The Right-Brain Business Plan®

April 29, 2019

Know Your Money

Guest post by Cass Mullane, Entrepreneur Coach, Right-Brain Business Plan® Licensed Facilitator, Prosper Creatively, LLC

I’m one of those people who likes paying my taxes. It’s because I feel a sense of accomplishment in knowing first, that I earned enough money to owe taxes, and second, that I managed it well enough during the year that I have the cash set aside to cover the payment. It also means that I’m contributing toward the greater good, as at least some of my payment is reaching people who need help.

So how do you feel about doing your taxes? If you’re like a lot of people, you’ve created an emotional morass around a ‘thing’ and the thing is called money.

You need to get comfortable with money… talking about it, looking at what it’s doing through your financial reports and treating it like the valuable tool that it is. In fact, it’s an absolute requirement if you’re in business.

At a bare minimum, you need to know what you’ve earned and what you’ve spent each month. Plus, you need to know what’s coming up so that you can generate enough revenue to put money aside for things like taxes, insurance, rent, dues, conferences, workshops, payroll, whatever you’ve got planned for your business. This means a preparing budget and tracking all your transactions, both revenues in and expenses out, against that budget.

This does not mean that you need to do everything yourself. You’re the CEO, right, you’re not the COE (Chief of Everything). In fact, if you’re hung up about money, you should not do it yourself. Here’s something that you can do differently: Make a very near-term goal to hire someone to help you create a budget, keep your books and generate your monthly financial reports. Get referrals from your colleagues, do a few interviews to make sure you’re a match, then pull the trigger and make the commitment. Hire a person who loves doing books for businesses of your size. You’ll make them happy and you’ll be happy. The second part of this goal is to pour the time that you would have otherwise spent on bookkeeping into revenue generating activities for your business. That way you’ll easily pay for your newly hired contractor.

If you’re comfortable with money and have the discipline to do your books efficiently on a daily or weekly basis, then go ahead. Just remember that you won’t be generating revenues while you’re doing your books. If it’s a long process, someone else should be doing the data entry and you should only be checking the input for accuracy.

Regardless of who does your books, you need to pay attention to where your money is and what it’s doing through your monthly reports. Are you on track with your budget? If not, where are the variances and what are you going to do about them? How is your cashflow, are you robbing Peter to pay Paul or do you have enough at the end of the month to set money aside for what’s coming up?

Think about what you will do differently to make money a simple, yet powerful tool in your business toolbox. Hire someone to do what they love so you can stick with doing what you love. Everybody wins!

Like many great innovators, Cass Mullane has the unique combination of being a strong creative as well as a strategic thinking MBA. After departing the corporate world in 2004, Cass built a thriving business and personal coaching practice that focuses on accountability and specializes in solid business skills for right-brainers and creatives. Tapping into this whole brain approach has helped to make Cass a highly valued coach with an international clientele.
Cass’ new #1 International Bestseller, The Cool Stuff Jar: Three Simple Ways to Live a Happier Life, is now out on Kindle! Keep tabs on the book launch and all the fun following the launch by visiting www.coolstuffjar.com and entering your email. You can also follow Cass on Facebook!

April 17, 2019

Right-Brain Business Plan Spotlight on Fabiana Grassi

Name: Fabiana Grassi
Company Name: Fabiana Grassi Interpreter and Translator
Website: https://collettivointerpreti.com/project/fabiana-grassi/
Email: fabiana.grassi@collettivointerpreti.com

Fabiana Grassi is a freelance interpreter and translator located in Italy. She recently sent us an email sharing her excitement about finding the RBBP. We were equally excited by her enthusiasm and her get-it-done attitude and asked her if she’d be willing to share her RBBP with us here. We love seeing entrepreneurs find clarity, take action, and celebrate their creativity! Thanks, Fabiana for sharing more about you and your business.

What is your business and what makes your business unique?

