Making a Mosaic Business Get Off the Ground

You've had a big drink of the "mosaic kool-aid." Now, you want to make art all day every day, and you want to get paid for it. In other words, you want this passion to fuel a business. How do you get it off the ground?

Develop A Simple Business Plan

Simple is a key word here. Some say it should be a 5-year plan that covers each function of a business. Well, after a career as a management consultant and starting a few companies, I firmly believe that a small self-funded start-up should start with a 6-month plan that focuses on the market, marketing and sales. The primary objective of the plan should be to get the business into sustainable revenue as fast as possible. It must be updated for months 7-12, then go to an annual plan.

Select A Legal Form of Business

Wherever in the world you are, these concepts will remain while the terminology may change from the U.S. terms used here. There are essentially 4 legal forms of business; proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and limited liability company. The last 2 are essentially persons created by law. Taxation and risks may be different for each of them. To select the legal form that best suits your goals, you should get advice that is specific to your location. In the U.S. there are both federal and state considerations for each. In addition to lawyers and accountants, good information may be available from government agencies, colleges and universities. The Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov) in the U.S. sponsors SCORE and SBDC, both of which are excellent resources for small businesses. They have real people to talk to.

Create Business Processes

The first 2 processes should be for sales and accounting. The importance of the sales process is not just to close the deal, it is to get paid. Therefore it may include agreements for commissions. A good thought to remember is "If it isn't written, it didn't happen."

The accounting process will do more than give you numbers to populate tax forms. It should give you data that guides good pricing and purchasing decisions, and it even helps to perpetuate sales. The accounting process is driven by software and much of it is "cloud" based. Small business accounting packages generally simplify what used to require an accounting degree.

Execution of business plans are acts of great self-discipline that take time away from mosaic art, yet undone, will take all opportunity away from making a mosaic art business.