ArtsCareer September 2011 eNews: Managing the business side of your practice
This issue is all about setting yourself up in business. If you’re looking to start a business or establish yourself as a business then read on for some great tips and insider advice.
We talk to the founding Directors of a not for profit arts festival and an artist run initiative about the steps they took to set up their businesses.
This issue’s Featured Artist, Holy Balm, also talk to us about how they manage the business side of things.
Plus discover the ingredients to a successful business plan in our article “Ten things your business plan should include”.
Happy reading!
The ArtsCareer Team
P.S. Don’t miss the next eNews issue in December – we’ll be running a special competition to say thank you for all your support throughout the year.
In this issue:
• The latest Career Poll
• Two business case studies
• Ten tips for a great business plan
• Feature Practitioner/Website/Blog
Image: Phillip Rhodes, Milliner, Melbourne Theatre Company Costume Workshop, South Melbourne, 2009 | Photo: Pam Kleemann, Melbourne.
We asked what ArtsCareer can do to help you with your grant applications and all of you said you would like more links to grant writing advice. So that's what we've done. You can find the new links on the Skills Development page under your art form.
Our next issue will focus on crowdfunding so we want to know how you raise your cash for projects.
Please select one of the following:
Managing a not-for-profit arts festival
Founding Artistic Director of Underbelly Arts festival, Imogen Semmler, spoke to us about the steps she took to establish the festival, the benefits of being a not for profit organisation and why writing a business plan was the best thing they ever did.
Founded in 2007, Underbelly Arts is an annual arts festival that supports emerging and experimental artists to develop and present new work.
ArtsCareer: Why did you decide to found Underbelly Arts?
Imogen Semmler: For a few different reasons. There was a lot happening in Sydney at the time but it was tucked away in artist run spaces and illegal venues. I thought it would be a good opportunity to bring a large number of artists together, build a temporary creative community and present their work to an audience. There was so much going on and I was connected to so many different groups I wanted them all to meet!
Secondly, I wanted to give the public a chance to become more familiar with not-so-familiar artists. So in the lead up to the Festival, audiences are invited behind the scenes of the entire creative process to watch art in the making and to meet and talk to the artists about their ideas.
AC: What did you do first?
IS: Firstly I approached Carriageworks in 2006 (it was still being built) to see if they were interested in holding the Festival there. Then I asked a bunch of artists, whose work I loved, if they had a new project on the cards and if they were interested in being involved in the event the following year.
AC: How did you approach finding a location both for the festival and your offices?
IS: The Festival has now moved three times and will keep moving. We think about interesting spaces we’d like to access and we begin conversations with the venue or property owner the year before to see if they’d be interested in having us!
Last year we held it along Kensington St, Chippendale using FraserStudios and surrounding spaces. This year it was on Cockatoo Island.
We got our first office last year (2010) in Waterloo Library through City of Sydney Council. This year we received the Council’s Open Accommodation Grant for an office space in Woolloomooloo. We’ll be moving there soon, it’s very exciting.
AC: What processes did you go through to gain permissions to stage the festival?
IS: In 2010 we had to put in an Event Management Plan with the City of Sydney Council because we were closing Kensington St for the Festival. This year on Cockatoo Island we worked very closely with the Sydney Harbour Trust. They already have permission to hold events on the Island, so it was just a matter of keeping them in the loop with what we had planned and making sure that we were going about things the right way, particularly with respect to heritage management.
AC: How did you decide upon a business and management structure?
IS: When we started in 2007 I spoke to the Arts Law Centre of Australia who helped us decide what kind of business structure to use. Given that we were hoping down the track to apply for grants and work with philanthropists, we decided to set up as an Incorporated Association (a not for profit) called Rinse Out Inc.
In the beginning the Board consisted of two of us, who were running the event, plus a group of our friends who supported us. As we went along we gradually changed the Board into an independent entity, with people who have specialised skills (such as a lawyer, accountant, marketing advisor) and others who also act as industry mentors and advisers.
