Are you ready to OWN 2021? Of course you are! I bet you, like me, have big goals for this year. Creating a written annual art gallery strategy plan for your business is critical for accomplishing those goals.
You care about your gallery’s success and that of your artists. It’s your vision, your dream, and your responsibility to make the business grow and thrive. That is a big job, particularly in today’s art world.
Take some time away from day-to-day operations and focus on the strategic, creative-thinking required for your business’s future.
Annual business planning needs a renewed commitment to business development – a fresh look at your gallery’s past, present, and future. The beginning of a new year is a perfect time to do that.
Finding clarity around your vision for the gallery’s future
You must have a clear vision of what the new year looks like for the gallery and why you want to accomplish specific goals. For example, your vision might be to enter the secondary market, reorganize staff roles, buy new gallery software, or move to a new location.
Or maybe you want to change your entire gallery business model.
Whatever your dream for your gallery business, be clear about why you want to do it. Creating an annual plan is so helpful for ensuring your ‘why’ makes sense.
I know it can be hard to clarify your vision and plan wisely as the art world changes faster than ever. Creating an annual gallery plan can be such a vital tool for finding clarity and focus.
Benefits of an annual art gallery strategic plan
Planning time is your opportunity to take a hard look at how the gallery is currently performing. You can identify all the things you are doing well and areas of the business that need work. A few benefits of creating an annual plan include:
- Your art gallery’s annual plan, as a roadmap, helps you accomplish your goals and move toward your vision for the future.
- Creating an annual plan allows you to organize the year so that you can manage your time better. Planning a year upfront can help you identify if you are biting off more than you can chew with projects and initiatives.
- Annual planning time can also inspire a team environment. When leadership includes all staff, artists, and vendors in the planning process, everyone has a greater sense of contribution and pride in their work.
Preparation
Before you sit down to create your plan for the upcoming year, you want to look at your gallery’s current reality. Review last year’s goals and results. Things to consider might include.
- Did you achieve everything you set out to accomplish?
- Where did most of your revenue come from?
- What investments paid off, and which ones were disappointing?
- Has new competition entered your market?
- Did you bring a new artist with lots of potential or lose one with a strong collector base?
- Has anything changed about your location that could create new opportunities or challenges?
These are questions that will help you map out what your goals for the new year should be. Set aside dedicated time for some creative-thinking about the future.
To take your art gallery business to the next level, you need to equip yourself with the proper tools and mindset. Your gallery’s annual plan execution needs to be just as strong as and in support of your vision for the business 3-5 years into the future!
Review your goals for the new year and clearly define the outcome you want for each one. What exact steps need to be taken to consider the goal complete? Also, give yourself a deadline for each task and goal completion. Doing so helps you move forward and keeps you accountable.
Creating Goals for Your Art Gallery
I suggest creating goals specifically for five different areas of your business. (Maybe 6)
- Marketing Goals
- Sales objectives
- Events
- Financial Plan or Budget
- Operational Improvement Plan
- Optional – Artist roster if your gallery is brand new or your program is evolving
Write down everything you would like to accomplish this year in each of these areas—just a big brain dump. Don’t worry about how realistic it is right now. Then, define the top three goals that are most important.
This is how you prioritize what you will focus on throughout the year.
Start taking action!
Success requires consistent action. That’s the hard part – Right? You and your gallery staff need to commit to executing your plan every day.
You need to organize your days, weeks, and months effectively for you and your style of working. Find a tool to capture your goals and daily tasks, such as a spreadsheet, daily planner, or project management app. It would help you stay organized. Be sure the tool you select is one you will use consistently to help you implement your annual plan. Consistency is the key!
Forming new daily habits that support plan execution can help you hold yourself accountable.
To the Point
To take your art gallery business to the next level, you must want to step away from the day-to-day and embrace a more strategic mindset. You need creative-thinking, focus, and commitment to create a plan for success.
Evaluate, honestly and critically, what could be holding you back from moving forward. Today’s art world necessitates agility in the gallery industry.
A written annual art gallery strategy plan will enable you to remain focused on your goals for the year and future vision of the business, provide better leadership and prioritize how you invest your time, money, and resources.
If I can help you create your gallery’s annual plan or with any other areas of running your business, schedule a call with me, and let’s chat.
You may also enjoy these related article
Setting SMART and Achievable Art Gallery Business Goals
How a Vision Statement Drives Growth for your Art Gallery
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