Book Review - The Right-Brain Business Plan by Jennifer lee

by Janine Fitzpatrick My idea of a "business plan" is to make some pretty stuff, display it attractively where the public can see and hope like hell it sells. Unfortunately, the bank manager doesn't class this as any sort of plan. The thought of compiling spreadsheets, estimating cash flow, and designing an executive summary of my business idea brings me out in a cold sweat. Which usually means I relegate it to the too hard basket and continuing blundering on with a lot of "big picture" visualisation and very little attention to detail.

In The Right-Brain Business Plan, by entrepreneur Jennifer Lee, counteracts the creative person's  aversion to all things financial by crafting a step-by-step guide to get you focused on a plan of success for your business.

Lee ditches the finance-speak of standard business books and adopts an easy-to-read style, peppered with hints and tips on running a successful business and examples of how individuals have created their own right-brain business plans.

You are given permission to have fun with creating your business plan - the first step is to get out the old magazines, scissors, glue, crayons and stickers and go all visual.

The scary terminology is dispensed, competitive analysis becomes a business landscape, the elevator pitch is replaced with engaging in meaningful dialogue, the executive summary is re-termed hearty highlights, and the financial plan is a moola map with moola goals.

At each stage there is a creative activity to spark your imagination on what your business will look like, who your customers will be, how much cash you need to make it a viable concern. You splash all these thoughts into collages, posters, brightly coloured planning sheets. It helps to turn a dry subject into something much more fun and thought-provoking.

About now you are thinking, that's all very nice, but my bank manager is likely to experience a cardiac arrest if I lob into his office with posters, mind maps and tear sheets. It's OK. Lee ends each chapter with a left-brain checklist to keep you on track to be able to speak the language of the logical when it comes to that time. One last chapter is devoted to showing you how to convert all your beautiful work into a format that will win approval from the accountant types.

The information Lee presents is not new, however she has repackaged it into a format that is user-friendly and enjoyable. The hands-on activities force you to thinking more deeply of what your business can be. Working through each stage of the business plan would give structure and cohesion to your ideas. It would be a useful resource for those just starting out in a creative business, but also for those who might have hit a bit of slump in their business and need to reinvigorate their thoughts and strategies.

The Right-Brain Business Plan is published by New World Library.

Janine Fitzpatrick is a former radio producer who has had a stop-start career. Over the years, at the bequest of the mortgage-holding bank manager, she has worked in an assortment of industries. There was education, media, public relations and sales to name a few. A book-lover from way back she has reviewed books for the ABC Mid North Coast Morning Show and the Hardie Grant Book Club. In a blinding flash of midlife crisis, while lamenting the lack of creativity in her life, she did what all wannabe writers do and started a blog, Shambolic Living. Here readers get to feel far happier about their lives when they experience the chaos of hers. She is coming to terms with being the mother of two teenagers, has given up on the dream of a tidy house and still plans to write a book one day.

Join the CWC and win!

To kick off 2013, we're having a Membership Drive! Become a Full Member of the CWC (or renew/extend your current membership) and you'll go in the draw to WIN a $150 gift voucher from Polli or a $200 gift voucher from Elk Accessories, to spend on whatever you want!*

So why are we having a Membership Drive? Well, Full Members mean the CWC can continue to provide inspiring regular speaker/networking events in Melbourne and Sydney, blog original and helpful articles, bring you The Circle Database, and grow to include new initiatives, books and ways for you to learn and connect with the local creative community.

As a CWC Full Member you receive:

• Your own page on The Circle Database, complete with an image gallery of your work, biography and your contact details, which will be found when other people search for you under your chosen categories and a link to your page emailed regularly to our 1800+ email subscriber list
• Access to podcast interviews with inspiring creative women and recordings of past CWC events
• Discounted event tickets
• The ability to purchase tickets to events before Subscribers & Non-members
• Opportunities to be profiled/interviewed/promoted through our blog
• A membership card & stickers, sent to you in the post (snail mail, yay!)
• A warm glowy feeling knowing that you are entrenched in a supportive creative community!

So, join before 10pm on Friday 15 February to go in the Elk/Polli giveaway draw, and you could soon be adorned in some of the lovely products below...

From the latest Elk Accessories collection

From the latest Polli collection

Anyone, anywhere can join as a CWC Full Member and go in the running to win these prizes, but please read our terms and conditions for CWC Full Membership first, and the competition fine print below.

