Lyndon State College in Vermont will begin offering a Bachelor of Science in Performing Arts Management in the fall of 2010.  With concentrations in artist management, venue management, and theater operations management, the degree will prepare students to serve in administrative, managerial and leadership positions in an area related to music and performing arts.

Whether or not you have any interest in attending college in Vermont, the core classes in this degree also serve as a useful checklist for any arts entrepreneur’s skill set.  They include:

• Financial Accounting
• Introduction to Business
• Introduction to Business Software
• Principles of Management
• Principles of Marketing
• Business Ethics
• Fiscal Management
• Event Management and Promotion
• Strategic Media Communication
• Introduction to Media Communication

How would you rank your strengths in each of these areas?  What action can you take today to shore up any weak spots in your own skill set?

Not saying “no”

Growing up, saying the word “no” usually got us into trouble.  And even though as adolescents and adults saying the word “no” usually kept us out of trouble, we still carry around a deep-seated bias to tell people “yes” when we really mean the opposite.   Artists, especially performers, have a strong need to seek approval from their audiences, and saying “no” isn’t usually a crowd pleaser.  But there are times when saying “no” is the better choice… for your business, for your artistic career, for you own sanity.

Why should you want to say “no” to something?

• it isn’t in line with your long-term plans
• it keeps you from accomplishing more important results
• it doesn’t provide you with learning or growth
• it’s not worth the headache or heartache you’ll feel doing it
• it doesn’t pay you timely

These questions apply equally to potential jobs as well as your daily activities.  When a client calls with a request, don’t just say “yes” automatically.  First, consider if what you’re being asked to do is in line with your business plan.  If it isn’t, turn down the work.

Some film crew friends recently complained that they haven’t been paid for a job.  They’ve spent more time collecting their pay then they did earning it.  Even if the production company eventually makes good, my friends won’t do another job for that company… because strong cash flow is a key component of my friends’ business plan.

Saying “no” to potential customers, to potential income, can be one of the most difficult actions a business owner can take.  But if it’s in line with the vision and written plan you have for yourself and your business, it can be the right action.  Marketing guru Seth Godin offers some reassuring advice:

You can dissipate your gift by making people with the loudest requests temporarily happy, or you can change the world by saying ‘no’ often.  Saying ‘no’ to loud people gives you the resources to say yes to important opportunities.

Learn to strategically say ‘no’ to others and say ‘yes’ to your success.

Delegating too much

Even though you didn’t become an artist just to balance a checkbook, you must know how to balance it.  It’s so important to have a good—though not necessarily expert—understanding of every aspect of your business.  You must know a little bit about every part of your business so you can guide and direct those people you hire to help you get things done, whether as employees, contractors, or vendors.  Only then can you decide what concrete steps you can take to either gain needed skills yourself or properly outsource them to a professional.

A clear picture of the end result you desire is an absolute must in proper outsourcing.  But so is the “follow up” component.  Delegation is not abdication.  No one will be as interested in the success of your business as you… not your employees, not your banker, not even your mother.  I know of a dance studio that nearly went bankrupt when its one employee charged tens of thousands of dollars of personal items on the owner’s credit card.  The owner never reviewed the charges on the credit card statements each month … statements were just passed on, unopened, to the same employee “trusted” perpetuating the fraud.  Not everyone is out to steal you blind, but unintentional errors or customer service missteps can be just as costly.  When it comes to delegation, a smart business owner lives by the motto, “Inspect, don’t expect.”

Not delegating

As a business owner, you have a vision, a product or service, and a business plan.  You work untold hours and in the pursuit of your dream you wear many hats.  Artisans often wear the most familiar and comfortable hats made of creative, flexible logic tasks like generating their art and working with studio staff or assistants.  The less comfortable hats of technical and analytical tasks of business monitoring, money management, legal considerations, and communicating with an audience are more likely to collect dust on the hat rack.  When an artisan’s business fails, it’s usually because they neglected one or more of these crucial areas.

The leadership development experts at The Wendling Group offer these tips:

• Delegate routine activities, even though you don’t want to.  These include fact-finding assignments; preparation of rough drafts of reports; problem analysis and suggested action; collection of data for reports; photocopying, printing, and collating; and data entry.

• Delegate things that aren’t part of your core competency. For small businesses, these include accounting, web site design, deliveries, hardware upkeep, software help, graphic design, travel arrangements, patenting, legal issues, and even HR functions such as payroll.

After reading the routine activities they suggest delegating, I had to chuckle at their comment ‘even if you don’t want to.’  I don’t know many artisans who would want to do any of the tasks they mention.  Instead, here’s the underlying idea: what lower-value tasks are you doing yourself simply because you enjoy them or feel you can’t delegate to someone else?  But first you must inventory your business skills to get a thorough understanding of your strengths and weaknesses, and the value that each brings to your business.  Focus your efforts on the highest value activities, and delegate the remaining tasks to others.

Not planning

Artists often think of planning as the antithesis of the creative act.  But in practice successful works are seldom, if ever, created without forethought.  Writers go through drafts, jazz musicians rehearse together, visual artists start with sketches and studies, and improv actors have a basic premise and outline of the action.  So should it be with your business.  Written planning provides owners with a map to reach their goal of a successful business.  Yes, your plans should be written down, because the act of writing fixes your often-elusive ideas into a tangible form… and making them solid makes it more likely you’ll achieve your goals and not just endlessly think about them or talk about them with friends.  Sculptor Bruce Beasley said it best, “the artists I have known who have had rewarding and successful careers are those who have been able to make very clear choices about their priorities and expectations.”

But planning doesn’t have to be the anxiety-inspiring ritual we make it out to be.  Write down your answers to these questions and you’ll be 82% better off than someone who dreams big but can’t commit even to a piece of paper.

Core skills – What do you do as an artisan?  What types of projects are you passionate about?

Business skills – What do you know?  What don’t you know?  What don’t you know you don’t know?  What concrete steps can you take to either gain needed skills yourself or properly outsource them to a professional?

Target audience – Which clients offer the best opportunity for business growth?  How do you reach them?  What do they read?  Where do they frequent?

Studio/Office – Where will it be located and how will it be equipped?  What’s the minimum you can get by with in your first year?

Financial Goals – How much income can you realistically expect each month for the first six months?  What expenses do you anticipate over the same time period?

Treating your business like a hobby and vice versa

Whether it’s choosing the right medium to draw on a particular paper, knowing which f-stop will best capture your vision, or where to breathe in a song for the biggest emotional impact, you’ve spent years or decades honing your core skills as an artisan. Once you introduce money into the equation, you’ll need an additional set of business skills in order to find a market for your art, deliver it to your audience, and collect payments on a consistent basis. So if you really just want to do, make, or perform your art and don’t need income from it, then save yourself the frustration and focus only on your art. Ars gratia artis… art for art’s sake. But if you’re going to feed yourself, clothe yourself, or keep a roof over your head with money from your art, then treat the endeavor for what it is: a business. You’re not selling out; you’re setting yourself up for success.