business plan for artist pdf

Embracing Change: Welcome to Milan Art

We're excited to share our transition to a new platform, Milan Art, reflecting our commitment to art and community growth. This move from our custom platform (ArtSocial) to Milan Art is fueled by our desire to focus more on what truly matters: empowering artists and enriching your experience.

Milan Art symbolizes our unified vision, offering a cohesive, community-centric space with new features like local artist discovery, live streaming, and enhanced educational resources. This shift aims to deepen connections, facilitate growth, and ensure your artistic journey is front and center.

We invite you to join us in this new chapter, embracing the opportunities this change brings. Our dedicated support team remains on hand to assist you through this transition.

Instructions for ArtSocial members:

• Please create a new account - your ArtSocial login will not transfer to the new platform. Please use the same email address you used for any previous Milan Art Institute purchases so we can grant you access to your products.
• Once you have created your new account please email our customer service team at [email protected] for access to your products.

How to Sell Art Online | Online Marketing for Artists

Helping artists sell their art online since 2009. Blog, guides, courses, and coaching for artists.

Business Plans for Artists: Here, I Did It for You!

Also, check out Jennifer’s book!

You’ll want to see her Right Brain Business Plan home study course .*

Not Ready for A Full Right Brain Business Plan?

Here’s a simple 4 page example plan that will help you get started.

Example Business Plan for Artists (pdf)

Example Business Plan for Artists (Word doc)

The first thing I ask every artist when we start working together is if they have a business plan. Most of the time the answer is no. Why do you need a business plan, you ask? Great question.

You will become focused. As you start planning, that shotgun approach to marketing that most artists take will start to thin itself out and you will learn how to put a system in place. Also, establishing your unique selling proposition is really important. Sure, you’re a painter, but what makes you stand out from all of those other painters out there? There’s a lot more to being an independent artist than just creating your art.

You’ll know where you stand. Your strengths and weaknesses will become apparent to you as you start to create a business plan. What aspects of your art do you excel at? What do you tend to put off because you don’t know how to finish ? Once you know where you stand, you’ll know what your weaknesses are, and this is really important. Most artists have no idea that they’re not good at accounting, or they don’t want to admit it so they run around in circles. A business plan will help you eliminate this.

You’ll know how to get where you want to be. Once you write down a business plan, it’s easy to refer back to it often to get re-focused on your goals. Carefully analyzing what you really want out of your art business is a good way to stop doing what is getting in your way.

You’ll know what other artists are doing. Do you want a competitive advantage? Are you afraid of really pushing your business because you don’t know what will make you different and make people want to purchase your art?

Does 4 pages feel like too much?

Get started with our beginner’s one-page business plan and work your way up.

This post has been updated since its 2009 original publish date.

*affiliate link

November 20, 2009 at 11:46 AM

This is fantastic! Many thanks!

November 21, 2009 at 9:45 AM

You’re welcome!

November 22, 2009 at 5:32 AM

This is a really great resource that I’ll have to share with my readers. It’s always wonderful to find other people putting in the hard work and dedication that goes into doing what you do. .-= Damien Franco´s last blog ..Photographer’s Intro to Twitter =-.

May 19, 2010 at 3:26 PM

This is great. Thank you for doing this. It’s really something I’ve always known I needed to do. I will definitely do it now.

April 27, 2011 at 8:21 AM

Do you have a business plan for dummies and beginners? This is kind of advanced. I have nothing but 5 good paintings right now.

This is my first time coming to this website. I was very confused by the business plan. Who is “I”? As in, “I help artists dispel the starving artist myth”? It took me 15 mins to finally understand who “I” is, and who Cory and John Smith is.

January 7, 2016 at 12:24 PM

I agree, this business plan is completely confusing and way too advanced and overwhelming. I really want to like it, but after reading it a few times, I’m still lost.

October 27, 2011 at 11:10 PM

Creating a business plan was one of the smartest things I ever did. I wrote down all the ideas that had been spinning around in my head but had never been inserted into my business as a whole. Just the process of writing everything down becomes a way to clear your head and see the way forward. It’s great to see an honest, physical example of a business plan – thanks Cory!

March 11, 2012 at 4:25 PM

Wow!  I’m so glad I stumbled onto this!  Just what I needed!

June 4, 2012 at 6:16 AM

Thanks for posting the examples.  I didn’t realize that I already had lists covering most of the sections.  This really helped me put everything together in one place.  Now as I get new ideas, I have one document that I can go to.  I can quickly jot it down and properly categorize the idea right away knowing that I will have it on hand for when I have time to review the bigger picture over time.  Thanks again!

June 4, 2012 at 8:01 AM

 @figmentations Glad it helped!

January 13, 2013 at 2:57 PM

Thanks Cory. A Breath of Fresh Air!!! For the first time at last…with drudgery behind me, I can now pursue my business plan in JOY!!! In full celebration of all right brainers…here’s to your unlimited success:-)

February 23, 2013 at 11:43 AM

Hi Cory & Jennifer, I totally agree with having a business plan, writing down all the ideas & growth you have in mind for your business.

July 1, 2013 at 5:20 AM

thanks for everything. i like this site so much…

August 19, 2013 at 7:55 AM

Thank you this was very helpful 🙂

December 17, 2013 at 8:32 PM

Thank you for sharing this information, it can be difficult finding business resources for the artist/entrepreneur.

December 20, 2013 at 12:43 PM

Just need help starting a creative business. CB

September 25, 2015 at 3:07 PM

hello jennifar, i a cross this because am a starting artist. gama arts in Rwanda but i realy want a bussiness plan because i know success business needs a plan. thank you.

February 26, 2016 at 4:12 PM

I’m looking forward to doing the seminar on how to sell your artwork online. I am not computer literate, so this is going to require some intensive learning on my part. I am retired and can finally dedicate my time to doing the thing that I love the most, painting watercolor illustrations. I know nothing about blogging, or setting up my own web site. I hope this is the kind of information I can access from your seminar.

Thank you for showing me my first step toward creating a business out of my artwork…

May 16, 2016 at 4:35 PM

Thanks Cory and Jennifer, for sharing this information, it’s always good to know more about how I can do more on my art business.

November 25, 2017 at 3:06 PM

It helps me a lot to have specific, measurable goals. I’m just starting to turn art into a business for myself, so I’m trying out a few different things to see what works for me, but concrete numbers and plans and dates really help.

I’ve put together a list of business books for artists: http://jacquelineboss.com/2017/11/25/10-art-business-books-learn-how-to-sell-your-art/

January 22, 2018 at 12:01 PM

I had no idea how to get this started. This is super super helpful! Thank you!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Music Business Plan Template

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their music businesses. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a music business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What Is a Music Business Plan?

A music business plan provides a snapshot of your music business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Music Business Plan

If you’re looking to start a music business or grow your existing business you need a music business plan. A business plan will help you attract investors and raise money, if needed, and plan out the growth of your music business in order to improve your chances of success. Your music business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Source of Funding for Music Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a music business are bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your music business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable, but they will want to see a professional music business plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a music business.

