The Creative Entrepreneur’s Guide to

BusinessPlanning

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1Key Tips

2Recommended podcasTs, videos, and booKs.

13FRom paRT-Time To Full-Time: Following youR HeaRT…and youR Headshaunae Teske, photographer and Tuesday-sTogether green bay leader, explains the importance of planning when deciding to make the leap from part-time to full time.

3beyond business (plan) as usualmarketing and business development strat-egist, lashanta green, outlines 7 questions to ask yourself to create a compelling and concise business plan.

5pRioRiTizing long-TeRm planning in youR businessgraphic designer, anna beyerle, explains how to integrate and prioritize long term planning into your business strategy.

7Road map To business planning FoR cReaTiveswedding photographer, Kara evans, shares why creating your own map - evaluating your goals, your clients, your brand - is the best road to success in creating a business plan that allows you to be your best boss.

15Tips FRom THe communiTy

18business planning woRKsHeeT

19communiTy annoucemenTs and Recommended Rising Tide blog posTs

20ouR sToRy

11you’Re a cReaTive and you Have big plansReina pomeroy and dannie Fountain, co-authors of big plan for the creative mind, outline their 3 non-negotiable steps for goal setting in business planning.

9iF you Fail To plan, you plan To FailTuesdaysTogether Tri-cities co-leader and photographer, misty christiensen, explains her 5 steps for creating a long-term busi-ness plan that will help you succeed in meeting your goals.

Table of contents

GET FEATUREDwe believe in elevating the voices of our community, and we’d love to elevate yours! submit content for an opportunity to be featured in next month’s Rising Tide society TuesdaysTogether pdF guide. therisingtidesociety.submittable.com/submit.

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KEy Tips

Visualize success. map it out! draw a picture, create an inspiration wall, make a bullet journal, etc. put those creative skills to work in order to help you visu-alize a successful business.

Grit Goes a lot further than luck or plans. we can plan for success, but sometimes life hands us unique plot twists and opportunities along the way. The best thing to learn is the attitudes of adaptability and perseverance as we build a business!

plan for business success by inVestinG in yourself. The best way to plan for long-term success is by investing in yourself, preparing in as many ways as you can for your business to thrive, and making an actionable plan.

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This month we have our work cut out for us. Planning for your business doesn’t have to be overwhelming, but it’s definitely essential to running a successful business that lasts! Let’s get down to business...planning.

Photo by Austyn Elizabeth | www.austynelizabeth.com

the smart passiVe income podcast https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/podcasts/ the power of passion

and perseVerance

Ted Talk: angela lee duckworth https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance

the power of belieVinG that you can improVe

Ted Talk: carol dweckhttps://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve

how to build a business that lasts 100 years

Ted Talk: martin Reeveshttps://www.ted.com/talks/martin_reeves_how_to_build_a_business_that_lasts_100_years

fire nation podcast

1774: 4 steps to 10x-ing your service-based business with Joe

Kashurbahttps://www.eofire.com/podcast/joekashurba/

the Growth show

by Hubspothttps://www.hubspot.com/podcast

Recommended Podcasts Recommended Videos

Recommended Books

Ted TalKs forever! we love these three videos for this month’s topic on business planning. click below to learn more about creating a business that lasts, believing that you can improve over time, and becoming a lifelong learner and applying it your life and business.

podcasts are the best way to multi-task and inspire yourself while working. we love these ideas for business planning from the creative community!

* Podcast Recommendations courtesy of Entrepreneur Magazine’s “The 24 Best Podcasts for Entrepreneurs in 2017” online. https://www.entrepreneur.com/ar-ticle/286614

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bird by bird: some in-structions on writinG and life

anne lamott

rework

Jason Fried & david Heinemeier Hansson

the $100 startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future

chris guillebeau

get your highlighters ready for some serious reads on business planning! This month’s books get specific on managing expectations, budgeting, and mapping for overall business planning success.