I’m a freelance interpreter and translator, I mainly work with direct clients instead of agencies because I prefer to have direct contact with my clients. I value quality above everything, not only for the translation itself but also for the overall service. I’m also a very creative person and I consider myself an artist (I draw, paint and sew quite well). My creativity helps me find innovative solutions for my clients, I’ve been called the “MacGyver” of problem-solving! I love what I do and I’d like to make my clients feel that I’m their partner in their translation processes. Translation is often seen as a nuisance, but I want to prove it can be a nice experience if you do it with the right professional.

How has the Right-Brain Business Plan® helped you? What is different for you and your business after approaching planning in a creative, visual way?

Before my encounter with the RBBP I was both lost and overwhelmed. I knew what I had to do, but so many things had to be done and I couldn’t figure out how and when to do them. I was also kind of taking back my creativity and I couldn’t find inspiration for my artistic hobbies. When I started making my RBBP I felt something unlocking inside of me, my creativity got unleashed and I started using it for something different. As I finished every piece of the plan, my vision got clearer, my next steps were defined and I finally understood where I was going. I also used my creative note-taking symbols in the plan (they’re used in consecutive interpreting and they’re different for each interpreter). I now feel inspired in my everyday work and I’ve been using this creativity flow in my hobbies as well!

What goals (big or small) on your business plan have you already accomplished or have made progress on?

I’ve definitely made progress on the marketing goals. I understood what I had to do and through which channels I had to do it, so I set up a publishing agenda and a measurable weekly contact goal for new clients and prospects. I’ve also started writing articles both on LinkedIn and on the website I share with some trusted colleagues, where we write a blog on translation and interpreting (the English part is still a WIP). But I feel that the most important progress so far is having a detailed path in front of me: it makes me feel inspired, empowered and ready to make it happen!

How do you use your creative intuition in your work?

I use it to propose creative solutions to my clients in order to meet their goals and expectations. I also use it in my contacts with them (presentation brochure/kit, creative resume) and in my communication strategy. My consecutive interpreting notes are mainly made of creative symbols to summarize concepts and useful words. As for the “hidden” part of the work, I use my creativity in every plan, spreadsheet, and scheme.

Is there anything you’d like to share about your Right-Brain Business Plan® in terms of what it’s made out of or how you made it?

Since I didn’t know which final form would suit me best, I started with large pieces of paper for my big vision collage. I carried out every activity on regular A4 paper and then I put the relevant information on some larger paper sheets. My RBBP is both the larger papers – which are the visual schemes – and the A4 sheets with all the details in their original form.

What’s your big vision for your business?

I want to make people love translation. I want my regular clients to smile when their boss tells them they have to get a document translated, I want them to know exactly what to do if they need an interpreter for an event. I want to build a friendly environment for them to work with me while educating them on my job (all too often people have no idea how an interpreter works and how important client-interpreter collaboration is). I want to assist them and mainstream our working relations. I want my name to be associated with the values I take pride in quality, trust, attention, innovation.

What advice do you have for other creative entrepreneurs?

Follow your instincts. Do all the activities in this book. They may sound unrelated to your specific business, but you’ll end up getting more and more information every time, more and more details that will be useful in the future. Even those “serious” jobs like mine can benefit from some creativity and a fresh approach.

Want to create your own Right-Brain Business Plan®? The Right-Brain Business Plan® Kit includes supplies to make your own accordion book style visual business plan.

April 9, 2019

The Right Price (Part 2)

Guest post by Cass Mullane, Entrepreneur Coach, Right-Brain Business Plan® Licensed Facilitator, Prosper Creatively, LLC

In my last post I talked about getting very clear on your current customers and your desired customers so you can make sure you’re in front of your real buyers. I also talked about approaching pricing from a different perspective: start by figuring out how much do you need to net each month. Then pricing becomes more of an exercise in simple math and less of an emotional battle.

So let’s do some simple math. We’ll only focus on four of the key factors that you need to consider when pricing: Materials, Overhead, Production Time and Your Time. These factors are applicable to both products and services.