The second most common form of funding for a music business is angel investors. Angel investors are wealthy individuals who will write you a check. They will either take equity in return for their funding or, like a bank, they will give you a loan. Venture capitalists will not fund a music business.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a music business plan.

Your music business plan should include 10 sections as follows:

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your music business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of music business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a music business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of music businesses?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the industry. Discuss the type of music business you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target audience. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team, and offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of music business you are operating.

For example, you might operate one of the following types:

• Recorded Music – This type of music business sells music that has been recorded in a studio.
• Music Licensing – This type of music business licenses music for films, TV shows, video games, advertisements, online videos, etc.
• Live Music – This type of music business sells tickets to live concerts and tours. They might also operate a school that teaches people how to become successful musicians, or they might sell memorabilia such as T-shirts and posters.
• Music Publishing – This type of music business is in the rights business; they represent songwriters. If someone wants to use a song by a songwriter that is represented by the music publishing company, they need to get permission and then pay a royalty.
• Music Production – This type of music business provides a service for musicians and recording artists. They might produce and record an album and then provide marketing services such as radio promotion and public relations.
• Music Business Consulting – This type of business is in the business of providing advice to musicians on how to become successful. For example, they may offer consulting on how to promote your music and how to book gigs.
• Music Artist – This type of business operates as an individual musician or music group. For example, they might be solo artists, bands looking for a record deal, or groups of musicians hoping to become successful together.
• Music Education – This type of music business offers music lessons, either in-person or online.
• Retail Music Store – This type of music business sells instruments, sheet music, and other music-related items.

In addition to explaining the type of music business you operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include sales goals you’ve reached, new store openings, etc.
• Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the music business.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy particularly if your research identifies market trends. For example, if there was a trend towards more people purchasing music online, you may want to focus your marketing efforts on digital platforms.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your music business plan:

• How big is the music business (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your music business. You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your music business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments for a retail music store:

• Adult beginning guitar players
• Teenage/college-aged students who want to learn how to play the electric guitar and will commit time and money to do so
• Middle-aged adults who want to learn how to play acoustic guitars for their own enjoyment
• Vintage guitar enthusiasts who are looking for specific instruments that are considered rare or valuable.

The following are examples of customer segments for a music education business:

• Parents who want their children to have a well-rounded education and believe that music is an important part of that
• Children who want to learn to play an instrument because they enjoy music
• Adults who want to improve their skills at playing an instrument they already know how to play

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will greatly depend on the type of music business you are operating. Clearly, baby boomers would want a different atmosphere, pricing, and product options, and would respond to different marketing promotions than millennials.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the customers you seek to serve. 

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers or clients.

Finish Your Music Industry Business Plan in 1 Day!

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your business plan?

With Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other music businesses within the same niche.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t direct competitors. This includes physical stores, online stores, and even locally owned retail shops that sell instruments.

Here are some examples of indirect competitors within the music education niche: 

• Local music store selling instruments
• Online retailer selling musical instruments
• The public school system offering a music program to students in grades K-12 or college offering a music ed program as a minor.

You need to mention such competition to show you understand that not everyone in the market is your direct competitor. Furthermore, including a SWOT analysis of your business in this section will demonstrate how you plan to compete against them.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

• What types of customers do they serve?
• What products/services do they offer?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to reach out to customers of your competitors and ask them what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide superior services?
• Will you provide amenities that your competitors don’t offer?
• Will you make it easier or faster for customers to book your own studio?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a music business plan, your marketing strategy and plan should include the following:

Product : in the product section, you should reiterate the type of music that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific products you will be offering. For example, in addition to selling instruments, you may also offer music lessons, CD recordings of the lessons, and other merchandise related to your business.

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections, you are presenting the options you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your music business. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your music business located in a commercial district with a lot of foot traffic? If not, will you offer delivery or online sales?

Promotions : the final part of your marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertising in local papers and magazines
• Reaching out to local bloggers and websites
• Partnerships with local organizations (e.g., partner with vendors to provide recording packages at a discount over a la carte services)
• Local radio stations advertising
• Banner ads at local music venues
• Social media advertising

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your music business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your music business such as serving customers, cleaning, ordering supplies, and so on. This section should list the specific tasks that will need to be completed each day and who will be responsible for them.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to serve your 25th customer, or when you hope to reach $X in sales. It could also be when you expect to hire your Xth employee or launch a new location.

Management Team

To demonstrate your music company’s ability to succeed as a business, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a music business.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in the music business. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in music and/or successfully running small businesses.

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement : an income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, how many customers will you serve? How much does it cost to provide your service/product? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets : While balance sheets include much information, to simplify them to the key items you need to know about, balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. For instance, if you spend $100,000 on building out your recording studio, that will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $100.000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement : Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your music business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a music business:

• Location build-out including design fees, construction, etc.
• Cost of equipment like studio gear, instruments, amps, inventory, etc.
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Taxes and permits
• Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your studio design blueprint or location lease.

Music Business Plan Summary

Putting together a business plan for your music business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the music business, your competition, and your potential customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful music business.

Music Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my music industry business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Music Industry Business Plan.

What is the Goal of a Business Plan's Executive Summary?

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of music business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a music business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of music businesses?

How Can I Generate Multiple Income Streams In My Music Business?

Whether you are a band, artist manager, recording producer, record label, or music store, if you can learn how to take the best advantage of both live and recorded revenue streams, you may be able to beat competitors at the music game. Your music business plan should describe your strategy of utilizing these two sides of the music industry.

Live concert tickets can be sold for hundreds of dollars for popular groups, while up-and-comers may need to play for just tips at bars and small venues. However, there is a place for every type of musician on this spectrum, and almost all musicians maintain a live performance schedule even as they become successful recording artists. Live concerts offer an opportunity for the group or artist’s music to be exposed to new audiences in a visceral way, sometimes driving direct sales of CDs at the concert itself, and leading to word-of-mouth inspired sales down the road.

Live concerts can be a significant revenue stream for a successful music artist, but they must play at venues large enough to cover the fixed costs of production (marketing, ticket sales, equipment rental, and set-up, travel, wages, and venue rental) leaving a net profit. If venues are too small and cost too high, concerts may have to be considered just a promotion method for other revenue streams, like recording sales.

Recorded Music

The sales of CDs or mp3s of the group or artist’s music, on the other hand, leave much more potential for huge returns. The profitability of selling recorded music increases significantly as the number of CDs or mp3s increases, as the cost of producing and selling each additional CD (and especially mp3s) approaches zero. Recordings can also help promote concert sales to a certain extent, through the release of singles and promo CDs. This can be through giveaways and through radio promotion of those songs.

If each revenue stream is significant on its own and also reinforces the other, you can build an extremely profitable business over time.

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Music Industry business plan?

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.   Click here to see how a Growthink business plan consultant can create your business plan for you.

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

Art Meets Strategy: Your Business Plan Guide

Dancers, painters, sculptors - your art needs a plan! Our free business plan template covers market analysis, financial planning, and more. Get your PDF and pirouette your way to success!