So now the organisation has a Board and a management team, which consists of an Executive Director (Clare Holland) and the Artistic Director (me). When the event goes into pre-production we bring on a bigger team which includes a Producer, Marketing Manager, Tech Manager and Artist Coordinator.
AC: Why is having a business plan important to you?
IS: For the first time last year we actually had the funding to be able to work year round and it meant we could set aside time to do a business plan. It was one of the hardest things we have ever done (seriously) as it forced us to explain and define what we have done in the past and to think about our plans and goals for the future, which is a lot harder than it sounds. But it was the best thing we ever did. It helped us to describe in one sentence why we exist. It’s made it easier to communicate our goals and objectives to funding bodies and has also helped with things like succession planning, thinking about who our audience is, and working out in what direction we want to grow.
AC: How did you approach the development of your business plan?
IS: We sat down for about a week with a huge whiteboard and gradually translated squiggles, lines, idea clouds, arrows and dot points into a document which outlined our vision, purpose, values, goals and objectives.
AC: Will you continue to reassess the business/management structure and business plan?
IS: We plan to re-visit the business plan each year. As for our management structure, we are hoping to expand a bit next year to include a couple of new roles. Running a not for profit organisation means that we can think about setting up new initiatives in the future.
AC: What’s the most important thing you learnt from your experience of establishing Underbelly Arts?
IS: That running the event and working with artists is only one part of the story. Behind the scenes, we have to run a business and raise money, which takes up the majority of our time. It’s a huge thrill to be able to do it, but it’s an ongoing struggle. Starting a not for profit business from scratch is both the hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever done!
AC: Do you have any tips for arts practitioners when it comes to managing the business side of their practice?
IS: Don’t let it scare you. Don’t be afraid to call the ATO, they are there to help. Have friends who are lawyers and accountants, and if you don’t have any, find some! You don’t need to know MYOB to start a business; simple spreadsheets work just as well. If you’re still unsure or scared, don’t leave it any longer, just jump in and ask lots of questions. The longer you work without a proper business structure, without doing your tax etc, the longer it will take to fix things when you start needing to.
Setting up an artist run initiative
Thinking of setting up an artist run initiative but not sure how to go about it? Founding Director of Gloucester Gallery Leanne Barrett tells us about her experience and the processes she went through.
Gloucester Gallery is a community gallery located in the historic School of Arts Building in the centre of Gloucester, 1.5 hours north of Newcastle. The Gallery hosts 13 exhibitions each year by artists, school groups and community groups and is run by the volunteer group The Friends of Gloucester Gallery (FOGG).
ArtsCareer: Why did you decide to set up Gloucester Gallery?
Leanne Barrett: The Gallery was created as an initiative of the Gloucester Arts & Cultural Council Inc (Gacci) in 1999 to provide an arts space for the town. It became obvious that the community had many talented and enthusiastic artistic people who were ready to work together and as the School of Arts building was vacant, we seized the opportunity to bring the people and the space together.
AC: What did you do first?
LB: We approached the School of Arts Committee with a proposal to utilise the vacant space as a gallery, which they gave us, rent-free. Then we put out a general call for people interested in establishing a gallery and from that first meeting the Friends of Gloucester Gallery was created.
AC: What processes did you go through to establish the School of Arts as a public gallery space?
LB: Firstly we established our management committee and volunteers and formalised their roles within the organisation. We then formulated the aims and objectives for the gallery and recorded them as an overall mission statement. This helped retain a focus as we then developed basic policies and procedures including artist contracts, OH&S, privacy, discrimination, dispute resolution as well as opening hours, duration of exhibitions etc.
AC: How did you decide upon a business and management structure?
LB: Gacci was established to be an over-arching body for cultural groups in Gloucester, so they provide the legal entity (an incorporated association), ABN, affiliation with Regional Arts NSW and the necessary insurance coverage. FOGG, as a sub-committee of Gacci, accesses all these business requirements but has a separate management committee and accounts. This reduces costs and administration but still gives us autonomy – the best of both worlds!!
FOGG adopted a standard committee structure of President, Secretary & Treasurer plus a committee of 5 exhibition co-ordinators. This helped distribute the workload of the necessary administration and the staging of exhibitions.
