The Right-Brain Business Plan

A Creative, Visual Map for Success

Jennifer Lee

• Publisher: New World Library
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN:
  9781577319443
• eBook ISBN:
  9781577319450
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Entrepreneurship
• Index: Business

Millions of artists, entrepreneurs, crafters, and solopreneurs dream of making a living doing what they love. But turning their vision into a viable business plan can feel like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Jennifer Lee knows what it's like to make the entrepreneurial leap — and how to do it successfully. The key is showing creative types how to use — rather than stifle — the imagination and intuition that make them creative in the first place. Lee's illustrated, colorful worksheets and step-by-step instructions are playful yet practical, enabling readers to get down to the essential business of defining their vision and nailing down plans for funding, marketing, networking, and long-term strategy. Both budding and seasoned business owners will benefit from Lee's wonderfully original approach. Discover how to: • Develop a financial plan with fun and flair • Select your circle of support to get the work done • Clarify your business values and goals • Paint a picture of your business landscape • Understand your competition and what makes you stand out from the crowd • Identify your perfect customers and create a marketing plan to reach them • Map out concrete action steps to bring your Right-Brain Business Plan to life

The Skinny on the Righ-Brain Business Plan Process and Structure

Every right-brain entrepreneur needs a Right-Brain Business Plan. And a Right-Brain Business Plan needs a creative, innovative approach and will walk you through the basic building blocks of your very own visual map for success.

Think of this book as a friendly companion that will guide you through the creative planning process. You’ll get lots of passionate inspiration along with practical information.

While this book focuses on right-brain techniques, it’s still organized in a left-brain way. (See? The two types of thinking really do go hand in hand.) Although I’ve suggested a structure to follow in which each chapter builds on the one before, know that your planning process will probably be nonlinear at times. Feel free to work through the chapters sequentially, or focus in on certain topics, or skip around as you evolve and refine your plan. Make it work for you.

Developing your business plan doesn’t need to take months and months of agonizing, researching, and writing — at least, not with this right-brain approach. If you prefer to dive in and get things done within a condensed time frame, and you spend a day or two on each topic (chapters 2 through 8), you can have a plan within a couple of weeks. Or, if you prefer to space things out and have more time to reflect, you can cover one topic per week and complete your plan in a couple of months.

Throughout the book, you’ll find the following headings and icons:

Right-Brain Reflections. Reflection questions will help you ponder, find patterns, or see the big picture. These inquiries are meant to bring your awareness to, and deepen your understanding of, a belief, intention, or situation. There are no wrong answers here, only your own personal discoveries. It’s up to you how deeply you want to explore. You may want to further reflect on questions by journaling, doodling, collaging, or talking with a trusted friend, colleague, or mentor.

Illustrated Play Sheets. Who needs serious work sheets when you can have fun, artful play sheets? Most chapters have at least one illustrated play sheet to help you explore a part of your plan in more depth. These are visual maps to guide your research, planning, and thinking using your right-brain strengths. You can also download PDF versions at Rightbrainbusinessplan.com.

Exercises. Each of the following chapters includes exercises to help you clarify your business. These exercises will help you build your right-brain muscle and may include creative art projects, daily practices, exploration, or experiential activities. They are useful for helping to inform the pieces of your plan; however, you are not required to do all of them. See what fits your business, but also stretch yourself by trying a few exercises that may seem more challenging or even aspirational. The more you explore, the more you’ll learn about your business.

Right-Brain Boosters and Left-Brain Chill Pills. Sprinkled throughout are quick, healthy doses of Right-Brain Boosters to enhance your creative intuition, and Left-Brain Chill Pills to quiet your judging mind.

Tips. Occasionally, I’ll offer a tip, make a suggestion, or point to something to watch out for.

Success Stories. I’ve included inspirational accounts of creative entrepreneurs in various stages of their businesses who’ve benefited from tapping into their right brains. You’ll discover what worked for them as you read about their successes and experiences. I hope that, by learning from other creative entrepreneurs, you’ll realize you’re not alone, and that you too are a success story because you’re following your dreams.

Left-Brain Checklists. Since the left brain excels at linear structure and practical details, each chapter ends with a Left-Brain Checklist to make sure all your bases are covered before you move on to the next section. Some items will be noted as optional and, depending on your business, not all of every checklist may apply to you.

I bet that, as an entrepreneur, you’re constantly doing, doing, doing to get the job done. As a right-brain entrepreneur, though, recognize that your quality of being is as important as action, if not more so. Just as the how is as important as the what, the being is as important as the doing. While you explore this process, remember the following ways of being:

• Trust your intuition.

• There is no right or wrong way to approach your Right-Brain Business Plan.

• Hold the process lightly. If you ever find yourself getting stressed out, tied up in knots, or having brain freeze, pause, take a deep breath, and ground yourself.

• If something isn’t working, try something else. Anything else.

• Creative work is ever evolving. Allow things to unfold.

• It’s okay to get messy.

• Have fun!

A Right-Brain Business Plan is a visual, creative, and fun road map for your business success. Typically a business plan has yawn-inducing sub-heads such as “Executive Summary,” “Company Overview,” “Competitive Analysis,” “Target Market,” “Financial Plan,” and “Marketing and Sales Plan.” (By the way, to prevent your eyes from glazing over as you read ohso-boring terms like these, I’ve taken the liberty of coming up with catchier phrases, which you’ll see in a bit.) As you follow the process outlined in this book, you’ll still address all these standard sections; however, you’ll bring your vision and plan to life through images, art, and creative expression. You’ll have a tangible representation of your business vision that can then be translated into a more formal plan, if needed.

The basic building blocks of your Right-Brain Business Plan include the following:

Hearty Highlights (a.k.a. Executive Summary). Think of this section as the CliffsNotes version of your plan. If someone needs to understand the main points of your business, she could skim this overview and get the big picture. Although I’ve listed this section first, your Hearty Highlights are typically written last, as they sum up the whole plan. We’ll discuss Hearty Highlights/Executive Summary in chapter 8.

Business Vision and Values (a.k.a. Company Overview). This section describes what business you’re in and where you’re headed. Your vision and values serve as the foundation of your Right-Brain Business Plan and connect you with ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• More Praise for The Right-Brain Business Plan
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword by chris Guillebeau
• Introduction This Is Not Business as Usual: How Using Your Creative Intuition Will Make You More Successful in Business
• Chapter 1 Starting from the Top: The Skinny on the Right-Brain Business Plan Process and Structure
• Chapter 2 Crafting Your Business Vision and Values: Where Is Your Business Headed, and What Do You and Your Company Stand For?
• Chapter 3 Painting Your Business Landscape: It's a Big World Out There — Where Do You and Your Business Fit In?
• Chapter 4 Getting the Word Out with Marketing: Find and Connect with Your Perfect Customers
• Chapter 5 Managing the Moola - Color by Numbers: Develop a Financial Plan with Fun and Flair
• Chapter 6 Corralling Your Creative Cohorts: Build a Creative Playground of Business Support So You Don't Have to Go It Alone
• Chapter 7 Action Planning - Where the Rubber Meet the Road: Make Your Plan Real with Goals, Strategies, and Action Steps
• Chapter 8 Weaving It All Together: Put the Finishing Touches on Your Right-Brain Business Plan
• Chapter 9 Maintaining the Magic and Momentum: Keep Your Right-Brain Business Plan Alive
• Glossary
• Resources
• Featured Right-Brain Entrepreneurs
• Acknowledgments
• Index
• About the Author