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do you think a business plan is only useful if it consists of multiple pages filled with pie charts and probabilities? if so, think again. while this type of business plan has a purpose, it is not a one-size-fits-all approach to planning. believe it or not, it is possible to create a compelling and persuasive plan in the span of a one-page docu-ment. getting started is just a matter of asking yourself a few thought-provoking questions.

First things first...

1. what is your biG idea and how do you deliVer it dramatically different?

chances are unless you are sitting on a super-sized secret invention, the uniqueness of your business lies in your ability to produce, provide, or package an idea in a new way. every busi-ness should have a unique selling proposition (usp), a way to differentiate their business from others. it sounds complicated, but it is quite simple. Fill in the blanks.

i am a ______.

i provide products/services for _______.

i do things differently by ____.

my offerings provide value by __________.

Remember, a confused mind always says, “no”. Keep your usp as clear and concise as possible. clarity = prosperity.

2. what do you want to achieVe?

simply put, what are your business goals and objectives. of course, you want to create and make some cash. That is what a business is after all. However, this question focuses on your “why”. why are you doing this work? why and how will it have an impact on others?

3. what are your strenGths and weaknesses? what opportunities exist? what Vulnerabilities do you need to address?

a self-assessment and audit can go a long way in properly planning your entrepreneurial en-deavors. identifying and understanding your strengths and weaknesses puts you in the posi-tion to focus on your zone of genius while also addressing where you may need assistance. once you find a balance, it is much easier to predict and pursue opportunities and protect yourself from any vulnerabilities that could get in the way of casting your vision.

Beyond Business (Plan) as usuallashanta green

Photo by Praise Santos | www.comeplum.com

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lashanta Green marketing & business devel-opment strategist@lashantagreenwww.lashantagreen.com

4. who do you serVe and how?

The riches are in the niches. do not attempt to be all things to all people. get specific when it comes to who you serve. where do they live? what do they do? why do they care? where can you find them? you don’t have a business unless you’re conducting business and you can’t con-duct business without clients or customers.

5. how do you make money?

This is where you will go into depth about the services and products you provide. also, you’ll want to decide the different types of revenue streams that make dollars and sense for your business. For example, do you make money by charging a usage or license fee? or do you generate income through recurring revenue like a subscription-based model? Remember, it is smart and highly suggested to have different ways to produce income in your business. not only does this provide security for your small business it also allows you to sell and be of ser-vice in various ways.

6. what are your expenses?

it is no surprise that it takes money to make money. if you want to plan for a profitable busi-ness, it is imperative to know your costs of doing business. expenses can be anything from filing legal documents and hiring help to workflow and email management services and software. don’t forget to include the little things that add up such as coffee dates or subscriptions to industry publications.

6. how will you promote and mar-ket your business?

everything in business comes back to the cus-tomer. Knowing who you serve is a strong start, but you must also know how you are going to build your brand and business awareness. will it be word-of-mouth referrals? a compelling and converting website? social media ads that speak

7. what actions and actiVities do you need to be inVolVed in to eVolVe your business?

now is the time to jot down the key to do’s and tasks to meet your business goals and objec-tives. as i’m sure you are aware, a business owner wears many hats. However, it’s best to write out all the things that must get done to in to provide structure and sustainability empow-ering you to run your business effectively and efficiently.

now that you’ve asked yourself these questions, you’ve got a great head start on creating a work-able plan to get you well on your way to taking action and making traction. Remember this is not a one (page) and done job. as your business progresses, so will your plan. you’ve got this. now pull up a page, and get to work.

straight to your cli-ent’s struggles? The options for promot-ing and pitching are practically limitless. brainstorm and bud-get how you can let others know you are open and ready for business.

