Planning for the Creative Mind

Planning for the Creative Mind I might be on vacay, but my blog aint. Enjoy this glorious guest post from Sara of Your Creative Ally! image via Pinterest I’m getting some of my thoughts together for my  upcoming class in Chicago and it got me thinking that “business planning” can be integrated into so many other places! Want to move to a new house? You need a plan. Want to get your budget under control and live debt free? You need a plan. Want to stop  a group of Bynars from taking over your starship? You need a plan.(I’ve been re-watching Star Trek: The Next Generation from the beginning so stay with me…) Basic business/life/starfleet plans are comprised of three basic parts;  Vision, Budgeting and Implementation. (Business plans specifically also need the Research and a Marketing portions but for now we’ll stick with the basics) Vision: What do you want to see happen with this project? What do you see as the end all and be all final product? For moving to a new house it might be having the backyard or the screened in porch of your dreams. If you’re getting your budget under control, find that sweet spot where what you are making is covering all your expenses with a little extra for your savings account and a night out on the town. Budgeting: Remember budgeting is more than just money, we all need to budget our  time as well. Buying a house takes money (uh, duh…) so creating a detailed budget before going to the bank for pre approval is very important. When you have hostile aliens on your bridge and you need to get to them before the auto destruct destroys the ship in five minutes, budgeting and using your time wisely is very important. Implementation: Putting it all together and setting things in motion is sometimes the hardest part but if you have a strong plan behind you things can go much smoother. Also, with this step think about who you can bring on to help you out. Do you have a friend who’s great with numbers take a look at your budget and get their opinion? Maybe you need to trust that your first officer is going to have your back when you finally transport to the bridge to take back control.  (If you didn’t know I was a nerd before you certainly do now…hehe) It’s much harder to buy a house or budget your time or save the universe without taking the time to gather your thoughts, take a breath and think. Make sure you are doing that each time you have a problem that needs to be addressed or even a goal that you want to see come to life and things won’t seem so out of your hands and out of your reach! Homework for this week: What projects, problems or goals are you putting off because you don’t know where to start? How can you use the basic parts listed above to kick things into gear? Sara Carbaugh is the main magic worker at Your Creative Ally, a virtual consulting business that helps to create torture-free online marketing strategies for Creatives of all types. Well known for her humor and her sparkling personality, Sara brings a fun and quirky feel to her work. You can find out more about Sara and her work with Creatives by visiting her blog, following her on Twitter or stalking her on Facebook!