We’ll define Materials as the cost of the actual supplies you use to produce your product or service. Overhead is what it costs you to run your business and it includes things like your studio, tools and equipment, utilities, insurance, taxes, marketing, etc. Production Time is how long it takes you to produce your product or service. Your Time is what you pay yourself hourly to produce your product or service.

So, here’s a real example that was an eye-opener for one of my clients who makes funky jewelry on the side. My client wanted to make $500 per month from selling her jewelry. She was successfully selling, but she could not figure out why her bills were piling up and she had no time to keep up with fulfilling orders. It turned out she thought that when she sold a piece of jewelry for $40 and it cost her $10 in Materials, she was earning $30 on each piece so she would only have to make and sell 17 pieces each month. She was so excited to be selling her pieces that she forgot to take into account her Production Time (3 hrs/piece) and her Overhead cost ($11/piece).

For my client, once we figured this out, it meant she was really netting about $19 per piece and earning about $6.33 per hour. If you’re working for cups of coffee, that’s great. But if you need to support a business, $6.33 per hour isn’t going to cut it.

Here’s a little more info on this scenario. Since my client was actually paying herself only $6.33 per hour for her jewelry, she needed to make and sell 26 pieces each month in order to put $500 in her pocket. Since it took her about 3 hours to produce each piece, this meant she needed to spend 78 hours making her jewelry each month. Of course, this does not take into account the time she needed to spend marketing and running her business. Basically, at these prices, she was working nearly full time at night to net only $500/month.

So what did she do? She focused carefully on each of the four factors, one at a time, and made changes. She started buying supplies in larger quantities and reduced her Materials cost from $10 to $5 per piece. Then she found a number of areas where she could reduce her Overhead and dropped from $11/piece to $1/piece. Finally, she started using a timer each time she sat down to make a piece. She discovered that she was averaging 3 hours per piece, mostly because she let herself be interrupted continually. She fixed this by designating specific times during which she produced her jewelry, without interruption. This cut her Production Time from 3 hours to 1 hour per piece.

The end result, my client started netting $34 per piece, needed to spend 15 hours per month making 15 pieces and boosted her hourly rate to $34. This year, she increased her price to $50/piece, still produces 15 pieces per month, nets $44/hour and has increased her monthly net to over $650.

So, figure out what you’d like to put in your pocket each month. Then, take a look at each of the four factors in your business: Materials, Overhead, Production Time and Your Time. Figure out what the real numbers are for your business and what Your Time is actually worth at various price levels. Then, make adjustments, one at a time, to generate an amount that will make you happy.

Cass Mullane’s calm, comfortable approach consistently yields positive results for clients. Her business and personal coaching practice, www.prospercreatively.com, specializes in delivering solid left brain business skills in a fun, visual way. Cass in an international best selling author, a contemporary artist, and creator of the Cool Stuff Jar™ coaching program. Her book, The Cool Stuff Jar: Three Simple Ways to Live a Happier Life, is available on Kindle. You can also visit Cass on Facebook!

March 29, 2019

Spotlight on Right-Brain Business Plan Facilitator Chantel Zimmerman

Name: Chantel Zimmerman
Company Name: Art and Soul Lab
Website: artandsoullab.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/artandsoullab/
Twitter: @ArtistsWay

Chantel Zimmerman is a Right-Brain Business Plan® licensed facilitator based in Los Angeles. She’s the April guest host of our RBBP Facebook group so make sure to stop by and get some support and encouragement from her.

What is your business and what makes your business unique?

I’m a Transformative Arts and Healing Specialist offering workshops, retreats, trainings, and private sessions. Through my company, Art and Soul Lab, I inspire people to transform their lives, their businesses, and the world using creative, mindful, and spiritual tools. These tools include The Right-Brain Business Plan, The Artist’s Way, SoulCollage®, Reiki, and Labyrinth Walking. I support individuals on their quest to build their business, increase their creativity, and tap into their inner wisdom, by deepening their connection to “Self” and “Source”. To transform the world I offer train-the-trainer sessions in SoulCollage® (24 CE’s), Reiki, and Labyrinth Facilitation.

