‘Success’ means different things to different people, so as a creative entrepreneur you need to be clear about your own definition of success. In other words, you must be clear about where you are planning to go.
Having a vision of the future is important, especially if you are working with a business partner or partners, otherwise it’s possible that you will all be working hard, but towards slightly different goals. Actually writing down the objectives of the enterprise and what the future will look like, helps to keep everyone inspired and focused.
Success should be defined as exactly as possible, including the future size and structure of the enterprise, the types of projects to be undertaken, its ideal customers, the degree of creative freedom, the level of personal autonomy and the financial reward for the business itself and individuals involved.
Once you are clear where you want to go, then you can begin to plan your Route to Success – or Business Strategy – which will become your master plan for the journey.
One of the biggest problems facing creative people is actually the bewildering array of choices available, both in terms of the creative products or services you can offer and also in terms of the vast number of potential customers you could approach.
Some of the most important decisions you will make as a creative person in business is to answer two big questions which lie at the heart of any business strategy:
1. Which specific goods or services should we offer (from all the creative things we could do)?
2. Which particular customers should we target (out of all those potential customers out there)?
If you don’t answer these questions, there is a danger that you can try selling ‘everything to everybody’ – and end up selling ‘nothing to nobody’.
Many entrepreneurs have eventually found the answers to these questions through trial and error and have eventually found their successful niche in the marketplace. Many others, though, have fallen along the way, having failed to find a viable formula which connects creative integrity with financial success.
Strategic planning involves using your head as well as your heart, using left-brain logic as well as right-brain intuition, to steer your creative passion in the direction of business success.