April 1, 2017 • Newsletter
April showers bring May flowers… But really, all we want to talk about is how to make it rain, cash style. Managing cash flow is a challenge for any business, but it is particularly challenging in creative industries. So this month, we’re talking Cash.
Visual arts, especially festival-related circuits, go through cycles with peaks in the summer and pre-holiday. Performing arts have cash flow peaks tied to opening night and an entire season’s worth of programming. Even literary arts have seasons of feast and famine.
So what’s a creative person to do?
Acknowledge the issues. Then solve for them by pricing appropriately and building a bridge source of income. It isn’t complicated. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. But don’t worry. We can help you make it rain enough cash to support your long-term creative goals.
Here are some things you can do this month to help with your cash:
- Identify and forecast cash flow trends.
- Adjust your budget for cash flow irregularities.
- Develop strategies to manage moments of high and low cash.
- Build an emergency reserve fund.
This Month’s Webinar
Wanna just listen to us talk about cash management strategies (with a small side of venting)? Join this month’s webinar on Monday, April 17th. It’s free to attend, but registration is required.
Cash Management Webinar
Managing cash is a challenge for any business, but it can be particularly difficult for creative professionals. This one-hour webinar will provide a few management techniques that can help. We’ll cover underlying challenges with managing cash, plus three specific ways you can manage your own cash better. And of course, we’ll end by connecting cash flow strategies to your own creative goals. Because after all, that’s why we do this.
Register
Online Learning
This month we’re featuring two courses: Pricing Strategies and XLS Basics. It usually takes 3-5 hours to complete each, all on your own time and schedule.
Pricing Your Creativity
As artists and designers become more entrepreneurial, discussions about pricing art and time have become more common. Four factors—cost, competition, customers, and competencies—affect the price for a creative entrepreneur’s work or time, and we’ll explore the science (and the art) behind each one in this course.
Learn More
XLS Basics
Your computer probably already contains one of the most powerful tools for managing a creative career, but unless you graduated from business school, you may not know how to use it. XLS Basics can help you get started.
Learn More
Just a Chat
Don’t see what you need? Book a session with Elaine to answer your own questions. It’s easy. Find a time that works for your schedule, think through the questions you want to discuss, and Elaine will send a recap and an invoice afterwards. Sessions start at $90.
Book a Time
Cash Management
Managing cash isn’t easy. It disappears, it’s unpredictable, and it never seems to follow a plan. But with a few strategies and some forecasting techniques, even cash can be used in support of your creativity. Next month, we’re focusing on protection strategies… Until then, all the best with your financial empowerment.
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