What makes my business unique is my recognition that we have the answers we need inside, and the tools I use enable people to access those answers. Participants not only thrive but excel in a holistic manner, with me serving as their creative midwife.

How has the Right-Brain Business Plan® helped you? What is different for you and your business after approaching planning in a creative, visual way?

The Right-Brain Business Plan has helped me by enabling me to apply my creativity and intuition to setting my business goals, resulting in more expanded, outside-of-the-box thinking. By allowing myself to get out of my critical, analytical thinking mind and embrace my creative, spiritual side I find answers that reflect my values and my desire to be of service. Using the creative side of my brain means that more in-depth, innovative ideas and usually unexpected trajectories emerge.

What goals (big or small) on your business plan have you already accomplished or have made progress on?

I believe in empowering people to aid and support themselves. To that end, my biggest goal was to become a trainer of trainers. I have done that in three areas of my work – SoulCollage®, Labyrinth Facilitation, and Reiki. I now train people as SoulCollage® Facilitators, Labyrinth Facilitators, and Reiki Masters. In addition to satisfying my desire to help people help themselves, being able to train facilitators also fulfills a goal of wanting to make the world a better place. By training others to help people recognize and engage their inner wisdom I’m enacting my “ripple effect”; I’m spreading my knowledge beyond my clients and on to the clients of my clients. It’s tremendously satisfying!

Why do you love teaching the Right-Brain Business Plan® and using it with your clients? What are some client success stories?

I love teaching the Right-Brain Business Plan because participants have “aha” moments that are generated internally by accessing their own creative wisdom. Using the RBBP, participants identify core dreams and recognize unexpected opportunities. They are inspired by the breadth and depth of their “knowing”. The Right-Brain Business Plan allows people to tap into more than just a business plan, it enables them to see their innate talents and qualities in new and meaningful ways, which in turns expands their sense of what’s possible with their business.

Client quotes:
“I am so much more connected to my purpose, and more aware of my values because of the planning I did with the Right-Brain Business Plan.”

“I loved being able to be creative and play instead of having to “stay in the lines” all the time, this has inspired me to reach new and different goals than I expected”

Is there anything you’d like to share about your Right-Brain Business Plan® in terms of what it’s made out of or how you made it?

I’ve made my Right-Brain Business Plan in a few different ways. For a long time, I would create collages that were a lot like a vision board, and I would add values cards and a moola map to these collages. In 2019 I did something different. I made my Right-Brain Business Plan from the Right-Brain Business Plan Kit. I love the accordion-style, flip board and playful nature of the Kit. I keep my plan on my desk where I can see it every day and be inspired. My plan also fits perfectly in my purse, so I’m able to carry it with me when I go to networking meetings and events. It gives me a great tool to share with other Creatives who are building their business; ultimately, when I share with these folks they see how they too could create a plan using their passion, expression, and spirituality.

What’s your big vision for your business?

My big vision is to inspire positive change individually and collectively and invite people to take actions that improve their lives and the world around them. My mission is to help folks experience their own inner “aha’s” and give them the tools to keep doing this.

What advice do you have for other creative entrepreneurs?

Jump in! Take risks! Try it! If at first you don’t succeed, try again. Trust yourself and your intuitive knowing, you are wiser than you think. Plan! Remember plans are dynamic, don’t get stuck and bang your head against the wall, do something different than you expected if that’s necessary. Be like water.

Want to create your own Right-Brain Business Plan®? The Right-Brain Business Plan® Kit includes supplies to make your own accordion book style visual business plan.

March 5, 2019

The Right Price (Part 1)

Guest post by Cass Mullane, Entrepreneur Coach, Right-Brain Business Plan® Licensed Facilitator, Prosper Creatively, LLC

One of the more challenging tasks you may have to do in your business is setting a price for your products and services. If you go too high or too low, people might not buy and you will find yourself in a cash crunch rather quickly. While pricing is critical, it will make no difference whatsoever if you’re not in front of your real customers.