AC: Why is having a business plan important to you?
LB: A business plan is vital to achieve long term goals. It is very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day running of the gallery and lose sight of the bigger objectives. It also helps to provide good benchmarks for reviewing how the organisation is running and where changes or improvements can be made.
AC: Do you continue to reassess the business/management structure and business plan?
LB: It is important to assess your planning especially as the organisation develops, to ensure it remains relevant and realistic. It is easy to overstate your ambitions in the initial enthusiastic establishment phase and regular reassessment and adjustment of plans also helps retain the focus of the organisation. We restructured our management structure with the employment of a part-time Director and hope to secure more funding to increase this role, with less reliance on volunteers.
AC: What’s the most important thing you learnt from your experience of establishing a gallery?
LB: Some of the greatest benefits to the Gloucester Gallery have come from the partnerships we have developed with other galleries, arts organisations (such as NAVA, Arts Upper Hunter, Museum & Galleries), artists, businesses and government (particularly our local Council).
You should be as creative in your partnerships as with everything else and never be afraid to ask. It is also vitally important that you remain relevant to and link into your local community. There is little point in having a fantastic exhibition if no one comes through the door to see it. We worked hard in the early years to break the prejudices and stereotype of going to an 'art gallery', with a variety of community exhibitions. The Gloucester Gallery is now an everyday part of life in our community where we have the engagement of the local community and are able to present a wide variety of art forms.
W www.facebook.com/pages/Gloucester-Gallery / www.visitgloucester.com.au
Image: (Top) Cate Croll Collection exhibition, Gloucester Gallery | Photo: Leanne Barrett; (Bottom) Imogen Semmler | Photo: Imogen Semmler
Before we get started on what you should include in a business plan we thought we’d just quickly outline what a business plan is and why you should have one. Feel free to skip ahead to 10 things your business plan should include if you’re already well on your way with your business plan.
What is a business plan?
Your business plan is basically a road map of where you want your business to go over the next three years or so. Every three years is generally a good time to update your plan.
Why do you need a business plan?
- It will help to give you a clear sense of purpose.
- It will help with decision making. So you can make decisions strategically with the business plan and where you want your business to go in mind.
- It gives you stability and can help to stop you being pulled in various directions by different stake holders.
- It is a useful monitoring tool to help you check your progress. In three years time you can see if you are where you said you would be.
10 things your business plan should include
- Purpose [1/2 page]: This is your mission or vision statement and should answer the question: “Why does your business exist?”.
- Executive Summary [3/4 page]: This is basically a summary of the key points and messages of your plan so write this last.
- Context [3-4 pages]: A brief overview of when and why your business was set up and its strengths and weaknesses and any opportunities and challenges it faces.
- Goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) [1-2 pages]: Where do you want to be in three years time? List no more than six goals. Your KPIs are how you will measure those goals e.g. the number of art works sold or the number of ticket sales.
- Strategies [2 pages]: The steps you will take in order to achieve your goals.
- Artistic Plan [3 pages]: A statement about the artistic rationale that underpins your business decisions. Give an overview of what you intend to do artistically/creatively for each year of your business plan.
- Financial Plan [1-2 pages]: A statement on your business’ current financial situation. List a set of financial goals (where you want to be financially at the end of the plan) and describe how you will achieve them.
- Management details [2-3 pages]: If applicable this should include an organisational chart showing the roles and responsibilities for each position and who they report to and a succession plan detailing how you will replace your management. Your should also have a risk management plan which sets out how you will respond to unforeseen circumstances such as environmental or financial disasters or damage to your reputation.
- Marketing Plan [2-3 pages]: A list of goals and strategies you will use in order to achieve your KPIs e.g. a certain number of website visits or facebook fans.
- Finally, don’t make your business plan too long. Between 10 to 20 pages is ideal. Only include enough detail so anyone reading your plan understands why you’ve made the particular artistic and organisational choices you have made. This is particularly important if you intend to hand over your business to someone else in the future.
