Last time, we discussed the
necessity and importance of musicians and songwriters developing a business
plan. As I researched that offering, I
was intrigued by the insights of Peter Spellman of Berklee College. He is as passionate about business as he is
about music. “I like to think of one's business plan as a
‘vision/mission,’" he says in a recent post to his blog, Music
Business Solutions. “It starts with
vision. Before your first gig you envisioned yourself playing it. Remember?
Vision precedes mission and fuels it with the necessary energy to go the
distance. Mission implements vision and provides the vehicle that moves you
towards your goal. Together they're unstoppable!”
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| Photo courtesy of: Emyscollection.com |
Well it turns out
that Mr. Spellman is right in step with the new direction that successful
corporate leaders are taking. Fortune
500 companies have embraced both Vision and Mission
Statements as the inspirational words chosen by
successful leaders to clearly convey the direction of their organizations. Both
allow a person to powerfully communicate his intentions and motivate others to
share a common vision.
As a
music entrepreneur, having the necessary tools to convey your vision for your
music, and proclaim the mission of your musical enterprise is essential to the
success of both. And as Mr. Spellman, so aptly put it, a
business plan is the most efficient tool for the job. And why is that? Because the process of developing a business
plan forces you to think creatively, pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of
your strategies and ideas, identify any problems, find opportunities you may
have missed, evaluate and set your priorities, get realistic about your budget
and make necessary changes in your game plan before making critical mistakes
that can derail the whole project.
Ultimately,
slowing down to create a definitive business plan will only accelerate your
success by making you look at things with a more discerning eye, while creating
a document that will make potential investors look at you with similar
discernment.
On a
personal note, I realized that I needed to practice what I’ve been preaching,
so I have been developing my own business plan for my burgeoning music
enterprise. And as Mr. Spellman
predicted, I discovered holes in my budget, forcing me to find those opportunities
that I had overlooked and create a more realistic financial strategy.
Bottom
line, a business plan forces you to look before you leap.
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