You must know your customers. Spend time looking closely at who you are serving and who you really want to work with. When you’re very clear on who your customers are, price becomes less of a factor in the buying decision because your customers already want what you’re offering.

For example, I regularly hear “people won’t pay me that much.” When you say that, what you immediately need to do is stop, step back and take a hard look at who you are marketing to. Are they really your peeps? If they will not pay you for your work, you may need to look for another market. And believe me, there are tons of markets out there. Put your creative muscles to work and broaden your horizons.

I have a client who makes beautiful textiles but who was not selling much at shows. The feedback was that her work was too expensive. So we took a close look at the shows she was participating in. She regularly bought booth space at several local craft fairs and often her booth was between or in close proximity to booths with mass-produced, very low-end items. The people that attended these shows were not the people who were buying higher end textiles for their homes and offices. The next season she bought space at two interior designer and two legal industry trade shows. The booth cost was quite a bit higher, but the investment paid off because her work sold well and she received commissions for future work. All she did was look closely at who her real customers were and made a change so she could put herself in front of them.

Once you’ve really gotten to know your actual and your desired customers, what I’d like you to do first is not get hung up on what the price of an individual item or service should be. Instead, approach this from another angle: How much you need to net each month to be comfortable?

Pay yourself first. Is it $500 per month? Is it $5000? Whatever the number, once you set it, you can more easily figure out how many items or services priced at $40 and how many priced at $4,000 you need to sell to earn that amount. It becomes a simple math exercise, not an emotionally laden mental roadblock.

In my next post, I’ll talk about simple math and four important factors in pricing: Materials, Overhead, Production Time and Value of Your Time.

Pricing is a flexible process. Set your revenue goal, find your real customers and price accordingly.

February 22, 2019

Spotlight on Right-Brain Business Plan Facilitator Tricia Ballad

Name: Tricia Ballad
Company Name: Tangled Spirits Studio
Website: TangledSpirits.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TangledSpiritsStudio/
Instagram: @TriciaBallad

Tricia Ballad is a Right-Brain Business Plan® licensed facilitator based in Illinois. She’s the March guest host of our RBBP Facebook group so make sure to stop by and get some support and encouragement from her. Also, check out her free gift the Medicine Basket.

What is your business and what makes your business unique?

I work with teens, young adults, and moms. My focus is on helping them discover and choose the story they will tell with their lives, and offering tools – like Right-Brain Business Plan! – that help them bring their stories into reality. Our work often begins with working through anxieties and insecurity around the Inner Critic, and culminates in crafting a unique plan for their work in the world. I try to balance the inner work – dealing with blocks, anxiety, and feelings of self-worth – with the outer, “practical” work of helping my clients discover their Soul Work, then creating a hands-on plan for bringing that work into the world.

How has the Right-Brain Business Plan® helped you? What is different for you and your business after approaching planning in a creative, visual way?

Before I discovered Right-Brain Business Plan, I would write up 100-page business plans that looked like what a business plan is “supposed” to be, but by the time I finished such a massive undertaking, I was completely sick of the entire idea. It felt like writing a business plan sucked all of the life and joy out of my plans. Since I began using Right-Brain Business Plan, I have a much fuller understanding of my business ideas – because I’m not just trying to come up with the “right” answers, but authentically exploring and experimenting – and I’m even more excited to move forward on them.

What goals (big or small) on your business plan have you already accomplished or have made progress on?

Recently, I was offered a chance to work with teens through with a local foster agency, because I met a member of the board at a social event. Because of deep work I’d done on my business plan, I was able to speak passionately about my work and the benefits I’ve seen for my clients. I knew exactly what to say, without resorting to a rehearsed elevator speech. The board was so impressed, they asked me to submit a proposal on the spot.

