Studios 