Business Plan Artist (Free PDF)

An Artist's Guide to Crafting a Business Plan

Business Plan Artist: What You Get

• How to write a business plan for your art business step by step
• How to open an art studio incl. funding and estimated costs
• Tips for self-marketing as a freelance artist

This Business Plan Template is Suitable For:

• Art Business Plan
• Independent Artist Business Plan
• Art Gallery Business Plan
• Art Studio Business Plan
• Art Business Model Canvas
• Art Portfolio Strategy
• Art Exhibition Planning

Your Benefits:

• Free of cost: Download the business plan template for free!
• Time-saving: Save time and open your business faster!
• Correct data: Avoid unnecessary mistakes!

Get Your Business Up and Running

ZANDURA is the all-in-one desk to get your business up and running. Realize your dream of running an independent and self-directed art business and get regular input on how to move forward. Why are we doing this? – Because small businesses are the backbone of the American economy.

Check out for more

Business Plan Fashion: Unlock the Runway to Success

Unlock the runway to success for your fashion business! This guide is your ticket to a carefully crafted business plan. Just download it for free and fulfill your dream of running your own clothing line.

How Do I Start Freelancing Legally in the U.S.?

Get started on your freelancing journey with our comprehensive Step-by-Step Guide! Embrace the freedom of being your own boss and turning passion into profit. Learn the ropes, find clients, and how to thrive in the freelance world.

The Best Free Resources For Thriving Small Businesses

Discover the top 10 free resources that can help your small business thrive in the United States. From business mentoring to access to capital, these valuable partners and institutions will give your business the boost it needs to succeed. Read on to learn more!

photo credit: iStock.com/CarlosDavid.org

RENEE PHILLIPS - MENTOR FOR ARTISTS

Helping Artists Achieve Their Fullest Potential

How to Create Your Art Business Plan

By Renee Phillips 5 Comments

It’s Easier Than You May Think!

Helping an artist create an art business plan is one of the most rewarding things to do as an art career mentor. I feel as though I am giving them a magic wand to ensure their career success. The idea of how to create your art business plan may seem intimidating at first. That’s why I wrote this article to show you how the process can be approached step-by-step.

First, view yourself as the CEO of your own artistic enterprise. When you create your art business plan you’ll experience a sense of gratification, knowing you’re on your way to attaining your fullest potential. You’ll gain financial and personal power.

Creating your Art Business Plan is an exercise that takes only a few hours to assemble and it will supply years of stability and security, unlike Dali’s limp clocks.

Here a just a few of the many personal and professional rewards you will gain from having an Art Business Plan

1. You will truly understand your authenticity and unique artistic vision

2. You will become clear about your greatest strengths and capabilities

3. You will have a plan with priorities to achieve freedom and prosperity

4. You will have control over your future rather than leaving it to chance

5. You will build a road map to avoid getting lost and distracted

6. You will automatically develop more self-confidence

7. You will minimize the sting of rejection

8. You’ll be able to work smarter, not harder

Here Are the Four Components

Your Art Business Plan consists of your creative, business and financial activities. The business plan consists of four parts: business statement; production plan; financial plan; and marketing plan.

The Business Statement This describes your business goals. It includes what you plan to sell and any additional sources of income such as private teaching and merchandising.

The Production Plan This is about how you plan to produce the art, how long it will take, plus required facilities, equipment, art supplies and hired help. Add office equipment, supplies and business services, such as legal and accounting fees.

The Financial Plan This important component encompasses the amount of money you expect to earn and the amount needed to begin or expand your business. As a rule, your operating expenses should be less than twenty percent of your income. That should be your ideal goal.

The Marketing Plan This part describes your market, your customers and your competition. It explains the unique features of your art or art service and benefits to the buyer. It includes where you plan to advertise, what marketing materials you will generate to reach your prospective buyers, and investments you will make to expand your markets.

You Can Do It!

Now that you have an overview of why you need your art business plan and what it is comprised of, you can start the process.

Also read How I Helped An Artist Create A Prosperity Plan

About Renee Phillips

Renée Phillips is a mentor and advocate for artists helping them achieve their fullest potential. She provides career advice, writing services, and promotion for artists from beginners to advanced. She organizes online exhibitions open to all artists as Director/Curator of Manhattan Arts International www.ManhattanArts.com and Founder of The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS www.healing-power-of-art.org. As an arts' advocate she has served on the advisory boards of several non-profit arts organizations. She lives in New York, NY.

05/18 at 1:15 pm

Hi! Do you have an ebook that outlines the steps in creating a business plan?

05/24 at 10:32 am

Megan, Thank you for your question. No, I haven’t written a book on that subject exclusively. However, my ebook “Achieve Your Art Career Dreams & Goals” covers a wealth of information. I also recommend articles I’ve written: Helpful Art Business Facts For Every Professional Artist and How to Create An Art Patron Plan

11/07 at 9:03 am

Great tips Renee! Plans are affected by our personal needs and artists need to ask themselves; Do I paint because I need a hobby, am I depending upon it to earn a living or is about self expression and the money becomes the icing on the cake? For me it is the later😉

11/07 at 4:50 pm

Lisa, that’s true. Most artists, not all, who visit this site are looking for ways to earn money to either augment their main source of income or attain their goal of becoming full-time artists. They’re looking for the full course dinner. 🙂

[…] With this in mind, it is essential to prepare an art business plan as early as possible in your career and revise it as often as necessary. It will provide a solid foundation and direction, as well as build self-confidence. For step-by-step guidelines, read How to Create Your Art Business Plan. […]

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Writing Services for Artists

My specialty is writing Art Reviews and Art Statements / "Praise Quotes" for artists to use for promotion... on their websites, social media profiles, exhibition catalogues, grant submissions, blog posts, press releases, artists’ books and more. My writing for artists has led to increasing their art sales, attracting publicity, gaining … More...

Copyright © 2014 -2024 Renee Phillips Manhattan Arts International 200 East 72 Street, New York, NY 10021 [email protected]

• Business Plan for Investors
• Bank/SBA Business Plan
• Operational/Strategic Planning Services
• L1 Visa Business Plan
• E1 Treaty Trader Visa Business Plan
• E2 Treaty Investor Visa Business Plan
• EB-1 Business Plan
• EB-2 NIW Business Plan
• EB-5 Business Plan
• Innovator Founder Visa Business Plan
• Start-Up Visa Business Plan
• Expansion Worker Visa Business Plan
• Manitoba MPNP Visa Business Plan
• Nova Scotia NSNP Visa Business Plan
• British Columbia BC PNP Visa Business Plan
• Self-Employed Visa Business Plan
• OINP Entrepreneur Stream Business Plan
• LMIA Owner Operator Business Plan
• ICT Work Permit Business Plan
• LMIA Mobility Program – C11 Entrepreneur Business Plan
• USMCA (ex-NAFTA) Business Plan
• Franchise Business Plan
• Landlord business plan
• Nonprofit Start-Up Business Plan
• USDA Business Plan
• Cannabis business plan
• Ecommerce business plan
• Online boutique business plan
• Mobile application business plan
• Daycare business plan
• Restaurant business plan
• Food delivery business plan
• Real estate business plan
• Business Continuity Plan
• Pitch Deck Consulting Services
• Financial Due Diligence Services
• ICO whitepaper
• ICO consulting services
• Confidential Information Memorandum
• Private Placement Memorandum
• Feasibility study
• Fractional CFO
• How it works
• Business Plan Examples

Artists Business Plan Template

NOV.10, 2021

Artist business plan for starting your own business

In today’s world, an artist is a creative entrepreneur who is a self-employed business owner and uses his skill to earn a decent living. A professional artist is someone who knows how to make an impact with his work and make a living out of it. In case you want to make a business out of your art, a well-thought artist business plan can make a huge difference towards your success.

