Winner of The 200-Word Artist Plan Contest

On May 16 I announced a contest for the best (in my opinion) artist plan. Many people posted their plans, which I hope you'll read here.

The Winner

The winner of a copy of The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau is Alyson Sheldrake, who, I promise, received zero extra points because she has a cool name.

I liked Alyson's plan for the following reasons:

• Her promotions included the press, enlisting social media contacts, and personal email contacts. I love that she didn't rely on advertising or just posting to social media sites.
• She calculated her profit margins.
• She set a weekly target goal to complete the work.
• Her measurement of success is specific: 25% increase in sales and 50% increase in commissions from the previous exhibit.

Honorable Mentions

A few of you came very close and deserve a mention.

Michele Marcoux: A round of applause for crunching the numbers and discovering that you were losing money and needed to do something about it – fast. I know you will make big changes for the better.

Mary Gravelle: I love that your plan for your creativity workshops and products “makes up 30%” of your income plan and that you set a specific net income goal.

Harriet Faith: Your dreaming cards sound delightful and I think you have a much larger audience that you're identifying in your plan.

Maureen Frank: I think you're onto something for your mandala coloring books. Your benchmarks of success (1,000 fans on Facebook, 500 Etsy customers, and 50% increase in website traffic) are solid!

Amantha Tsaros: I'd give anything to be close enough to attend your Pastry/Paintings Party. Sounds like a ton of fun! Your brevity and specifics are commendable. I know you're going to make this work.

Finally

Incomplete plans were not considered for the prize. As a reminder, plans had to include 1) your art or product, 2) audience, 3) promotions, 4) money, 5) how you will overcome challenges or obstacles, and 6) how you will know if you’ve succeeded.
I've gone back through and made a few comments on the plans, which I hope will be helpful. Read those here.

Everyone who wrote something down should be commended for their commitment. I hope those who submitted a plan works hard to implement it. Otherwise, your plan becomes just another good idea that you let pass by.

I'll be sending Alyson her copy of Chris Guillebeau's The $100 Startup. I hope the rest of you will check out Chris's book at your library or, better yet, get your own copy. Check out my small mention on page 152.