Chances are unless you are sitting on a super-sized secret invention, the uniqueness of your business lies in your ability to produce, provide, or package an idea in a new way.“

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Prioritizing long-term Planning in your Businessanna beyerle

as a solopreneur or small business owner, it’s easy for long-term planning to fall off your to-do list. seeking out clients, promoting your business and doing client work becomes a priority during your day-to-day work, and without the right business planning in place, you can get years into your work and realize you haven’t taken the right steps to evolve your business to the level you want to be at. There has to be a better way to long-term plan than just writing ideas down and forgetting to act on them, right?

The only way to achieve those long term goals you want in your business is to properly plan for them. as someone who is not naturally organized, that idea might make you want to immediately scroll right past this article and never look back. but i promise these steps are simple, non-painful ways to build structure and make big strides in prioritizing your long-term business planning.

set up a time each week to reView your ideas and prioritize them.

sometimes i get blindsided by a great idea and want to act on it immediately. but when i look back on work i did quickly after inspiration hit me, it’s not as refined and as well thought-out as it could have been if i’d worked through it more thoroughly.

make an idea wall.

so, what to do with those ideas you’re not going to act on right away? store them! i need things in front of me to remember to actually do them, so i have a physical idea wall next to my desk. i have running paper lists of blog ideas, social media posts, and bigger ideas for my business. also, i’m an avid pinterest pinner. whenever i see colors, branding, illus-trations, and more that i’d love to use, i make sure to save them on my pinterest boards. This way, they’re tucked away in one place so i can look at them whenever i need them.

keep yourself in check with monthly and quarterly Goals.

For all of those larger business goals, i have monthly and quarterly check-ins with myself to tackle them. as a small business owner, it’s often difficult to prioritize those big picture ideas; i use these check-ins to break big goals into manageable pieces. at the beginning

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One of the biggest (and easiest!) mistakes an entrepreneur can make is not making sure they have the time and money to allow them-selves to prioritize strategically growing their business. Be sure to work at least a few hours a week for growing your own business through check-ins and website, social media, and blog management. Figure out the best way for build those hours into your payment structure so you feel comfortable spending non-billable hours on yourself.

of every quarter, i map out an overarching goal for my business, with smaller action items for each month of that quarter.

usually, the goals for my months and quarters evolve organically through what i’ve been putting on my idea wall and to-do lists, and fit in with the needs of both my clients and my business. For example, i already know my main Q4 goal will be to create more content through courses and blog posts. one of my smaller monthly goals might be to complete writing and designing a course for clients, or to cre-ate a social media content calendar for the upcoming year.

although priorities may change depending on extenuating circumstances, it’s often easier to set your business priorities with a clear mindset when you know what you’re choosing to focus on that quar-ter. establishing clear goals and strategy for your business will help you achieve goals and see true growth in your business.

build lonG term Goals into your payment structure and hourly time.

last, but certainly not least. one of the biggest (and easiest!) mistakes an entrepreneur can make is not making sure they have the time and money to allow themselves to prioritize strategically growing their business. be sure to work at least a few hours a week growing your own business through check-ins and website, social media, and blog management. Figure out the best way for build those hours into your payment structure so you feel comfortable spending non-billable hours on yourself. building this into your long-term structure will allow you to be more organized when it come to growing your company, and not letting that growth fall by the wayside.

anna beyerleowner & graphic designer, anchored creative studio@anchoredcswww.anchoredcreativestudio.com

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How often have you taken a trip without looking at a map? Hmmm, probably not often unless that was the plan. your business plan is your road map, and it’s incredibly important to navigate your business with a map that you create!

start with your Goals.

your first stop is goal setting. start with your goals whether they are short term, long term, lofty, or easily attainable goals. and write them down! when writing your goals, think about the kind of business you want to be, the products or services you will offer, the way in which you will serve your clients, and how you want your business to grow and succeed. in this goal set-ting process, also be sure to think about your financial goals for your business. and remember, no goal is too far to reach on this road map to business!

look at your ideal client.

