PROJECT 1 - CONTEXTUALIZATION
"Generally, to contextualize an idea, statement or event is to place it within its larger setting in which it acquires its true and complete meaning. Contextualization aids comprehension. For example, an arithmetic problem may not seem very practical until it is seen within a story problem;"
https://www.gotquestions.org/contextualization.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/contextualization.html
An interest of mine has always been entrepreneurship. Particularly the opportunities that are present for the younger generation to open their own companies. I choose to use the resources and the time in Apollo to study and to create a plan of how I would start my own business.
English AND SOCIAL STUDIES
As always, I choose to combine two classes this year into one period, resulting in me combining two projects together. For this project I combined Social Studies and English concepts together into my business plan. The business plan was for an e-commerce store selling original pieces of art and design created by me. The context will be the present time and place that I am in. I chose to study how I could build a successful company in York, Pa, as a minor, and as a black woman in America.
English: My main focus for English was building a comprehensive and detailed business plan. Throughout my research I came to realize that there were so many options for people to build a business, but limited resources that were catered to artists who want to sell their artwork. Most of the templates and resources that I researched were very broad, and the concepts that they wanted me to add into the business plan, some of those sections wouldn't apply to an independent artist. Even through these challenges I continued with my project because I knew that this was something that I was really passionate about, and something that I wanted to learn. I did find a very valuable website called "Pennsylvania Business One-Stop Shop". This website was full of templates, articles, and contact information that was tremendously helpful for completing my business plan. I printed out the business plan template that was on the website, I completed the template with my own research. There were some sections that I did not include in my final business plan because they did not apply to the direction that I would have wanted to build my company, but I did go in depth about several topics of focus. When building this plan I realized the sheer stress that goes into starting a business. Many artists often sell their work through art galleries or art associations. These groups are often professionals who specialize in the business side of selling art. They also have lawyers, accountants, and other specialists that help them and the clients that they work with. This takes a huge weight off of the artists to figure out the business and the behind-the-scenes of being an independent artist. Sometimes these groups take care of the daunting task of copywriting the artists work for them. These organizations are very helpful because often they are professionals who are skilled in handling the business side of starting an art business. They often have lawyers, accountants, and other specialists that take all of the stress out of the artists. Artists are then able to focus on the work that they create and not stress about the other side of trying to be an independent artist. However, me wanting to create a business from scratch, showed me just how intricate this process is. I had to find a way to organize a business (without a college degree), and then find a way to articulate all of the information and research that I learned while doing this project. However, I did really enjoy this project. I learned so much about one of the things that I am so passionate about. I’m so glad that I did this project!
Brief Summary of my Business Plan:
Business Name: The New Art State of Mind
- Executive Summary: A synopsis of the information that I presented in the later parts of a business plan. I briefly explained each key topic and really tried to detail and drive the purpose of my business.
- Company Description: In the company description, I described all the products and services that my business will provide. I explained things such as:
- Target Market: My target audience is mainly the Millennial and Generation Z. While I would want to grow the business to be catered for museums and art collectors, as of now the business is geared towards people who like aesthetically pleasing pieces of artwork and products. The best way to reach my target market for the company is through social media.
- Competitive Analysis: The one down-side of having an online business is that nearly every similar company is competition. While I did not go in depth about all of the competitors that are on Shopify and Etsy, I did explain common practices/similarities between many of these businesses.
- Marketing Plan and Sales Strategy: Finding a niche and social media marketing will be the company's marketing plan and biggest sales strategy. I will also share details and posts about my process and what being anarchists is like to engage and to educate my audience. I also discussed having particular packaging that the customer would like to keep as being a part of my sales strategy and to reduce waste.
- Operations: As of now I am the operator of the company. My Dad would be the one to register the business for me and to fill out all of the paperwork, so legally he is the owner of this business. He will be compensated due to agreements and sacrifices for this company. We will also hire an accountant and a lawyer to help with financial and legal requirements for the business. I also listed and explained the list of suppliers that I would use for the company.
- Long-Term Development: The New Art State of Mind plans on expanding within the next year with a larger online following. However, within the first year of the business we will want to continue to push for a greater social presence and to eventually submit my work to galleries and to companies like Artsy. The biggest long-term goal for the company is to start an up-cycle project.
- Legalities: There are plenty of legal issues that I discussed in my business plan. I actually took away some time and space from the other sections to explain the legal details of the company. (I'll also explain in a little more detail further down.)