Whether you want music festival business plan , internet radio business plan , business plan for music industry , business plan for movie theater , karaoke business plan , or night club business plan , this model of business plan will help you in writing a well thought business plan to start a successful business.

If you want to know how to write a business plan for an artist, or you are looking for business plan for artists, you can continue to read as we will write down all the important points required in a good business plan for investors .

Executive Summary

2.1 the business.

In all the business plan examples for artists, the first thing you need to mention is the introduction of your business.

PixelCo will be a registered, licensed and insured art design business based in the Miami, Florida. This business will strive to cultivate meaningful and relevant connections between people and brands through our art designing services and unparalleled visuals.

2.2 Management of Artist Business

The success of any business heavily depends on its management and staff. That is why in your business plans for artists, make sure to plan everything in advance.

The management body of the company will include art artists, sales executives, animation and cartoon specialists, customer representatives and website developers. The team will be managed by the owner who will look into every matter himself.

Like in every artist business plan sample, you need to provide detail about the management. The staff will be hired one month before the launch of the company and will be trained by the owner.

2.3 Customers of Artist Business

At PixelCo, our customers will include following

• Insurance Companies and banks
• Sport Organizations
• Political parties
• Television Stations
• Real Estate Owners, Contractors and Developers
• Advertising agencies
• Entrepreneurs

Similar to a mobile app business plan , mentioning all the customers are required to make a strong business plan.

2.4 Business Target

Our primary goal is to become the best art design company in Miami within the next 6 years of our startup. We aim to provide the best and reasonable services to our customers. The main business targets that we want to achieve as milestones over the next four years are as follows:

• To cover the investment by the end of the first year
• To expand our company and open up two to three company offices by the end of 5th year
• To raise at least $10 monthly revenue by the end of the first year

Company Summary

3.1 company owner.

PixelCo will be owned by Julie Mark, a renewed art designer. She has completed her Masters of Art in art design from the University of London. After completing her degree, she worked with some leading digital marketing companies as a art designer. After gaining all the knowledge about how to start a small art business, she decided to start her own business.

3.2 Why the Artist Business is being started?

Julie continued to work as a art designer in some of the biggest art designer companies in the US. But soon she realized that she can start her own business and can establish her name in the art designing industry.

That is why she decided to start PixelCo completely by herself. Similar to writing a business plan for makeup artist, it is important to write down why and how the business will be started when writing a business plan for artist.

3.3 How the Artist Business will be started?

In business plan artist, you need to mention all the necessary steps to start a business. To start a art designing business, you do not need much investment as needed in other startups.

Julie has planned everything for her business including the required inventory and personnel.

Office Space

To start an art designing business on a small scale, you need a small set-up, and for that, a small space will be enough.

Office furniture

Next, to set up the space, you will need office furniture including filing cabinets, couches, chairs and work desks. You will also need some decent furniture for meeting rooms and waiting rooms.

The next and important thing is to buy all the art designing and other related software to start the work. These include Freehand, Illustrator, Photoshop, Quark and Microsoft project.

Internet Connection

You will need a strong internet connection to carry out the work without any distortion.

Start-up Expenses

When we talk about the expenses to open a art designing company, these include consultant fees, insurance, rent for the space, laptops and computers for the employees and interior expenses.

In this business plan for artist management company , you need to mention the services your company will provide. This is an extremely important part of any business plan for artist.

PixelCo will provide art designing services and visual communication services to small as well as established companies. We aim to compete with all the leading art designing companies in the US. As can be seen in our business plan template for artists, we will provide the following services:

Digital Designs

We will provide digital designs including logos, websites, and all kinds of arts to our clients. We will also provide cartoons and animations as per our customer’s requirements.

Hard Decorations

We will also provide hard form decorations, art pieces, and custom-themed paintings.

Print Designs

In addition to digital designs, we will also provide print media designs including books, magazines and newspapers.

Advertisements

We will also provide advertising services and corporate branding that will include infoarts, brochures, product packaging, and posters.

Marketing Analysis of Artist Business

Great service.

Great service. Good turnaround time and quality work. Thanks!

Similar to business plan for music artist, marketing analysis is an important component in abusiness plan for artists pdf. That is why Julie got the services of marketing experts to help her through this important phase. In anny artist development plan, the importance of this part cannot be ignored.

To start a successful business for artists, you need to do an accurate marketing analysis, as the planning and execution of many other components depend on it. It also serves as the basis of your business strategy.

5.1 Market Trends

The trend in the art designing industry is that the market keeps expanding with time. Anything that cannot be done verbally needs to be put into some design to communicate or to send the message. If we look around, we are surrounded by arts.

From your coffee mug to the magazine cover, the ads on the TV all are applications of art designing. These are the reasons why the art designing industry is growing fast and is one of the biggest and fastest-growing companies in the world.

In 2017, around 335,000 art design companies were working all over the world. These include both small and large companies and people working as freelancers. The art design business is popular because all other businesses require their services to appear professional and to reach out to people.

5.2 Marketing Segmentation

Market segmentation is another important part of the sample regarding how to manage an artist pdf available online. All top performing artist marketing plan example templates include the detail about marketing segmentation for art design business.

The target market for PixelCo will be the corporate sector located in the US. According to research, the US houses more than 500,000 businesses which include both local, multinational and national businesses. These businesses have revenue in millions of dollars each year. It makes it easy for them to spend a lot of money on their art designing needs to promote their brands and to reach out to people.

To develop a good marketing strategy and to run a business seamlessly, it is important to analyze the market segmentation. An efficient and successful marketing strategy can only be developed after knowing the potential customers of any business. The market segmentation for PixelCo will be as follows:

UK Start-Up Visa Business Plan

Corporate sector

One of the biggest consumers of PixelCo will be the corporate sector located in Florida. These include local, national and multinational businesses that need art designing services to expand their business. These companies include product manufacturers, real estate owners, distributors, developers, banks, hotels, IT firms, software houses and advertising agencies. These companies will need our services to update their brand logos, make advertisements and manage their websites and social media pages.

Institutes and Organizations

Our next target group consists of organizations and institutions located in Florida. These include public and government sectors such as schools, universities and colleges, sports organizations, political parties, non-profit and religious organizations.

Print Companies

Our third and important target group will be digital media and print companies. These will include publication companies, video production companies and television studios. Due to its nature, this target group is one of the biggest consumers of artist and designing services.

5.3 Business Target

Our primary goal is to balance the cost of investment in the first two years of our launch. Our secondary goal is to become the best art design company in Florida within few years.