maybe you already know who your ideal client is. For example, the business professional living in the suburbs with a few kiddos or someone who values fine, handmade goods. whatever the case, you must take time to intentionally learn, understand, and seek your ideal client. my best advice regarding your ideal client is to think back to your best or favorite real life client. who was this person? what did they value? what were their careers and hobbies and interests?

road maP to Business Planning for CreativesKara evans

Photo by Praise Santos | www.comeplum.com

Focus on these intricate details. Then, make business plans along your road map – from busi-ness goals and decisions to branding to client gifts to product offerings – with your ideal client at the forefront of your mind.

eValuate your brand.

what’s working? what’s not working? does your brand align with your goals and ideal client? does your social media presence accurately represent your brand? Truly reflect on your brand, and the experience you are offering with-in your business. make a plan for how you can make your brand fit with your goals and ideal client! and as always, it’s oK to make changes within your biz brand that better serve your ideal client and your business!

put systems into place.

yes, i am a systems kind of gal! putting systems into place within your business is, i would ar-gue, one of the most important parts of busi-ness planning. These are your parameters – set

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by you! The systems that you put into place are a grounding force along your biz road map that always help to keep you on track. it’s also incredible to encourage your creative friends to put systems into place! some systems you can think about when business planning are . . . client manage-ment software, content marketing, email lists, blogging practices, client communi-cation, finance tracking, email responses, workflow, client gifting, social media, and so many moRe. Find what systems work best for you and rock it!

and finally, be your best boss.

That’s right! plan to be your best boss. you are the only one in control of being your best boss as a creative or small business owner. and that’s the beauty of being an entrepreneur! intentionally make business decisions and create your business road map around what works best for you. Respect yourself, your time, your talents, your people, your values, and your schedule as you plan within your business.

Friends, business planning does not have to be a daunting task! let your creativity and strengths and entrepreneurial spirit lead the way and guide you to creating your business road map. and please don’t hesitate to ask for help by other trusted creatives or to revisit and revise your road map – week-ly, monthly, yearly – as your business grows and changes. i promise, this trip is going to be the besT of your life!

What’s working? What’s not working? Does your brand align with your goals and ideal client? Does your social media presence ac-curately represent your brand? Truly reflect on your brand, and the experience you are offer-ing within your business.

kara eVansKara evans photographer // wedding photographer@karaevansphotog www.karaevansphotographer.com

Photo by Vanessa Velez | www.vanessavelez.photo

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one of the easiest ways to prevent failing is to have a business plan. business plans can take all sorts of different shapes, and all different sizes. if you are a coffee shop, and you employ 5-10 people, your business plan is going to look much different than my own- a sole proprietor, wedding photographer with no employees. all of us have different goals, different strengths, different weaknesses, and it’s good to bring those to light and get those little duckies in a row. so how do you start?

makinG a business plan

1. your why

There are many parts that can go into a business plan. one of the most important pieces to your business plan is your wHy. what do you want to be known for? why do you do what you do? what do you want to achieve by doing what you do?

2. your who

once you narrow down the wHy to your business plan, the next step is to talk about wHo. who do you want to work with? who are they? what do they like? How old are they? are they male or female? where do they shop? what do they do with friends? what do they value?

There’s so many things you can decided just by knowing wHo your potential “ideal” clients are that can help you in the long run.

3. your Vision for the year

you’ve found your why, and your who, but now it’s time to get to the nitty gritty. what do you want to do for the year? This is where you can step back and think about how you define your success. is success based on how much you will make this year? The oppor-tunities you have? How many people you influence?

This is a good time to do a swoT analysis. swoT stands for strength, weakness, oppor-tunities, and threats. Figure out what you’re good at and what some of your downfalls are. one of the best pieces of advice i ever got is once you figure out what your weak-nesses are, those are the areas that you can outsource! if you love to talk to people on

if you fail to Plan, you Plan to failmisty christensen

Photo by Kat Alves | www.katalves.com

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questions to help Get you started

1. why. what do you want to be known for? why do you do what you do? what do you want to achieve by doing what you do?