Useful resources:
Books
The Book of the Board. Effective Governance for Non-Profit Organisations, 2nd edition. D. Fishel, 2008, The Federation Press.
Business Structures and Governance: A Practical Guide for the Arts. N. Messenger, revisions by S. Richardson, 2008.
Online
Arts Law Centre of Australia
Australian Taxation Office
business.gov.au - information on planning, starting and growing your business
Feature Practitioner
Holy Balm
This eNews Feature Practitioner is the three-piece Sydney based band, Holy Balm. We talked to Holy Balm’s Emma Ramsay, who told us about the band, what they’re up to and how they deal with the business side of things.
ArtsCareer: Who are Holy Balm?
Emma Ramsey: Holy Balm play music that people can move to with a firm foot in the grave of dance music past and the other in kicking sounds into its potential future. We formed in the summer of 2006 when we shared a house together and would listen to records. Our sound has changed immensely over that time; from quite thrashy experimental noise sets to cleaner straight up late night/long form dance sets. We have played loads of smaller shows in artist run spaces to bigger venues and international supports such as playing with the Boredoms and the Sydney Biennale last year.
AC: Do you have a favourite piece of music from the band?
ER: Probably our new songs…to be released later on a 12” record on Melbourne label Home Loan Records.
AC: What do you listen to?
ER: I meander all over the place. I’m going through a heavy INXS period at the moment. Lots of electronic based music, old punk records, weirdo spoken word, space disco, soppy 80s romantic boy bands, hard rock, loads of current Australian bands….music with good intentions.
AC: What steps did you take to set yourselves up in business?
ER: We just set up an ABN and went from there. To tell you the truth the ATO is super confusing so we asked a lot of friends what the go is with meeting requirements.
AC: Do you have a business plan? If so, how is it helpful to you?
ER: We don’t have plan per se but keep tabs on things and try to budget ahead for things we will need to pay for/want to achieve like touring or releases. In the near future we have bigger plans for releases and touring so we will focus and plan for those things accordingly.
I think business plans are great but they have to make sense to you and be appropriate to your situation.
AC: How do you manage your budget?
ER: Most bands like us will tell you it’s hand to mouth most of the time. There are unavoidable costs involved in being a band. We try to put what we make into an account and go from there. We try to prioritise what is most important at the time and allocate money from there.
AC: How do you manage your records?
ER: We have a big document we all share to keep tabs on where everything is at. We have only had a few small independent releases so the business side of things is quite simple, lo-fi and easy to manage at this stage. We are 100% DIY so we are learning as we go like everyone else.
AC: How do you split your time between the creative and business side of the band?
ER: We all juggle the administration and communication side of things. When we meet up for writing or rehearsals we have mini meetings and follow up jobs to do over email. When you are managing yourself you’re just - what do they call it - ‘multi-tasking’ all of the time.
AC: Do you have any tips for other music practitioners when it comes to managing the business side of their practice?
ER: Don’t be overwhelmed. Keep records of receipts, list of purchases...any money going in and out. It helps you to get a better idea of where you are spending the most money and it makes it easier to budget for things in the future. At the same time I think it’s good to be realistic and treat yourself and your band mates to something special now and then. You deserve it!
AC: What’s coming up next for the band?
ER: Releases! Finishing off some recording we did with Jon Hunter. Hopefully plans for touring in Summer 2012 to promote those releases. We will take a hiatus after October from live shows…recoup…write some new material in time for the new year.
W www.myspace.com/holybalm / holybalm.tumblr.com
Feature Website
www.mystoryworld.com.au
MyStory showcases stories by Barry Dickins, Tony Birch, Cate Kennedy and Matt Blackwood. Stories that interweave between twelve different sites, taking you on a self-guided literary tour of Melbourne's laneways. The stories are of loves and losses, of painters and plumbers. Stories of five minutes or 150 years ago.
Feature Blog
thevisualartsclassroom.blogspot.com
Ms Leaney's blog of little bits and pieces relevant to Visual Arts Education and education more generally.
Image: Holy Balm | Photo: Rene Vaile