- Financials: The financials were a little easier to put together. Me and my family were going to be the ones who put the money forth for the start of the company. The biggest expenses would be for marketing and for the supplies for the company. Since social media would be my main source of marketing, I will only have to put a small portion of money for paper marketing.
- Resources: I included a list of resources that were used for my research.
Social Studies: Social Studies is where I really honed in on the legal side of starting a business. At first, I wanted to be the one to start the company, but I learned that you cannot file paperwork and registration under the age of 18 . So, instead I had to do research to find how I could make this a plausible reality. I learned that parents would have to file for their child. But, I would then have to definitely file for an LLC to protect my father from the legal and financial damages that can come with starting a company. I decided that getting a lawyer would be the best to file with the company. There will be a lot of paperwork involved, and I want to develop a contractual agreement between myself and my father to ensure that when I turn `18 the company will be transferred to my name.
Two other major legalities that I had to research were taxes and insurance. Taxes were a major concern. There are different taxes that have to be followed in order to ship to different states and not fall into trouble with the IRS. The great thing that I learned was that websites like Shopify, Etsy, and eShipper help businesses navigate the stresses of figuring state and international taxes. (I will be using these companies for my business). International shipping has tariffs and taxes attached to that as well. And, like state taxes, it is a complicated and expensive process to try to handle all of the paperwork and registrations alone as a small business. But, then again Shopify and Etsy help with these struggles as well. Along with those websites, my company will also utilize the help of an accountant. This is just a third barrier to protect my company from tax issues. Because as aforementioned, my father is the one registering this business, and he has a lot more to lose. For insurance, I was able to do research to find what type of insurance I would need for my company and how much each insurance would cost to protect my business.
There were other legalities that I discussed in my business plan like, credit rates and policies, how I will divide my revenue, and how I would handle exchanges and returns through my websites.
English: My main focus for English was building a comprehensive and detailed business plan. Throughout my research I came to realize that there were so many options for people to build a business, but limited resources that were catered to artists who want to sell their artwork. Most of the templates and resources that I researched were very broad, and the concepts that they wanted me to add into the business plan, some of those sections wouldn't apply to an independent artist. Even through these challenges I continued with my project because I knew that this was something that I was really passionate about, and something that I wanted to learn. I did find a very valuable website called "Pennsylvania Business One-Stop Shop". This website was full of templates, articles, and contact information that was tremendously helpful for completing my business plan. I printed out the business plan template that was on the website, I completed the template with my own research. There were some sections that I did not include in my final business plan because they did not apply to the direction that I would have wanted to build my company, but I did go in depth about several topics of focus. When building this plan I realized the sheer stress that goes into starting a business. Many artists often sell their work through art galleries or art associations. These groups are often professionals who specialize in the business side of selling art. They also have lawyers, accountants, and other specialists that help them and the clients that they work with. This takes a huge weight off of the artists to figure out the business and the behind-the-scenes of being an independent artist. Sometimes these groups take care of the daunting task of copywriting the artists work for them. These organizations are very helpful because often they are professionals who are skilled in handling the business side of starting an art business. They often have lawyers, accountants, and other specialists that take all of the stress out of the artists. Artists are then able to focus on the work that they create and not stress about the other side of trying to be an independent artist. However, me wanting to create a business from scratch, showed me just how intricate this process is. I had to find a way to organize a business (without a college degree), and then find a way to articulate all of the information and research that I learned while doing this project. However, I did really enjoy this project. I learned so much about one of the things that I am so passionate about. I’m so glad that I did this project!
Brief Summary of my Business Plan:
Business Name: The New Art State of Mind
- Executive Summary: A synopsis of the information that I presented in the later parts of a business plan. I briefly explained each key topic and really tried to detail and drive the purpose of my business.
- Company Description: In the company description, I described all the products and services that my business will provide. I explained things such as:
- My artist brand
- How the company will show insight into the process of making art
- I will sell original art, prints, phone cases, lanyards, stickers, posters, etc.
- Brand will be very heavy on aesthetics ( sunset, bedroom vibe, peach, yellow, pink rose gold)
- Elaborate Packaging
- Biodegradable packaging
- How the company will be careful about the environment
- Sharing photos of process and detailed description of what each art piece is about
- Target Market: My target audience is mainly the Millennial and Generation Z. While I would want to grow the business to be catered for museums and art collectors, as of now the business is geared towards people who like aesthetically pleasing pieces of artwork and products. The best way to reach my target market for the company is through social media.