2. who. who do you want to work with? who are they? what do they like? How old are they? what type of jobs do they have? are they male/female? where do they shop? what do they do with friends/family? what do they value?

3. vision. what goals do you have for the year? do you want to make a certain amount of money? what opportunities are you hoping for? do you want to influence more people? what are your strengths? weaknesses? opportunities you will have? and threats to your business (i.e. health, time, family)? where can you start outsourcing?

4. money. what are your goals for income for the year? what are your goals for expenses? do you have an amount you have to make?

5. where are your clients coming from? where do you want to focus on for marketing/advertising?

6. work/life balance. what will your schedule look like during the day? during the week? How will you stay accountable to that schedule? what can you outsource to create more time for you to work?

misty christensenmisty c photography@mistycphotographywww.mistycphotography.com

the phone, but hate writing emails, hire a virtual assistant who thrives in that! Take that weakness and make it something that you no longer have to stress about, so you can focus more time on the things you aRe good at.

4. money

we’re all in business to make money, for the most part, and that’s another important piece to your business plan. you not only need to have goals for your business, but also have an idea of what you Have to make in order to stay afloat. on top of knowing your numbers, it’s important to know where your clientele is coming from. is it word of mouth? social media? google? other businesses? The more you know about wHeRe your money is coming from, the better you can be with the money you’re spending on advertising and other marketing.

5. work/life balance

most of us got into these crazy businesses with the idea that we would work less, have more time with family, and less time stressing about money, only to realized that was rarely the case. it’s good to take time and think about your work/life balance and put it in writing of your goals for both. if you’re a busi-ness owner and momma, what will your days typically look like? will you hire a nanny for certain days a week? How will you manage your schedule and stay accountable for those? That’s important for everyone. The goal is to work smarter, not harder, right?

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bit more flow to life get turned off by this. our free-flowing sort of thinking seems as though it was deemed inadequate or otherwise “less than” the traditional left-brain way of doing things.

This simply isn’t the case. we’re firm believers in the idea that there is more than one way to do something, and goal setting is no exception. but here’s the thing: We think that goal-set-ting is non-negotiable. It doesn’t matter how you do it, just that you are doing it. a Harvard business study revealed remarkable statistics relating to goal setting and success: 83% of the population do not have goals; 14% have a plan in mind, but goals are unwritten; and 3% have goals written down. The study found that the 14% who have goals are 10 times more suc-cessful than those without goals. The 3% with written goals are three times more successful than the 14% with unwritten goals. writing your goals down sets you up to be exponentially more successful. all it took was pen to paper!

you’re a creative and you Have big plans.

...or maybe you don’t yet, and that’s totally okay too. Have you been known to fly by the seat of your pants?

planning within your business is one of the most critical ways to set yourself up for growth and success. if you haven’t started planning things out yet, now is definitely a good time to start! over the past year, we’ve sat down with 14 of our industry’s strongest goal setting and planning experts, and we’re going to break down our findings here for you today. as cre-ative entrepreneurs, we have so much to offer the world. we have skills and talents that far exceed the world’s wildest imaginations, but perhaps more importantly, we have a purpose that’s rooted to our core and drives us forward beyond barriers each and every single day.

Just because we are more creative, more right-brained, more flow- or intuition-oriented than our corporate peers, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be setting plans. in fact, we have the freedom to plan differently — the chance to set our intentions in a more meaningful way.

but how do we get to a place where we’re set-ting goals and planning for our businesses that is more meaningful than just a modified corpo-rate structure? do a quick google search for “goal setting” and you’ll find corporate-style, linear, left-brain books on the topic. many cre-ative individuals and people who want a little

you’re a Creative and you Have Big Plansdannie Fountain & Reina pomeroy

Photo by Praise Santos | www.comeplum.com

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Just because we are more creative, more right-brained, more flow- or intuition-oriented than our corpo-rate peers, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be setting plans. In fact, we have the freedom to plan differently — the chance to set our intentions in a more meaningful way.

