Blooms in the Night Brainstorming...
So I have to figure out a business plan for Blooms in the Night. Every good and successful business has some sort of plan for the future. I did some searching online and found the cliff notes of what a basic business plan should look like.
Simple business plan outline
~Executive Summary: Write this last. It’s just a page or two of highlights.
~Company Description: Legal establishment, history, start-up plans, etc.
~Product or Service: Describe what you’re selling. Focus on customer benefits.
~Market Analysis: You need to know your market, customer needs, where they are, how to reach them, etc.
~Strategy and Implementation: Be specific. Include management responsibilities with dates and budgets. Make sure you can track results.
~Web Plan Summary: For e-commerce, include discussion of website, development costs, operations, sales and marketing strategies.
~Management Team: Describe the organization and the key management team members.
~Financial Analysis: Make sure to include at the very least your projected Profit and Loss and Cash Flow tables.
So far, without wording it all pretty and such I've got this:
~Product or Service: Custom clothing and ready to wear. Also accessories
~Web Plan Summary: At first focus on social networking sites in order to get people to said website. Use etsy and deviant art as a marketing tool as well.
~Management Team: Presently its Veronica, army of one. But I've got Alex as my lackey. He's smart and has more of a knowledge base for this stuff. Plus he can lift stuff AND I'm sure he'd make a pretty good salesperson if he came to trade shows with me.
I need to research more about starting a small business. Some of my other plans, just for this year, involve doing lots of photo shoots with other artists, get into at least one local store around Halloween, and again legitimizing my business. It takes more than just creativity and cool items to make a business, of this I am sure. Events are also going to be crucial for advertising I think.
My big bang for this year in terms of advertising is going to be Macabre Faire. This will be MY fashion show. Now I'm not necessarily looking to make money off of this show, but it will be the exposure that I need right now. It's also in April which gives me plenty of time to work on things. I may look into seeing if Wicked Faire is having a fashion show next year, and even maybe showing at Dorian's Parlor, I was asked to be involved with that last year, but it was more of a last minute thing, and I didn't have the stock to just throw a show together. If I do a show at any of these places, I need to do it right. But I'm getting ahead of myself now.
One thing I'm doing this year is that I'm making sure that I don't take on more than I can handle. So before I start making all kinds of plans for after April, lets get through Wicked Faire vending first.
Today's agenda involves some house stuff and then digging up the pattern I made for a hooded vest for the lovely Ali. I've only promised this to her forever ago.
Alex also bought me a pattern for a jacket, almost 3 years ago at this point, that he really wants. He promised to walk it down the runway if I finish it this year. So there begins my first menswear adventure. But again, getting ahead of myself, I want to finish Ali's piece this week and start a bustle skirt for an alternative bridal shoot at the end of January.
Well that's enough talk then. Time to start doing. :)
Simple business plan outline
~Executive Summary: Write this last. It’s just a page or two of highlights.
~Company Description: Legal establishment, history, start-up plans, etc.
~Product or Service: Describe what you’re selling. Focus on customer benefits.
~Market Analysis: You need to know your market, customer needs, where they are, how to reach them, etc.
~Strategy and Implementation: Be specific. Include management responsibilities with dates and budgets. Make sure you can track results.
~Web Plan Summary: For e-commerce, include discussion of website, development costs, operations, sales and marketing strategies.
~Management Team: Describe the organization and the key management team members.
~Financial Analysis: Make sure to include at the very least your projected Profit and Loss and Cash Flow tables.
So far, without wording it all pretty and such I've got this:
~Product or Service: Custom clothing and ready to wear. Also accessories
~Web Plan Summary: At first focus on social networking sites in order to get people to said website. Use etsy and deviant art as a marketing tool as well.
~Management Team: Presently its Veronica, army of one. But I've got Alex as my lackey. He's smart and has more of a knowledge base for this stuff. Plus he can lift stuff AND I'm sure he'd make a pretty good salesperson if he came to trade shows with me.
I need to research more about starting a small business. Some of my other plans, just for this year, involve doing lots of photo shoots with other artists, get into at least one local store around Halloween, and again legitimizing my business. It takes more than just creativity and cool items to make a business, of this I am sure. Events are also going to be crucial for advertising I think.
My big bang for this year in terms of advertising is going to be Macabre Faire. This will be MY fashion show. Now I'm not necessarily looking to make money off of this show, but it will be the exposure that I need right now. It's also in April which gives me plenty of time to work on things. I may look into seeing if Wicked Faire is having a fashion show next year, and even maybe showing at Dorian's Parlor, I was asked to be involved with that last year, but it was more of a last minute thing, and I didn't have the stock to just throw a show together. If I do a show at any of these places, I need to do it right. But I'm getting ahead of myself now.
One thing I'm doing this year is that I'm making sure that I don't take on more than I can handle. So before I start making all kinds of plans for after April, lets get through Wicked Faire vending first.
Today's agenda involves some house stuff and then digging up the pattern I made for a hooded vest for the lovely Ali. I've only promised this to her forever ago.
Alex also bought me a pattern for a jacket, almost 3 years ago at this point, that he really wants. He promised to walk it down the runway if I finish it this year. So there begins my first menswear adventure. But again, getting ahead of myself, I want to finish Ali's piece this week and start a bustle skirt for an alternative bridal shoot at the end of January.
Well that's enough talk then. Time to start doing. :)