Week 8: Making it work

From my perspective, business planning is critical. It is absolutely the most essential thing you can do.

It lets us see what kind of company we want to be in the next 10 years and what kind of shows do we want to produce and then we get to break down how we get there.

When it came to doing the business plan through the job center, I thought, oh, I don't want to do this. But actually it was one of the best things that I did. I had this vague idea of what I wanted and I kind of sort of knew what I wanted to achieve with it, but the business plan just put it all on paper. It made it very, very real and it suddenly was something that I could achieve.

I had what I was going to do in the next three months, the next six months, the next 12 months. It was all laid out. It was all achievable. It was something I could actually do. It wasn't just kind of like, let's give it a go and see what happens. It was, oh, no, wait, if I do this, this, and this, by the end of the year, I'm going to be earning this. I can do this. And yes, I will absolutely be doing a business plan going forward for pretty much everything.

There's just all those really important aspects which might sound a bit boring, but actually once I started doing them, I found them really, really interesting. And I now find the business side of things fascinating. I just think it's incredible how business works and I found an interest in something which I have never in my life even considered to be an interest. But I think when you're in it and doing it, suddenly it becomes relevant and important.

I don't do a lot of planning at the moment, but that's probably not true because really I'm looking at funding. I'm looking at getting work space. I'm thinking about the next step, which is this new project. So I guess I am always planning really. It just doesn't feel like it because I'm excited about it because it feels like something I want to be doing.

At the end of each month, I'll think about the month that's gone, what have I achieved this month? What have I done? What's been published? How many clients have I worked for? Have I gained any new clients? Have I lost any clients? If so, why? Et cetera. So to sort of reflect on that. And then I'll try and think forward as well. So I'm thinking, right, what do I need for the next three months?

For example, have I got any projects? Have I got big chunks of project coming up that are going to keep me all right for that month? But what's happening next month? Would I like to get any new clients? If so, how am I going to do that? So I just kind of take stock a little bit, think about where I've been and where I want to go. And I just find that helps me, especially with the looking back, it helps me realise how much I have done.

I think strategically, it's really important to know where you're going because the decisions you make right now really affect what's going to happen further down the line. If you just make one tiny adjustment, it may actually take you off in completely the other direction. But saying that, a kind of overarching strategy within my business plan is actually going with the flow. That's my number one mantra, go with the flow. So I will assess an opportunity that arises and I will make the decision, does this fit within what I'm doing? But more importantly, am I going to enjoy it? Is it for me? And am I going to be able to deliver the best possible job for my client? And if the answer is no to any of those questions, then it's likely that I will go back to the client and actually politely turn the job down. But because I have a network of connections, more often than not, I can actually introduce them to another creative professional that can do that for them. And I know they will do it better than I will. Again, everything ultimately comes back down to connections. So the business planning is critical. And part of that is making sure that you are nurturing those connections.