“

dannie fountain & reina pomeroyco-authors, big plan for the creative mind@dannielynnfountain | @reinaandcompanyhttp://bit.ly/bpcmteam

in our creative space, there are many differ-ent ways to “write down” your goals - paper planners, goal setting planners, goal setting guides, and so much more! whether you use one of these guides or planners or do the work on your own in a regular old notebook, there are a few key pieces that you need to assign to each goal.

1. a deadline: This

deadline encourages you to focus on the goal and actually ac-complish it.

2. a reason: don’t just set goals to set goals. make sure you understand the reason you’re setting them so that when you start to doubt or feel stressed, you can re-center yourself.

3. a plan: The best goals have more than just a few-word statement on what you want to accomplish. you’ll create time to dedicate to this plan. when you sit down, you’ll know exactly what you need to be working on.

goal setting is a crucial element of business planning, but know this - it doesn’t matter how you choose to set goals, only that you’re tak-ing the time to do it! The more you do it, the more you learn about yourself and you’re able to make predictions that work for how you like to work.

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as creatives, we get so caught up with “follow-ing our hearts”, “trusting our gut,” and “leaping for our dreams.” yes, i whole-heartedly believe in those things but what i also believe is that you should also be smart with your decisions. planning is so very crucial in starting a busi-ness and continuing to run your business. and planning is incredibly important when you are looking to make the leap from part-time hustle into full-time career. because failing to plan is planning to fail.

planning to quit your day-time job can feel so daunting and terrifying (i totally understand, i’ve been there!) but i promise you, if you have a plan in place you can calm your fears know-ing that you have thought through everything. don’t know where to get started? Here are three tips that must be in your “leaping to Full-time” plan!

3 steps in planning to go Full-Time

know your numbers

This is the scariest step of all but the most im-portant one. Find out what you need to make in a year in order to live. what is that magical number that has your bills paid off, enough money for daily living, and unexpected surpris-es? what do you need in order to live the life you’ve always wanted? now times that number by three. why? because a third of what you

make will go back into your business, another third will go to taxes (thank you uncle sam,) and the remaining portion finally goes to you! now how many clients do you need to book or products do you have to sell in order to hit that number? by knowing these numbers, you’ll never be surprised about what you have to make, you can just go out and make it happen!

three months of saVed income

you want to make sure your bases are cov-ered. That’s why i always recommend that you have at least three months worth of savings. life happens and by having a plan in place and creating this backup, you have the freedom to chase your dreams. you can even save for longer, if you feel the need to. before i went full-time, i saved a year’s worth of bills just so i would be covered. because i made a plan to start saving and built up my “Just in case” savings account, i felt cool and confident about

from Part-time to full-time: following your Heart… and your Headshaunae Teske

Photo by Kat Alves | www.katalves.com

shaunae teskeowner/photographer of shaunae Teske photography@shaunaeteskewww.shaunae.com

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quitting my day job and following my dream job.

fill that calendar

are you just hoping cli-ents are going to show up or are you making a plan to go out and get them?

Because I made a plan to start saving and built up my “Just in Case” savings account, I felt cool and confident about quitting my day job and following my dream job.“

once i figure out what my magic number is of clients i need, i make a plan to achieve that number. instead of just hoping clients stumble across my website, i get out there! with educational blog posts, fun social media campaigns, and killing it with my client experience, i work on attracting my ideal clients.

yes, it’s a Huge step to go full-time but hopefully these tips will help you to create the perfect plan for yourself. no one lives your life but you, so it’s important to create a plan that works with what you want. Things will happen, life will throw you curveballs, but by creating a plan - you’ll be ready to conquer anything!