5.4 Product Pricing

When writing a marketing plan artist, the pricing is extremely crucial. The service and product pricing should be determined with great care. We have considered the market demands, and have priced all our services in a comparable range with other companies. All of our prices are similar to other companies except for logo making prices which are 30 percent less than other companies to promote sales.

Marketing Strategy for Artist Business

PixelCo will make sure that we meet the clients’ expectations and deliver the service as per their requirements. Any good independent artist business plan like this business plan for artist example pdf should have a clearly defined marketing strategy.

Our goal is to achieve a 15% increase in website traffic every month and we will work to turn 70% of the visitors into our consumers. We will also work on increasing the engagement rates. Engagement rates show the frequency at which visitors interact with the post. We aim to increase our social media following so we can reach out to maximum people.

6.1 Competitive Analysis

To survive in artist and design industry, you have to be very creative and should have innovative ideas regarding designs. Only then you can survive and grow.

PixelCo has a team of dedicated and hard-working professionals. All of the staff is highly trained and has excellent qualifications. Our biggest competitive advantage is the leadership of our owner Julie, who has worked in world-renowned companies.

6.2 Sales Strategy

Julie has carried out a detailed analysis and along with her team, and came up with excellent ideas to advertise her company.

• We will reach out to people by advertising our company by using social media platforms, newspapers, magazines and TV stations.
• In the first three months of our launch, we will offer a 20% discount on our all services
• We will offer a 30% discount on all of our services on customer’s referral.
• We will send introductory letters and brochures to other organizations.

6.3 Sales Monthly

6.4 Sales Yearly

6.5 Sales Forecast

Personnel plan

In an artist business plan or artist development plan, personnel plan is important as it provides an idea of personnel cost. If the staff is not loyal to the company, the company cannot make progress. It is difficult to estimate the type and number of staff needed to start a business until a business is launched. So to get through this step, it is important to take the advice of HR experts.

7.1  Company Staff

The following people will be needed to run PixelCo. Also, note that Julie Mark will be the owner and CEO of PixelCo business. The list of staff is as follows

• 1 operation manager
• 1 social media marketing manager
• 3 sales executive
• 2 animation and cartoon specialists
• 5 website developers
• 3 customer representatives
• 1 reception clerk
• 1 accountant

7.2  Average Salary of Employees

Financial plan.

When writing a business plan for artist, a financial plan is the next important thing after personnel plan. Any good business plan for artists clearly lists all costs, such as the cost of startup, payroll, inventory, utilities and equipment.

The major expense/ costs include:

• The interior design of the office
• Office space rent
• Cost of inventory – furniture, chairs, tables and laptops
• Salary of employees
• Bonds, securities, registration costs, and insurance
• Cost of buying software

8.1 Important Assumptions

8.2 break-even analysis.

8.3 Projected Profit and Loss

8.3.1 profit monthly.

8.3.2 Profit Yearly

8.3.3 Gross Margin Monthly

8.3.4 Gross Margin Yearly

8.4 Projected Cash Flow

8.5 Projected Balance Sheet

8.6 business ratios.

• How can I start my own business as an artist?

To start a business as an artist, you need to use your skill. Make a business plan for artist and work on it to start your own business. You can easily start it once you have made a good business plan for makeup artist. After that, just follow the steps to start a successful business.

• How do I write a business plan for an artist?

You can use this business plan template for artist to write your own plan.

• Is an artist a business?

Not all entrepreneurs are artists but it is the fact that all artists are entrepreneurs. Being an artist you can polish your skill and then use it to make a living out of it. The business for artists is their skill through which they can earn money.

• How much does an art business make?

The amount of money that an art business can make depends upon the type of art you are selling. For example, if you are a graphic artist, you can make a lot of money as compared to an artist who is just a painter.

Download Artist Business Plan Template in pdf

OGSCapital’s team has assisted thousands of entrepreneurs with top-rate business plan development, consultancy and analysis. They’ve helped thousands of SME owners secure more than $1.5 billion in funding, and they can do the same for you.

Add comment

E-mail is already registered on the site. Please use the Login form or enter another .

You entered an incorrect username or password

Comments (0)

mentioned in the press:

Search the site:

OGScapital website is not supported for your current browser. Please use:

Fine Art & Crafts Business Plans

Art supply business plans.

• Art Supply Store and Gallery Business Plan
• Stained Glass Gallery Business Plan

Crafts Business Plans

• Custom Pottery Business Plan
• Custom Quilt Artist Business Plan
• Decorative Pottery Business Plan
• Pottery Studio Business Plan
• Scrapbooking Store Business Plan

Design Business Plans

• Bicycle Art Business Plan
• Drapery Fabricator Business Plan
• Florist Business Plan
• Graphic Design Business Plan

Fine Art Business Plans

• Art Film Theater Business Plan
• Art Packaging Installation Business Plan
• Art Sales Custom Framing Business Plan
• Art School Gallery Business Plan
• Art School Museum Business Plan
• Custom Jewelry Business Plan
• Tattoo Parlor Business Plan

Gifts Business Plans

• Gift Basket Business Plan
• Gifts and Collectibles Retail Shop Business Plan
• Home Accessories and Gifts Business Plan
• Specialty Gifts Business Plan

Home Decor Business Plans

• Home Interior Design Business Plan
• Interior Design Business Plan

Music Business Plans

• Music Recording Distribution Business Plan
• Music Recording Producer Business Plan
• Music Theater Business Plan
• Musical Instrument Store Business Plan
• Nonprofit Recording Co-op Business Plan
• Theatrical Music Producers Business Plan

Photography Business Plans

• Commercial Photography Business Plan
• Pet Photography Business Plan
• Photography Studio Business Plan

Everyone dreams of turning their hobby into a business. Find a sample business plan for scrapbooking, art supply, gallery, fabric, stained glass supply, or other arts and craft supplies related business, and start writing a business plan to make your dream a reality.

The quickest way to turn a business idea into a business plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

No thanks, I prefer writing 40-page documents.

Discover the world’s #1 plan building software

Main Container

Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau

Search form Mobile

• Canada’s Housing Plan

Subscribe to email updates

Search form

Main content.

This website is not compatible with Internet Explorer or older version of Microsoft Edge(version 78 and older).

For full functionality please use a supported browser .

• news releases

Everyone deserves to succeed. But today, for too many Canadians, especially Millennials and Gen Z, your hard work isn’t paying off like it did for previous generations. Your paycheque doesn’t go as far as costs go up, and saving enough seems harder and harder. It doesn’t have to be this way. Every generation should get a fair chance to get ahead.

One of the biggest pressures on people right now is housing. Young Canadians are renting more than ever and being priced out of their communities. Families are finding it difficult to get a good place to settle down. The cost to build homes is too high, and the time it takes to finish projects is too long. We need to build more homes in Canada, and we need to build them by the millions.