Why do you love teaching the Right-Brain Business Plan® and using it with your clients? What are some client success stories?

I love teaching Right-Brain Business Plan to my clients because it allows them to approach starting a business – something that often triggers terrible anxiety and insecurity – with a sense of play. This allows them to do the work without getting mired in negative self-talk. I recently led two women through the process, and even though they were each at different stages of entrepreneurship, they both had major breakthroughs and “ah ha” moments. I loved how collaborative the small group was, because they were able to bounce ideas off of each other. This was so great because it allowed each of them to take their minds off their own work for a few moments and come back with fresh eyes.

Both women officially launched their businesses within a month of our workshop.

How do you use your creative intuition in your work?

My intuition is my greatest asset! I use it when I’m deciding which projects to add to my business and which to keep on the back burner. I also use it when I’m working directly with clients, to get a sense of the energy in the room and to know when it’s time to stretch boundaries and when we need to pull back into supportive structures.

Is there anything you’d like to share about your Right-Brain Business Plan® in terms of what it’s made out of or how you made it?

I love to experiment with the format of my Right-Brain Business Plan! I re-do my plan every 12-18 months, so that gives me a chance to try new things. My 2018 plan consisted of a large symbolic painting of my Muse, and an art journal where I recorded intuitive drawings, notes, ideas, etc.

I’m currently working on my 2019 Right-Brain Business Plan. This time I’m challenging myself to make it more portable and easily understood by others. I’m using a manilla file folder, which will hold hand-made booklets for each section of the plan. My Big Vision will be a mixed-media spread on the outside of the folder.

What’s your big vision for your business?

My big vision is to help my clients take ownership of their lives and livelihoods. The job market is uncertain, and the days of working a stable job for your entire career are over. I see entrepreneurship as a way to break free of systems that require us to spend the best hours of our lives doing work we don’t care about and aren’t well paid for – when the jobs are available at all. Instead of working two or three completely interchangeable jobs just to pay the bills, I envision a world where each of us is able to live comfortably doing the work that we are uniquely capable of doing, each making our own contribution to the world. Every time I help a young adult start a summer business or a mom open an Etsy shop, I am making my contribution toward that vision.

What advice do you have for other creative entrepreneurs?

Make friends with your Critic. It’s not going away, and the sooner you can work with it rather than fight against it (or try to ignore it) the easier your entrepreneurial journey will be.

If you’re not sure what type of business is right for you, or how your gifts and talents might translate into entrepreneurship, this free class will help you find the answers within. In Medicine Basket, we’ll use guided visioning, symbolic painting, and journaling to discover what gifts want to come forward for you at this time.

This class is a perfect lead-in to Right-Brain Business Plan! Medicine Basket

Want to create your own Right-Brain Business Plan®? The Right-Brain Business Plan® Kit includes supplies to make your own accordion book style visual business plan.

February 9, 2019

Spotlight on Right-Brain Business Plan Facilitator Karen Friedland

Name: Karen Friedland
Company Name: Karen Friedland Fine Art
Website: karenfriedland.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ArtistKarenF/
Instagram: @artistkarenfriedland
Twitter: @ArtistKaren

Karen Friedland is a Right-Brain Business Plan® licensed facilitator based in New York. She’s the February guest host of our RBBP Facebook group so make sure to stop by and get some support and encouragement from her. Plus, check out Karen’s free gift 15 Great Apps For Artistic Solopreneurs.

What is your business and what makes your business unique?

I am a visual artist, principally a painter, a teaching artist and a creative business coach. There are two main prongs to my business: sales and marketing of my art and art-related products and my teaching- art and creative expression- and coaching creatives.

My vividly hued artwork makes one’s spirit soar. It is a sensory experience that brings happiness through the use of color and satisfaction as one unravels the layers of complexity in the art. I sell my original artwork and reproductions. In addition, I offer hand-painted ceramic tiles, a line of original hand-painted jewelry and ART SPARKS, a creative project inspiration card deck. My teaching includes in-person workshops and courses, online courses and artist residencies.

