You know you’re a right-brain entrepreneur if you respond with a resounding “YES!” to any the following questions:
- Do you hate the idea of writing a business plan, but know you need one?
- Do numbers numb you out?
- Do words like business plan, cash flow and balance sheet make your skin crawl?
- Would you rather have an MFA than an MBA?
- Do you have a big vision for your business but struggle with implementation?
- Do you prefer colors, images and feelings to spreadsheets, tables and templates?
- Do you want to make a positive impact with your business, but avoid the business side of your job?
- Do you feel like planning is boring, daunting or in the way of the “real work”?
- Are you turned off by the formality and nitty-gritty detail of traditional business plans?
- Do you believe there’s got to be a better way to run your business?
You are not alone. Believe me, I’m right there with ya! And I hear clients, workshop participants, and blog readers answer yes to questions like these all of the time. Sure, maybe your feathers may get ruffled when you hear the letters ROI, but that doesn’t mean you can’t artfully run a business.
So come join me and your fellow right-brain peeps while you get your business planning on in a way that works for you! At the Right-Brain Business Plan e-Course starting February 1st, you’ll craft a visual plan for your entrepreneurial success in 2010 and beyond. Oh come on… you know you’ve been putting of doing your plan. With this e-course you’ll finally get it done and you’ll have fun doing it!!
by Jennifer Lee on November 17, 2009
in Courses
On Sunday a fabulous group of creative women entrepreneurs gathered for my Right-Brain Business Plan workshop in Oakland. We had a fun day full of visioning, play, movement, collaging, sharing, planning and learning.
I was so inspired by all of the participant’s creative visions for their business. Most were expanding an existing business and finding ways to integrate their many passions and interests. And some were looking for ways to transition into their idea full time.
The Right-Brain Business Plan puts just as much importance on the “how” as the “what.” So when we started to dive into some of the left-brain details, we took a right-brain approach with visual Post-it Notes. It made the planning much more accessible!
Unfortunately, one of the participants ended up getting sick and couldn’t attend at the last minute. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, though, she e-mailed to let me know that she had her Right-Brain Business Plan, stickers, magazines and glue nearby for some bedside-business planning 
.
I love knowing that the this creative approach makes the planning process more fun. And it’s such a treat to see when people are so passionately connected with their work. I look forward to seeing how each of these creative women’s business vision unfolds.
Oh and, check out Muse Cube creator Gretchen Wegner’s post about the workshop. Thanks, Gretchen for leading us in some energizing movement exercises and for the much needed Muse Cube breaks.
by Jennifer Lee on June 30, 2008
in Courses
On Saturday, I led a Right-Brain Business Plan Workshop in San Francisco. During the workshop, I mentioned Daniel Pink’s book A Whole New Mind. Pink asserts that the left-brain analytical skills which made people successful in the past are no longer enough to succeed. In this day and age, we also need to cultivate more right-brain aptitudes – more creativity, more meaning-making and empathy.
The Right-Brain Business Planning approach follows similar thinking. If you start with your vision and values, the details can follow. If you start with the left-brain details that you know you “should have,” you may limit your thinking or, worse yet, you may get analysis paralysis. By taking a more right-brain approach, you free your mind to see creative options, to explore and find patterns and purpose.
What’s great about bringing people together for an afternoon of right-brain business planning, is it helps to get them out of their heads. They connect with other creative entrepreneurs, they find common threads, they support each other. It becomes a more collaborative process even if they’re still making their own individual plans.
If you’re working on your own Right-Brain Business Plan, why not gather a few of your friends and make an afternoon out of it. Your right-brain will thank you!