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, and the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Sean Fraser, today unveiled the federal government’s ambitious housing plan, Solving the housing crisis: Canada’s Housing Plan , supported by new investments from the upcoming Budget 2024. At the heart of this plan lies a commitment to make housing affordable. No hard-working Canadian should have to spend more than 30 per cent of their income on housing costs. No Canadian should have to live without knowing they have a safe and affordable place to live.

The plan lays out a bold strategy to unlock 3.87 million new homes by 2031. This includes a minimum of 2 million net new homes, on top of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s forecast of 1.87 million being built anyway by 2031. Federal actions in this plan, in Budget 2024, and taken in fall 2023 will support at least 1.2 million new homes, and we call on all orders of government to build at least 800,000 more homes by 2031.

Here’s what we’re doing:

Building more homes by bringing down the costs of homebuilding, helping cities make it easier to build homes at a faster pace, changing the way Canadian homebuilders manufacture homes, and growing the workforce to ensure we get the job done. This includes:

• A Public Lands for Homes Plan to lead a national effort to build affordable housing on federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal lands across the country. We will partner with homebuilders and housing providers to build homes on every possible site across the public portfolio and ensure long-term affordability.
• $15 billion in additional loans for the Apartment Construction Loan Program to build a minimum of 30,000 new rental apartments, in big cities, small towns, and rural communities alike, will be proposed in Budget 2024. With this additional financing, the program is on track to build over 131,000 new apartments by 2031-32.
• Launching Canada Builds, a Team Canada approach to building affordable homes for the middle class on under-utilized lands across the country. Canada Builds combines federal low-cost loans with provincial and territorial investments to scale up construction on rental homes for the middle class, from coast to coast to coast.
• Supporting Indigenous Peoples in urban, rural, and northern areas . We will also provide additional distinctions-based investments for Indigenous housing to be delivered by Indigenous governments, organizations, housing, and service providers.

Making it easier to own or rent a home by ensuring that every renter or homeowner has a home that suits their needs, and the stability to retain it. We’re putting measures to protect tenants against unfairly rising rent payments, leverage rental payment history to improve credit scores, increase the Home Buyers’ Plan withdrawal limit, extend mortgage amortizations for first-time home buyers buying newly built homes, and more:

• Launching a Tenant Protection Fund to provide funding to legal services and tenants’ rights advocacy organizations to better protect tenants against unfairly rising rent payments, renovictions, or bad landlords.
• Leveraging rental payment history to improve credit scores, helping you qualify for a mortgage and better rates.
• Increasing the Home Buyers’ Plan withdrawal limit by $25,000 and extending the grace period to repay by an additional three years.
• Extending mortgage amortizations for first-time buyers buying newly built homes . Mortgage insurance rules will be amended to allow 30-year mortgage amortizations exclusively for first-time home buyers purchasing new builds.

Helping Canadians who can’t afford a home by creating more affordable and rental housing – including for students, seniors, persons with disabilities, and equity-deserving communities – and eliminating chronic homelessness in Canada. This includes:

• Providing $1 billion for the Affordable Housing Fund to build affordable homes and launching a permanent Rapid Housing Stream to build on the success of the previous three rounds of the Rapid Housing Initiative.
• Launching a $1.5 billion Canada Rental Protection Fund to protect and expand affordable housing.

The Prime Minister also announced new measures included in Canada’s Housing Plan to attract, train, and hire the skilled-trade workers Canada needs to build more homes.

• $90 million for the Apprenticeship Service , creating apprenticeship opportunities to train and recruit the next generation of skilled trades workers.
• $10 million for the Skilled Trades Awareness and Readiness program to encourage high school students to enter the skilled trades – creating more jobs and opportunities for the next generation of workers to build Canada up.
• $50 million in the Foreign Credential Recognition Program , with a focus on residential construction to help skilled trades workers get more homes built. Like our previous $115 million investment, this funding will remove barriers to credential recognition, so workers spend less time dealing with red-tape and more time getting shovels in the ground.

Transforming our housing system and solving the housing crisis will take a Team Canada effort. No one level of government, home builder, not-for-profit, or community can do it alone. We need every partner pulling in the same direction to build the homes Canadians need.

This is about realizing Canada’s promise of affordable housing for every generation – and it’s just one of the things that we are going to be doing in Budget 2024. Alongside these measures, we’re getting healthy food on kids’ plates, delivering stronger public health care, making life more affordable, and creating good jobs to make sure every generation can get ahead.

“We are changing the way we build homes in Canada. In our housing plan and Budget 2024, we are delivering ambitious action and investments to build more homes, make it easier to rent or own, and help the most vulnerable with stable housing. This is about restoring fairness for every generation, and housing is at the heart of that.” The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

“We are announcing today real, tangible measures that are going to help more younger Canadians get those first keys of their own. We are using every tool at our disposal to deliver housing without delay – because we want to make the dream of homeownership a reality for younger Canadians.” The Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

“Canada can and will solve the housing crisis, and we’re going to do it by getting every home builder, not-for-profit, mayor, city councillor, and premier pulling in the same direction to build the homes Canadians need.” The Hon. Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities

Quick Facts

• The Prime Minister today also announced the creation of a new Deputy Minister of Public Lands and Housing position within the Privy Council Office. The Deputy Minister will oversee and report on federal efforts to build more homes for Canadians through the use of public lands, providing a single point of accountability within the public service. An appointment to this position will be announced later today.
• Since 2015, the federal government has helped almost two million Canadians find a place to call home.
• Restore generational fairness for renters, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, by taking new action to protect renters’ rights and unlock pathways for them to become homeowners. Learn more .
• Launch a new $6 billion Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund to accelerate the construction or upgrade of essential infrastructure across the country and get more homes built for Canadians. Learn more .
• Top-up the Apartment Construction Loan Program with $15 billion, make new reforms so it is easier to access, and launch Canada Builds to call on all provinces and territories to join a Team Canada effort to build more homes, faster. Learn more .
• Support renters by launching a new $1.5 billion Canada Rental Protection Fund to preserve more rental homes and make sure they stay affordable. Learn more .
• Change the way we build homes in Canada by announcing over $600 million to make it easier and cheaper to build more homes, faster, including through a new Homebuilding Technology and Innovation Fund and a new Housing Design Catalogue. Learn more .
• The Apartment Construction Loan Program , a $40 billion initiative that will be topped up with an additional $15 billion in Budget 2024 to boost the construction of new rental homes by providing low-cost financing to homebuilders. Since 2017, the Apartment Construction Loan Program has committed over $18 billion in loans to support the creation of more than 48,000 new rental homes. With our recently announced measures , the Apartment Construction Loan Program is now on track to help build over 131,000 new rental homes across Canada by 2031-32.
• The  Affordable Housing Fund , a $14+ billion initiative that supports the creation of new market and below-market rental housing and the repair and renewal of existing housing. It is designed to attract partnerships and investments to develop projects that meet a broad spectrum of housing needs, from shelters to affordable homeownership. As of December 31, 2023, the Fund has committed $8+ billion to repair or renew over 150,000 homes and support the construction of more than 32,000 new homes.
• The Housing Accelerator Fund , a $4 billion initiative that will be topped up with an additional $400 million in Budget 2024 to encourage municipalities to incentivize building by making transformative changes, such as removing prohibitive zoning barriers. To date, the federal government has signed 179 Housing Accelerator Fund agreements which, combined, will fast-track an estimated total of over 750,000 housing units across the country over the next decade.
• The Rapid Housing Initiative , a $4 billion fund that is fast-tracking the construction of 15,500 new affordable homes for people experiencing homelessness or in severe housing need by 2026. The Rapid Housing Initiative also supports the acquisition of existing buildings for the purpose of rehabilitation or conversion to permanent affordable housing units, focusing on the housing needs of the most vulnerable, including people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, women fleeing domestic violence, seniors, Indigenous Peoples, and persons with disabilities.
• Progress on these and other programs and initiatives under Canada’s National Housing Strategy are updated quarterly at  www.placetocallhome.ca . The Housing Funding Initiatives Map  shows housing projects that have been developed.
• On November 9, 2023, we signed a historic Housing Accelerator Fund agreement with the Province of Quebec.
• Building on the success of the 2023 agreement, the federal government will continue to work closely with Quebec to build more homes for Quebecers, including by delivering additional funding through the Housing Accelerator Fund and the new Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund.
• The Government of Canada’s Budget 2024 will be tabled in the House of Commons by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
• Save more young families money and help more moms return to their careers by building more affordable child care spaces and training more early childhood educators across Canada. Learn more .
• Create a National School Food Program to provide meals to about 400,000 kids every year and help ensure every child has the best start in life, no matter their circumstances. Learn more .
• Secure Canada’s AI advantage through a $2.4 billion package of measures that will accelerate job growth in Canada’s AI sector, boost productivity by helping researchers and businesses develop and adopt AI, and ensure this is done responsibly. Learn more .
• Provide the Canadian Armed Forces with the tools and capacity they need to defend Canada and protect North America, advance Canada’s interests and values around the world, and support its members with an overall investment of $8.1 billion over five years and $73 billion over 20 years. Learn more .