- Competitive Analysis: The one down-side of having an online business is that nearly every similar company is competition. While I did not go in depth about all of the competitors that are on Shopify and Etsy, I did explain common practices/similarities between many of these businesses.
- Marketing Plan and Sales Strategy: Finding a niche and social media marketing will be the company's marketing plan and biggest sales strategy. I will also share details and posts about my process and what being anarchists is like to engage and to educate my audience. I also discussed having particular packaging that the customer would like to keep as being a part of my sales strategy and to reduce waste.
- Operations: As of now I am the operator of the company. My Dad would be the one to register the business for me and to fill out all of the paperwork, so legally he is the owner of this business. He will be compensated due to agreements and sacrifices for this company. We will also hire an accountant and a lawyer to help with financial and legal requirements for the business. I also listed and explained the list of suppliers that I would use for the company.
- Long-Term Development: The New Art State of Mind plans on expanding within the next year with a larger online following. However, within the first year of the business we will want to continue to push for a greater social presence and to eventually submit my work to galleries and to companies like Artsy. The biggest long-term goal for the company is to start an up-cycle project.
- Legalities: There are plenty of legal issues that I discussed in my business plan. I actually took away some time and space from the other sections to explain the legal details of the company. (I'll also explain in a little more detail further down.)
- Financials: The financials were a little easier to put together. Me and my family were going to be the ones who put the money forth for the start of the company. The biggest expenses would be for marketing and for the supplies for the company. Since social media would be my main source of marketing, I will only have to put a small portion of money for paper marketing.
- Resources: I included a list of resources that were used for my research.
Social Studies: Social Studies is where I really honed in on the legal side of starting a business. At first, I wanted to be the one to start the company, but I learned that you cannot file paperwork and registration under the age of 18 . So, instead I had to do research to find how I could make this a plausible reality. I learned that parents would have to file for their child. But, I would then have to definitely file for an LLC to protect my father from the legal and financial damages that can come with starting a company. I decided that getting a lawyer would be the best to file with the company. There will be a lot of paperwork involved, and I want to develop a contractual agreement between myself and my father to ensure that when I turn `18 the company will be transferred to my name.
Two other major legalities that I had to research were taxes and insurance. Taxes were a major concern. There are different taxes that have to be followed in order to ship to different states and not fall into trouble with the IRS. The great thing that I learned was that websites like Shopify, Etsy, and eShipper help businesses navigate the stresses of figuring state and international taxes. (I will be using these companies for my business). International shipping has tariffs and taxes attached to that as well. And, like state taxes, it is a complicated and expensive process to try to handle all of the paperwork and registrations alone as a small business. But, then again Shopify and Etsy help with these struggles as well. Along with those websites, my company will also utilize the help of an accountant. This is just a third barrier to protect my company from tax issues. Because as aforementioned, my father is the one registering this business, and he has a lot more to lose. For insurance, I was able to do research to find what type of insurance I would need for my company and how much each insurance would cost to protect my business.
There were other legalities that I discussed in my business plan like, credit rates and policies, how I will divide my revenue, and how I would handle exchanges and returns through my websites.
ART
Art is where I was to focus on the creative side of my business. I first went into this project thinking that the creative process would be the biggest focus in the business, but instead it was the organization and legalities that took the most of my time. However, I did enjoy learning about all of these things and I do think that I made better decisions about my art because of the context that I developed and researched. I did learn about ways that artists market themselves, and the best ways artists get their work to sell. I also looked at several professional artists' websites to get inspiration. Overall, I looked at a lot of things for art and these lessons helped me to make work that I could sell. I learned that the most sight after works of art are:
Along with the painting I created a poster of what I would like my main website to look like, and I made a little “business license” for my company and I. Art was the easier part but it was still critical for this entire project. Sometimes words do not fully communicate the vision that we have inside our heads, so using art to create the appendix for my business plan really helped me to pull my entire project together.
- Traditional landscapes
- Local views
- Modern or semi-abstract landscapes
- Abstracts
- Dogs
- Figure studies (excluding nudes)
- Seascapes, harbours, and beach scenes
- Wildlife
- Impressionistic landscapes
- Nudes
Along with the painting I created a poster of what I would like my main website to look like, and I made a little “business license” for my company and I. Art was the easier part but it was still critical for this entire project. Sometimes words do not fully communicate the vision that we have inside our heads, so using art to create the appendix for my business plan really helped me to pull my entire project together.