Along with artistic, creative, and intellectual skills that are required to be a successful illustrator, practical business skills are crucial in marketing and selling your product. As a freelance illustrator, these business skills are necessary as you create, build, and sustain your business in all the key operational areas. Organization, interpersonal communication, accounting, and marketing are a few of these skills. It is important to recognize your strengths and weaknesses as they relate to your work and business, and ignoring weaknesses can lead to peril. Gaining a sustainable livelihood from illustration work is not an easy feat, but can give you an enormous sense of satisfaction. Having a business plan can help immensely.
A business plan that is cautious, well thought through, and even possibly a bit pessimistic will be a useful tool to guide you as you navigate the world of illustration. A few key elements include an executive summary, a description, a marketing and sales strategy, management team and personnel, operations, and financial forecasts. These help define and organize your business and work. It takes time and care to get a business plan right. It is a good idea to ask others to read it and give objective advice on how it works and if improvements are needed. Specialist advice can help with navigating tax requirements and other details related to running a freelance illustration business.