TipsFrom The Community

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allison hillierToronto TuesdaysTogether@allisonhillier

let your adVenture unfold. be suspicious of your desire to plan everything. planning isn’t doing – it’s just thinking about doing. it’s like playing with a doll version of yourself, in a play business, in a fantasy land.

indulging in an imaginary world where you can anticipate everything because you’re in control and there are no other players, doesn’t help you actually build a business. spending too much time in that fantasy can hurt your chances of start-ing anything because planning feels more secure (and is often more fun) than doing the work.

yes, you have to set out with a direction in mind, but you don’t need to map every single tree along the path before you get going. setting things in motion is the important part. you can and will find your way once you get started.

instead of hard-core planning, try taking a “mini-plan” approach. start by ask-ing yourself what the very first step is. Then make a to-do list and get that thing done. Take what you create, put it out there and see how it holds up in the real world. did it get any traction? if yes, plan the next step and get that done. if no, adjust your approach and try again.

you’ll learn the most about what is possible by trying things out. you can’t pos-sibly see the entirety of your future business from here so don’t paralyze your-self by trying. start small and then let your adventure unfold. action will lead you down a path to your future life much faster than living inside your head ever will.

mindful social media planninG. when you’re running a business and you have so many moving pieces, scheduling your tweets seems like the last thing on your priority list, #amiRight? but with social media being increas-ingly important for promoting your business, driving traffic to your website or blog, and creating loyalty and connection with your followers, it can make your life easier if you have a plan!

any good plan starts with goals, and so i apply that to social as well. i start with smaRT goals and ask myself, what am i looking to accomplish with my social media efforts? a smaRT goal is defined as one that is specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time-bound. For example a smaRT social me-dia goal might look like: Increase engagement on Instagram from 3% to 5% by January 2018. if you’re planning quarter by quarter, aim to have 3 social media

sundeep dolliVersan Francisco TuesdaysTogether@sundeepdolliver

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smart goals. They can be 3 that are focused on one channel or one goal for each channel.

i like using smaRT goals because they are already binding you to think about analytics and measuring the results of your plan. They also force you to look at your baseline, and audit where you are currently in order to create a measurable goal.

after you’ve done an audit of your social channels and have set your goals, you can get to the meat of your plan--the content! let’s take my instagram goal for example. i want to increase engagement, so i am going to look at what tactics i can implement to get me to that goal. i will probably start by looking at new market research that has come out on best practices for instagram. Then i’ll start mapping out a content plan that is focused on engagement.

For busy entrepreneurs i recommend planning out your social content one month at a time if you can. i like to follow the 5:3:2 rule when it comes to con-tent. what that means is that for every 10 posts, 5 should be curated content from other sources that are relevant to your audience, 3 should be content you’ve created that’s relevant to your audience, and 2 should be personal, fun content that humanizes your brand to your audience. some examples of topics that can help you decide what to post are: events you are attending or speaking at, seasonal posts (pumpkin spice lattes anyone?), articles you’ve read or writ-ten, fellow entrepreneurs or businesses you want to show support to, posts that drive to your blog or website (think infographics and images that provide value), tips and advice you have, and even posts about your food (who doesn’t love a good foodie post?).

when you are building your calendar of posts, start with the things you know you need to get out that month. maybe even start by identifying a theme you are going to work around. That will probably be made up of your created content. Then move on to the curated content. be sure they are in line with content your audience is consuming. Then even out the calendar with some fun, personal posts.

now that you’ve planned out your content, you should identify a few tools that can help you schedule, manage and post content all in one place! everyone is different when it comes to how they organize and manage their content, so you should figure out what your style is. some people like to have a physical calen-dar that they can write on and then input it into a scheduling tool, while others prefer to go digital and plan and schedule out their content online. i do recom-mend scheduling out as much content as you can. That way, even if you’re hav-ing a busy day and forget to share your latest blog article, you can rest assured that it will get posted. For channels like instagram, where you do have to post it live, an app like planoly can keep you updated on what needs to go out and when. otherwise tools like sprout social, Hootsuite and Tailwind, allow you to schedule out your posts and monitor the activity and metrics associated with them.

with the right organization and tools, you can run your business and stay on top of your social media game!