Related Products

• Solving the housing crisis: Canada’s Housing Plan
• Backgrounder: Solving the housing crisis: Canada’s Housing Plan

View, manage, and install add-ins for Excel, PowerPoint, and Word

When you enable an add-in, it adds custom commands and new features to Microsoft 365 programs that help increase your productivity. Because add-ins can be used by attackers to do harm to your computer, you can use add-in security settings to help protect yourself.

Note:  This article only applies to Microsoft 365 applications running on Windows.

View installed add-ins

You can directly install add-ins from this page or select  More Add-ins  to explore.

In the Office Add-ins dialog, select  My Add-ins  tab.

Select an add-in you want to view the details for and right-click to select  Add-in details  option.

Click a heading below for more information .  

Add-in categories explained

Active Application Add-ins      Add-ins registered and currently running on your Microsoft 365 program.

Inactive Application Add-ins      These are present on your computer but not currently loaded. For example, XML schemas are active when the document that refers to them is open. Another example is the COM add-in: if a COM add-in is selected, the add-in is active. If the check box is cleared, the add-in is inactive.

Document Related Add-ins      Template files referred to by open documents.

Disabled Application Add-ins     These add-ins are automatically disabled because they are causing Microsoft 365 programs to crash.

Add-in      The title of the add-in.

Publisher      The software developer or organization responsible for creating the add-in.

Compatibility      Look here for any compatibility issues.

Location      This file path indicates where the add-in is installed on your computer.

Description This text explains the add-in function.

Note:  Microsoft Outlook has one add-in option in the Trust Center: Apply macro security settings to installed add-ins . InfoPath has no security settings for add-ins.

Permanently disable or remove an add-in

To disable or remove an add-in follow these steps:

Select  File > Get Add-ins . Alternatively, you can select  Home > Add-ins .

In the Office Add-ins dialog, select  My Add-ins  tab.

Select an add-in you want to remove and right click to select  Remove  option.

View or change add-in settings

You can see and change add-in settings in the Trust Center, descriptions of which are in the following section. Add-in security settings may have been determined by your organization so not all options may be available to change.

Select  File  >  Get Add-ins .

Select  More Add-ins > Manage My Add-ins.

Select  Trust Center  >  Trust Center Settings  >  Add-ins.

Check or uncheck the boxes you want.

Add-in settings explained

Require Application Add-ins to be signed by Trusted Publisher      Check this box to have the Trust Center check that the add-in uses a publisher's trusted signature. If the publisher's signature hasn’t been trusted, the Microsoft 365 program doesn’t load the add-in, and the Trust Bar displays a notification that the add-in has been disabled.

Disable notification for unsigned add-ins (code will remain disabled)      When you check the Require Application Extensions to be signed by Trusted Publisher box, this option is no longer grayed out. Add-ins signed by a trusted publisher are enabled, but unsigned add-ins are disabled.

Disable all Application Add-ins (may impair functionality)      Check this box if you don't trust any add-ins. All add-ins are disabled without any notification, and the other add-in boxes are grayed out.

Note:  This setting takes effect after you exit and restart your Microsoft 365 program.

While working with add-ins, you may need to learn more about digital signatures and certificates , which authenticate an add-in, and trusted publishers , the software developers who often create add-ins.

Manage and install add-ins

Use the following instruction to manage and install add-ins.

To install a new add-in:

You can directly install popular add-ins on the page or go to More Add-ins  to explore. 

Select the add-in and select  Add . Or browse by selecting  Store  tab in the Office add-in dialog to find other add-ins to install and select Add for that add-in.

To manage your add-ins:

Select  File > Get Add-ins and from the bottom, select More Add-ins.  Or select  Home  >  Add-ins > More add-ins.

In the Office dialog, select My Add-ins tab. If you are not able to see your add-ins, select  Refresh to reload your add-ins.

Select  Manage My Add-in  to manage and select  Upload to browse and add an add-in from your device.

How to cancel a purchased add-in

If you've subscribed to an add-in through the Microsoft 365 Store that you don't want to continue, you can cancel that subscription.

Open the Microsoft 365 application and go to the Home  tab of the ribbon.

Select  Add-ins  and then select  More Add-ins > My Add-ins tab   to view your existing add-ins.

Select the app you want to cancel and select  Manage My Add-ins .

Under the Payment and Billing section choose Cancel Subscription .

Select  OK and then Continue .

Once that's complete you should see a message that says "You have cancelled your app subscription" in the comments field of your apps list.

Why is my add-in crashing?

Some add-ins might not be compatible with your organization's IT department policies. If that is the case with add-ins recently installed on your Microsoft 365 program, Data Execution Prevention (DEP) will disable the add-in and the program might crash.

Learn more about DEP

Get a Microsoft 365 Add-in for Outlook

Get a Microsoft 365 Add-in for Project

Taking linked notes

If you're looking for Help on linking notes in OneNote to a Word or PowerPoint document, see Take linked notes .

Excel Windows Add-ins

If you're looking for Help on specific Excel Add-ins, such as Solver or Inquire, see Help for Excel for Windows add-ins .

If you're looking for additional help with Excel add-ins using the COM Add-ins dialog box, see Add or remove add-ins in Excel .