I am that rare bird, an artist with a business sensibility, with a career in marketing and received an MBA before becoming an artist. I have been a Creativity Coach for 13 years.

How has the Right-Brain Business Plan® helped you? What is different for you and your business after approaching planning in a creative, visual way?

When I first heard of Jennifer Lee’s Right Brain Business Plan, I was listening to it on Creative Live while I was on a trip. I walked around with it plugged into my ear because I didn’t want to miss a minute. I knew it was meant for me. I then became part of Jennifer’s mentorship for several years.

The first and biggest change, was my perspective. I no longer was just an artist who sold her work, rather a business owner whose business is creating and distributing art and art products. I determined that my mission for my business is to bring artistic expression that is colorful, joyful and freeing. RBBP has helped me identify who my client is so I can reach out directly to them. By understanding the who, what and why of my business, I have been able to move forward in an effective way.

What goals (big or small) on your business plan have you already accomplished or have made progress on?
Over the years, I have set and reached many goals. I have also set goals that I have not attained. I realized from going after them, that they were not things I really wanted. An equally valuable lesson.

I have attained interim financial goals. I have refocused my teaching from children to adult students and developed a following. I have developed new products including a creative project card deck, a jewelry line, a line of miniature paintings and of painted ceramic tiles. I have rebuilt my website, created an Etsy shop, have a regular blog and a significant presence on Instagram. I have created new syllabuses for course offerings and produced several courses online.

Why do you love teaching the Right-Brain Business Plan® and using it with your clients? What are some client success stories?

I love teaching the Right Brain Business Plan because it takes one’s concept of how they might reach people and gives them a format, a structure upon which to build their business. It brings together the concepts of business with the creativity and entrepreneurship of individuals to let them attain their dreams. I love that the Right Brain Business Plan allows creatively-oriented people the means to understand and apply business principles to their endeavors to help them reach their goals. My clients have taken their business ideas from just a kernel to creating a full blown plan of how to launch and build the business. They have gained an understanding of who they want to reach and how to reach them. And then they created a timeline for implementing their programs.

How do you use your creative intuition in your work?
My creative intuition is a key part of every aspect of my business. In my art-making and product development, intuition is the determining element that adds originality and that special “extra something” to make the work exceptional. Likewise, as I bring my visibility and authenticity to the forefront, I take an inventive approach to meeting the world and letting them know about my business. I want the world to notice, to see what is uniquely me, so I need to present it in a way that gets me noticed. This too takes innovative thinking.

Is there anything you’d like to share about your Right-Brain Business Plan® in terms of what it’s made out of or how you made it?

I made early RBBPs in the standard accordion-fold way. Being a lover of unusual books, I made a version with origami folds, dividing my business vision into four sections. In my most recent one, my vision had grown huge and so did my Right Brain Business Plan. Making it so large, let me embrace and contain the breadth of my vision, encompassing its many facets.

What’s your big vision for your business?

My big vision for my business is expanding my visibility both as an artist and a teacher/coach. I am committing to developing a new series and getting gallery representation for it. I will develop four new online courses and create a new card deck for artists. While I’m unsure of the exact form it will take, I am looking to create an artistic collaboration.

What advice do you have for other creative entrepreneurs?

To the makers, writers and artists, I suggest you think of all the facets of your work as a business rather than just trying to sell a particular item. By taking a holistic approach, you incorporate all aspects of your business instead of parceling out individual tasks. This will let you plan your business overall.

Use your big vision as a holder for your dreams, in all their variations and discover what really matters to you. Get to know your perfect customers and they will tell you what they want.

Hold the process lightly and remember to enjoy the ride!

Plus, don’t forget to check out Karen’s free gift 15 Great Apps For Artistic Solopreneurs.

Want to create your own Right-Brain Business Plan®? The Right-Brain Business Plan® Kit includes supplies to make your own accordion book style visual business plan.