17 | business planning

allie siartogreater lansing, mi TuesdaysTogether leader@alliesiarto

decidinG on what is “enouGh” when financially plan-ninG for your business. when it comes to business planning, it’s so important to sit down and work out your personal budget before you start setting goals for your business. i made a big effort this year to decide what was “enough” for my personal budget goals this year so that i wasn’t always just looking for “more.” it helped me to be so much more strategic about my pricing and how many clients i would take on for the year, which went on to impact how much i spent on marketing and other areas of my business.

it’s also important to run your numbers often so you can see what’s working and make smart business decisions. i keep a spreadsheet to keep track of where each of my clients came from and how much revenue they brought in, and then i adjust where i invest my time and money based on what’s having the biggest im-pact. i thought i was going to dump paid advertising this year until i realized that my ads were returning more than 3,000% of what i spent on them.

question 1what method do you think will work best for planning out your business based on the ar-ticles above?

question 2name 4 short term goals that you can add to your business plan. write down 3 long term goals that you hope to achieve in 2018. com-pare with a friend and help them fill in the gaps.

question 3listen to one of the podcasts or videos above. what is your major takeaway? How can you apply this lesson to your business as you build it to become even stronger?

question 4name an entrepreneur that you admire. what do they do that seems to succeed in their business? How do you think they achieve it? bonus points for emailing them to find out.

question 5what can you automate in your business? (social media, emails, etc.) How will this free up your time to run your business more effec-tively? share ideas with a small group and see what else you can come up with!

workinG on business planninG

let’s get down to business...planning. (biz planning joke?!) so, let’s get to work.

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19 | business planning

ashley GoGGins3 ways to build your business while you budgethttps://www.honeybook.com/risingtide/3-ways-to-build-your-business-while-you-budget/

alisha ramcharitarHow to get from project planning to executionhttps://www.honeybook.com/risingtide/project-plan-ning-to-execution/

Jeannine raeact like the business you strive to be somedayhttps://www.honeybook.com/risingtide/act-like-the-business-you-strive-to-be/

Recommended Rising tide Blog Postswe rounded up some of our favorite Rising Tide and Honeybook blog posts, and we love these three about business planning. click through to check out some awesome tips from talented members from our community!

click heRe to join us in the cReatiVe community!

ouR stoRy

we believe an empowered creative economy will change the world. by elevating the voices of cre-atives around the world, sharing their stories, and building a thriving online and offline community, we support the creative in their pursuit of a sustainable livelihood.

every day we are on a mission to empower the creative economy to rise together, doing what they love.

Rising Tide is a living library of educational resources by creatives for creatives. with blog content from thought-leaders throughout the creative industry, free educational webinars, monthly guides, and online summits—our members are equipped with the knowledge they need to succeed in business.

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hoW We staRtedin may of 2015, Rising Tide hosted its first set of local meetups in twelve cities across the united states. coffee shops and wineries filled with small business owners seeking a new mindset in the cre-ative landscape—one built on relationships. creatives who typically spent day after day sitting at their desks with only the hum of the computer and their third cup of coffee to keep them company now had the opportunity to engage in community within their own towns.

one by one we added meetups in cities from the northeast to the southwest, and even internationally. as Rising Tide and the concept of “community over competition” was welcomed with open arms, we had the opportunity to merge with Honeybook to build an intentional creative community worldwide.

we are only as strong as the communities around us, so we dedicate ourselves to supporting non-profits and organizations we are passionate about. To date, we’ve given over $100,000+ to non-profits including The school sessions, u.s. dream academy, The birthday party project, Thirst Relief and more. we have also partnered with pencils of promise to build a school in 2018—funded entirely by community donations through our annual Rise summit.

We believe that when creatives rise, the world is changed for the better. Together, we are empowering the creative economy to pursue their passion with the support of a community.

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