9244 - Establishing a Business Plan for Your Creative Business (Alumni Labs)
Course Description
Creatives are natural entrepreneurs. Whether you’re full of ideas and dreaming up your future business, or you’re an “accidental business owner” (you picked up a project here, some freelancing there…and suddenly you’re an accidental business owner!), the key to a successful, profitable and sustainable business is your business plan.
The purpose of your business plan is to make sure all the pieces of your business strategically fit together, support each other and align with your talents, passions, skills and values so that they all add up to a business that supports you and your goals.
Learn how to craft an effective business plan, what to include and how to use it as a tool for growth. We’ll cover strategies and best practices for creating, capturing and communicating your vision; understanding and establishing your business’ place in the market; and projecting and planning for your business’ finances, marketing and sales. Through group discussion, networking with and hearing from alumni guests and experts, market research, applying real world practices and contemporary strategies, and action planning, you will develop and walk away with a full business plan for your unique creative business.
Notes
Alumni Labs is your continuous road home for content that is relevant, forward looking, and connected to RISD's incredible network of graduates.
Alumni Labs emerges from the understanding that learning and development do not stop once a student graduates from RISD. The Alumni Labs program, an interconnected hub of RISD Alumni, is focused on topics and goals that are important and relevant to personal enrichment and professional development. Courses are designed for alumni and provide spaces for learning that is driven by peer support, expert advice, and a rekindling of curiosity and creative practice. Participants will connect with fellow alumni (classmates, guest speakers/critics, hosts) to explore topics in a way that emphasizes real world relevance and opportunities to network.
Alumni Labs packages course content in a way that recognizes and implements key RISD concepts such as critique, creative problem solving and critical making. Courses are then delivered to students who are part of the same creative community of like-minded peers who value these concepts. Development and networking do not stop once the course concludes. Students who complete the class will be given exclusive access to the RISD Network’s Alumni Labs page for continuous access to resource sharing and peer/expert engagement.
Prerequisites
- Students must have graduated from RISD with an undergraduate or graduate degree to participate.