Get a Microsoft 365 Add-in for Excel

Need more help?

Want more options.

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

Microsoft 365 training

Microsoft security

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Ask the Microsoft Community

Microsoft Tech Community

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders

Find solutions to common problems or get help from a support agent.

Online support

Was this information helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

How To Write a Winning Artist Management Business Plan + Template

Creating a business plan is essential for any business, but it can be especially helpful for artist management businesses that want to improve their strategy and/or raise funding.

A well-crafted business plan not only outlines the vision for your company, but also documents a step-by-step roadmap of how you are going to accomplish it. In order to create an effective record label business plan , you must first understand the components that are essential to its success.

This article provides an overview of the key elements that every artist management business owner should include in their business plan.

Download the Ultimate Business Plan Template

What is an Artist Management Business Plan?

An artist management business plan is a formal written document that describes your company’s business strategy and its feasibility. It documents the reasons you will be successful, your areas of competitive advantage, and it includes information about your team members. Your business plan is a key document that will convince investors and lenders (if needed) that you are positioned to become a successful venture.

Why Write an Artist Management Business Plan?

An artist management business plan is required for banks and investors. The document is a clear and concise guide of your business idea and the steps you will take to make it profitable.

Entrepreneurs can also use this as a roadmap when starting their new company or venture, especially if they are inexperienced in starting a business.

Writing an Effective Artist Management Business Plan

The following are the key components of a successful artist management business plan:

Executive Summary

The executive summary of an artist management business plan is a one to two page overview of your entire business plan. It should summarize the main points, which will be presented in full in the rest of your business plan.

• Start with a one-line description of your artist management company
• Provide a short summary of the key points in each section of your business plan, which includes information about your company’s management team, industry analysis, competitive analysis, and financial forecast among others.

Company Description

This section should include a brief history of your company. Include a short description of how your company started, and provide a timeline of milestones your company has achieved.

If you are just starting your artist management business, you may not have a long company history. Instead, you can include information about your professional experience in this industry and how and why you conceived your new venture. If you have worked for a similar company before or have been involved in an entrepreneurial venture before starting your artist management firm, mention this.

You will also include information about your chosen artist management business model and how, if applicable, it is different from other companies in your industry.

Industry Analysis

The industry or market analysis is an important component of an artist management business plan. Conduct thorough market research to determine industry trends and document the size of your market. 

Questions to answer include:

• What part of the artist management industry are you targeting?
• How big is the market?
• What trends are happening in the industry right now (and if applicable, how do these trends support the success of your company)?

You should also include sources for the information you provide, such as published research reports and expert opinions.

Customer Analysis

This section should include a list of your target audience(s) with demographic and psychographic profiles (e.g., age, gender, income level, profession, job titles, interests). You will need to provide a profile of each customer segment separately, including their needs and wants.

For example, the clients of an artist management business may include record labels, concert promoters, and other businesses in the music industry.

You can include information about how your customers make the decision to buy from you as well as what keeps them buying from you.

Develop a strategy for targeting those customers who are most likely to buy from you, as well as those that might be influenced to buy your products or artist management services with the right marketing.

Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis helps you determine how your product or service will be different from competitors, and what your unique selling proposition (USP) might be that will set you apart in this industry.

For each competitor, list their strengths and weaknesses. Next, determine your areas of competitive differentiation and/or advantage; that is, in what ways are you different from and ideally better than your competitors.

Below are sample competitive advantages your artist management business may have:

• Comprehensive artist management services
• Proven track record of success
• Extensive industry experience
• Strong relationships with key industry players
• Innovative business model

Marketing Plan

This part of the business plan is where you determine and document your marketing plan. . Your plan should be clearly laid out, including the following 4 Ps.

• Product/Service : Detail your product/service offerings here. Document their features and benefits.
• Price : Document your pricing strategy here. In addition to stating the prices for your products/services, mention how your pricing compares to your competition.
• Place : Where will your customers find you? What channels of distribution (e.g., partnerships) will you use to reach them if applicable?
• Promotion : How will you reach your target customers? For example, you may use social media, write blog posts, create an email marketing campaign, use pay-per-click advertising, launch a direct mail campaign. Or, you may promote your artist management business via word-of-mouth or by exhibiting at trade shows.

Operations Plan

This part of your artist management business plan should include the following information:

• How will you deliver your product/service to customers? For example, will you do it in person or over the phone only?
• What infrastructure, equipment, and resources are needed to operate successfully? How can you meet those requirements within budget constraints?

The operations plan is where you also need to include your company’s business policies. You will want to establish policies related to everything from customer service to pricing, to the overall brand image you are trying to present.

Finally, and most importantly, in your Operations Plan, you will lay out the milestones your company hopes to achieve within the next five years. Create a chart that shows the key milestone(s) you hope to achieve each quarter for the next four quarters, and then each year for the following four years. Examples of milestones for an artist management business include reaching $X in sales. Other examples include signing on X number of clients, or booking Y number of shows.

Management Team

List your team members here including their names and titles, as well as their expertise and experience relevant to your specific artist management industry. Include brief biography sketches for each team member.

Particularly if you are seeking funding, the goal of this section is to convince investors and lenders that your team has the expertise and experience to execute on your plan. If you are missing key team members, document the roles and responsibilities you plan to hire for in the future.

Financial Plan

Here you will include a summary of your complete and detailed financial plan (your full financial projections go in the Appendix). 

This includes the following three financial statements:

Income Statement

Your income statement should include:

• Revenue : how much revenue you generate.
• Cost of Goods Sold : These are your direct costs associated with generating revenue. This includes labor costs, as well as the cost of any equipment and supplies used to deliver the product/service offering.
• Net Income (or loss) : Once expenses and revenue are totaled and deducted from each other, this is the net income or loss.

Sample Income Statement for a Startup Artist Management Firm

Balance sheet.

Include a balance sheet that shows your assets, liabilities, and equity. Your balance sheet should include:

• Assets : All of the things you own (including cash).
• Liabilities : This is what you owe against your company’s assets, such as accounts payable or loans.
• Equity : The worth of your business after all liabilities and assets are totaled and deducted from each other.

Sample Balance Sheet for a Startup Artist Management Firm

Cash flow statement.

Include a cash flow statement showing how much cash comes in, how much cash goes out and a net cash flow for each year. The cash flow statement should include:

• Cash Flow From Operations
• Cash Flow From Investments
• Cash Flow From Financing

Below is a sample of a projected cash flow statement for a startup artist management business.

Sample Cash Flow Statement for a Startup Artist Management Firm

You will also want to include an appendix section which will include:

• Your complete financial projections
• A complete list of your company’s business policies and procedures related to the rest of the business plan (marketing, operations, etc.)
• Any other documentation which supports what you included in the body of your business plan.

Writing a good business plan gives you the advantage of being fully prepared to launch and/or grow your artist management company. It not only outlines your business vision but also provides a step-by-step process of how you are going to accomplish it.

Remember to keep your business plan updated as your company grows and changes. Review it at least once a year to make sure it is still relevant and accurate.  

Finish Your Artist Management Company Business Plan in 1 Day!