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And I don’t mean this kind. When I first read the importance of a business model, I could NOT for the life of me figure out what the heck everyone was talking about. A business model? As in, type of business? Kind of overhead? Hourly rates? What?

Really, it’s much simpler:
1. Evaluate the time you have available daily to commit to a business.
2. Choose a business that suits both your schedule and your life plan.

In my opinion, that’s it. That’s all that matters. As creatives, the majority of us are lacking in the business department, so I did some research and found this super easy guide to business models.

This site doesn’t outline all business models by any means, but it gives a few ideas as to the relationship between (a). schedule and (b). commitment to your business.

This step is so important, but it won’t prove useful if you’re not honest with yourself. Have your heart set on opening a brick + mortar shop but can only devote a few hours a day? Not a good fit, unless you change some things up. Bring a friend into the mix and go from there.

I 100% suggest to involve your family in this stage of the process. Husband and I sat down last evening to review my own schedule and time commitments, and I realized that as much as I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to open my own tea studio/art gallery someday, it’s probably not a realistic goal considering the start-up costs and my own time/talents.

So, read up on business models, which you can go through in like one minute. Seriously. While your brain is bubbling over with potential business ideas, be sure to visit these SUPER helpful business calculators, available online for your convenience. You can tally start-up costs, break even goals and an expected cash flow.

Fun, right? Plenty more where that came from, my friends…