Next week, we'll interview the founders/directors of Polli, Tess Lloyd and Maja Rose, and follow that up with an interview with Elk Accessories founder Marnie Goding. I can't wait to read about the creative processes of these two successful local design businesses and learn about how they started.

*Fine print: To be entered into the Membership Drive giveaway you must join as a Full Member between 31/12/12 and 15/2/13 or renew/extend your membership before 15/2/13. Two winners will be drawn after 16/2/13 and notified by email. If you are a winner you will receive details about how to redeem the gift voucher/s from Polli/Elk but be aware you may need to pay shipping costs if purchasing from these retailers online, especially if you are from overseas. Obviously you can't redeem these vouchers for cash, but with so many nice products who would want to, right?

The year that was: Women from History

{Throughout January, we’re looking back at all the posts our awesome columnists wrote for us in 2012, before our team of some new and some returning contributors start blogging in February.} Julia Ritson is an artist, whose love and respect for those who came before her is obvious through her thoughtful, informative posts for Women from History. Textile artists, painters, boundary-pushers, trailblazers. Julia has been a fantastic tour guide through the shining stars of yesteryear. Thanks, Julia! x tess

Thinking Bridget Riley The 80-year-old Bridget Riley has been on my mind a lot lately. Read more...

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Distinct Delaunay There are a myriad of ways to view Sonia Delaunay. Painter, colourist, textile designer, mother, and wife, Delaunay returns to Paris in the middle of a world-wide shift. The new jazzy world of the 1920s. In response to the cultural change in the air, there was a whole lot of new women stereotyping going on. Read more...

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Original Gray Eileen Gray (1879-1976) was born in Ireland but lived in Paris. A thoroughly modern lady designing furniture while surrounded by the world of French couture. Read more...

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Tauber-Arp’s Dance Sophie Tauber-Arp’s work was all about form and colour, rhythm and balance. Trained as a textile designer, Tauber-Arp works the grid lovingly. The warp and the weft. The abundant stitches marching up, down, left, right create a beautifully rhythmical work. Read more...

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Maude’s Coo-ee! Maude Wordsworth James was completely obsessed by the word ‘coo-ee.’ Read more...

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Girl Painter “Girl Painter Who Won Art Prize is also Good Cook.” That’s the 1939 headline for a story about Nora Heysen in The Australian Women’s Weekly. It just so happened she was the first female artist to win the Archibald prize – just as well she could cook. Read more...

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Cool Albers “I find that a craft gives somebody who is trying to find their way a kind of discipline.” Read more...

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Non Objective Grace Crowley Just before Australian artist Grace Crowley died in 1979, she bequeathed the few remaining paintings in her possession to Australian art museums and her papers to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Read more...

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Grace Cossington Smith Sydney born Grace Cossington Smith painted this work in 1915 and lucky for us Daniel Thomas convinced the Art Gallery of NSW to add it to their collection in 1960. It was from one of her first exhibitions. She was 23 years old. Read more...

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Radiant Elizabeth Taylor Elizabeth Taylor was a real dame. Her penchant for shops in the arcades of swish hotels led to her developing a breathtaking collection of jewellery. Read more...

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Ebullient Eszter Haraszty When flicking through the mammoth Knoll Textiles‘ catalogue, published by Yale University Press, Eszter Haraszty’s work really stands out for me. Read more...

The year that was: What's new in social media

{Throughout January, we’re looking back at all the posts our awesome columnists wrote for us in 2012, before our team of some new and some returning contributors start blogging in February.} Ellison Bloomfield knows the internet well - she is a digital content developer by day and also writes for her popular blog Humane Resource, for which she has been recognised as a HR 'thought leader'. Her collection of posts in 2012 uncovered some great new apps, tricks, and programs to help us work smarter and keep our minds up to speed with the technical world while we're busy being creative with our hands. Thanks, Ellison! x Tess

Piquing your interest Pinterest has been around for about two years now and has slowly been gaining more popularity and interest. It is a social bookmarking site which allows you to create boards which you ‘pin’ pictures, links and items you like generally based on a category. Read more...

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In the cloud Last week, Andy wrote about the importance of regularly backing up computer data, and mentioned ‘cloud storage’ as one newer option. Today, I’m going to look at one popular cloud storage option, Dropbox. Read more...

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Facebook timeline for brands Facebook timeline is now mandatory for business pages and while many have fought to avoid the timeline this is no longer an option. Which means that businesses and page administrators now need to update their pages and ensure that they have an understanding of the new layout and the changes now in effect. Read more...

