Project Plan Structure for 2020QCM My Life as a Musician 2 2017
Assignment Cover sheet
Executive summary (to include): This is a summary of the entire document, as well
as what you need e.g. in kind venue support, sponsorship for accommodation,
investment of $, staff experience, volunteer services etc. The core message needs to
be:
What you want to do
How you want to do it
How much it will cost
What support are you seeking?
If someone were to read this one page, could they understand what is involved and
be excited to join your project?
Table of contents
1.0 Organisational plan (to include):
1.1 Legal structure – describe the type (sole trader, partnership, company
etc does it need to be registered for GST), where it is located, duration
of existence (if applicable) and advantages of this legal structure, and
the disadvantages (and how you will mitigate these)
1.2 Management – who are the key roles in this venture, what are the core
skills required, and what evidence is there that these people are
capable of acquitting these roles (HINT: This is not just about past
business experience but also your life as a musician i.e. think about
your transferable skills as a musician, educator, composer etc – your
current experience as a portfolio career musician means you have
strong managerial, people and time-management skills plus more)
1.3 Staff Plan – normally just a flow chart of who answers to who. Don’t
forget to include the people you may need to hire as well as
volunteers required.
1.4 Insurance – what insurance policies do you require? Public Liability?
Accident and Injury? Professional Indemnity? Mental Harm? One-Off
Event Insurance? Insurance for the business. Have a look at :
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
1.5 Security – in the literal term this can apply for larger events, and/or
where the crowd may be a concern, or it is situated in an area that is
not as safe as could be. Also – this may apply to your intellectual
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property – how are you going to protect this? Are you wanting people
to upload your performances to YouTube? Is there a possibility your
work can be copied etc? Can you trade mark the event name? Or
register the creative idea/design [Link] Are
you performing/selling copyrighted material?
2.0 Industry Analysis (to include):
2.1 Situation Analysis
2.1.1 Market situation – what is currently happening in the market
from which you are sourcing your audience/clientele? How big is it? Is
it a niche market? Is it growing/shrinking? Are there any trends at the
moment? (Remember to check out your Australian Bureau of
Statistics info [Link] , Arts Queensland trends and
stats [Link]
greatest-stats , Australia Council Research stats – interactive dashboard
[Link]
culture-segments/ as well as your own market survey information)
2.1.2 Competitive situation – name at least three (3) major
competitors and describe them and what their core strengths are in
comparison to yours. Present this in a Petal Diagram. Please make sure
your core strengths are outlined. You need to demonstrate your
sustainable competitive advantage by comparison (VRIN).
2.2 Internal and External SWOT Analysis
2.2.1 Strengths and weaknesses (in text box) – these are of the
project and the people intimately involved i.e internal issues that
affect this project and/or the business.
2.2.2 Opportunities and threats (in text box) – these are concerns
external to the business and usually involve the PESTLE. What is
currently happening in the non-music environment that can positively
or negatively affect your event/business etc? Remember PESTLE –
Political, Economical, Socio-Cultural, Technological, Legal and
Environmental influences.
2.2.3 SWOT Mitigation strategies – this is the “what if things go pear-
shaped?” section and the strategies to mitigate the SWOT issues
identified. Demonstrate your strategies for minimizing the risk,
argue/turn your weaknesses into strengths, protect your strengths
from turning into weaknesses, capitalize on opportunities, turn
threats into opportunities or strengths? For example:
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There is always a potential that no one turns up – what
strategies will you implement to prevent this?
What if it rains and it is an outdoor concert? Where can you
move it?
What if the venue pulls the agreement three days before the
advertised event. What lock-in contracts do you have in place?
Is the competition in the same suburb as you? What can you do
to ensure they will have less impact on your business? Can you
reach some kind of professional agreement or collaboration?
In the event of no funding or decreasing income, audience
attendance etc what will you do to combat/make use of these
identified SWOT concerns etc etc
3.0 Marketing and Promotional Plan (to include):
3.1 Marketing objectives for the event, tour, recording, business – these
are the qualitative and/or quantitative goals (subject/objective). NO
MORE THAN 5, 3 IS GOOD.
3.2 Target audience profiles – can you describe your market (just like
profiling a serial killer – who is it most likely going to be). There may
be two likely tiers to this market – your survey may have informed
you of this.
3.3 Product Profile and Pricing Strategy : Describe “what it is” as well
as any augmenting perks (free drink with ticket etc). The cost of
tickets will need to be included here. Defend your Pricing Strategy –
what is your method (cost-plus, market-skimming etc). Where is the
event launched, where are the tickets/CDs sold (e.g. just online,
through just one website? Or are there more opportunities to
purchase this? Are there physical sales of the tickets?), what is the
venue/s?
3.5 Promotional Strategy: How are you going to achieve the marketing
objectives? By what methods (think promotion strategies and
processes – social media, direct marketing, print media etc and
develop a timeline). Think about promoting in a creative way that
can set you apart from the rest of the competition. Remember we are
operating in “edutainment” and the “experience economy” and dealing
with “aspirational audiences”. The PRESS RELEASE will go on the next
page after this.
4.0 Operational timeline (to include)
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4.1 Event timeline (including but not limited to: organizational
management, rehearsals, marketing and promotion, event running
sheet) OR Touring itinerary (including but not limited to:
organizational management, rehearsals, marketing and promotion,
accommodation, flights, transfers, venues and back of house
meetings) OR Recording timeline including but not limited to:
organizational management, rehearsals, studio time, post-production,
manufacturing, marketing and promotion, launch, distribution) OR
Business Launch including but not limited to organizational
management, rehearsals, marketing and promotion, event running
sheet etc)
5.0 Financial plan (to include):
5.1 Sources of finance (in table format and include inkind support)
5.2 Set-up cost summary (if applicable and in table format)
5.3 Projected Income and Expenditure (in table format: 60% sales and
100% sales figures)
6.0 References
Appendix:
Any supporting documents relevant to your plan
Note: Always write in third person, formally and never ever write “you”
© Diana Tolmie 2017