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If This, Then That Each morning when I wake up I check my email, twitter, instagram, path and facebook accounts and throughout the day I’m updating, adding and checking these accounts (and multitude of other profiles and accounts). Read more...

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eQuip yourself It can be very loud in the world of social media and Twitter is probably one of the loudest platforms around. Your Twitter stream is often full of people having conversations but it can be hard to work out where they started or even what is being talked about. Read more...

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Back to basics There are two questions I get asked by people who are trying to work out whether they need to be using social media in their business: Why? And how? Read more...

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Blog management with Posts There is a lot of work involved in managing a blog and if you have multiple accounts and platforms it can become tiresome. A new app called Posts helps to manage the process and can even be used to create a new blog. Read more...

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Don't feed the trolls There has been increasing conversation regarding ‘trolling’ in the last few weeks after some Australian public figures received threats via Twitter. Thus, several news outlets began campaigns to Stop the Trolls which has taken the conversation offline and into the mainstream. Read more...

We're hiring! CWC Event coordination assistant

Position available: CWC event coordination assistant It's an exciting time of growth for the Creative Women’s Circle and we are looking for a motivated individual to assist with event management in 2013.

Working closely with CWC coordinator Tess McCabe, you will help manage the six events scheduled in Melbourne this year, which may take place on weekends or weeknights. Ideally you will have attended a CWC event in the past, have excellent email and communication skills, and a flexible approach.

Self-starters who runs their own business, freelancers, or anyone who is looking for a side-project in which to build their profile and network is encouraged to apply.

The position has the potential to evolve into a full event coordination role which would encompass speaker selection & event planning.

Required duties:

• Assist with set-up/pack-away at event space, including presentation equipment
• Organise and set-up event beverages/snacks on event day
• Prepare audience doorlist prior to event
• Other tasks as required e.g. taking photos at event, writing event-related blog posts, liaising with speakers, attending planning meetings in person or by phone

Essential attributes:

• Strong verbal & email communication skills
• Organised and efficient
• Confident with taking on a range of differing tasks and ‘thinking on your feet’
• Personable with a desire to meet and engage with new people
• Availability on event weekends/weeknights (events are planned 3-4 months in advance to allow for vacations)
• Takes direction and shows initiative
• Based in Melbourne, Australia

Desirable attributes:

• Prior event management/assistant experience
• Have attended a CWC event in the past
• Basic Photoshop skills and/or graphic design skills
• Familiarity with Wordpress, blog/website administration, social media platforms
• Familiarity with Powerpoint and Acrobat PDF
• Baking

This is a paid position of approximately 6 hours per event {edit 19/1/13 - this includes time at event and preparation before hand (no specific day/time)}. Fee will be flat rate and will be discussed during the interview process.

To apply:

Please send a friendly email to Tess via admin<at>creativewomenscircle.com.au, outlining your background, skills, abilities, and any prior event coordination experience.

Applications close Monday 28 January 2013 and successful candidates will be contacted for an informal interview shortly after.

Any queries can be directed to Tess at the above email address. Thanks!

Exhibition opening: Stacey Bennett

Just a little plug for an upcoming solo exhibition by CWC member Stacey Bennett at The Owl and the Pussycat Gallery, 34 Swan Street, Richmond as part of the Midsumma Festival. The exhibition runs from 22 - 26 January, and join her on opening night 21 January for a chance to win an artwork. More info and details about Stacey's work can be found at her website.

The year that was: Member profiles

{Throughout January, we're looking back at all the posts our awesome columnists wrote for us in 2012, before our team of some new and some returning contributors start blogging in February.} Mid-2012 we reintroduced Member Profiles to the blog. Profiles are a quick snapshot of the background, skills and inspirations of our members. Being profiled on the blog is one of the many benefits of joining as a CWC Full Member. We’re really pleased to have found out a bit more about these fine women this year, and look forward to learning about more of you in 2013! tess x

Kim Tonelli: Photographer

"I followed my passion for sixties rock and roll all the way to London where I established an esteemed and dynamic career that kept me away from home for almost a decade." Read more...

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Cheryl Lin: Content creator, presenter, streetstyle photographer and stylist – Business Chic

"I am an IT professional by trade but enjoy pursuing my creative interests at the very edge of my capabilties!" Read more...

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Andrea McArthur, Graphic Designer

"I believe in creating ideas-driven visual solutions that are both beautiful and appropriate." Read more...

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Anne Sherlock of Sooper Design

"I’m totally dedicated to building and discovering more and more of our talented designers." Read more...

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