Spinning off….

Well, it is with excitement, trepidation and a big, deep breath that I make this announcement: I am spinning off my own blog. The Art of the Business, which has, for the past 9 months been incubating on The Next Stage, is launching out on its own over at www.artof the biz.com.

Once upon a time, about a year ago, I lost my job, and decided that it was time for me to start doing this publicity thing (which I’d been doing more as a hobby business for about seven years) full-time. So, I took a small business course at BCIT, and wrote a business plan and launched Titania Productions on December 1, 2007. Back then, I had more time than business, and I had this idea that I wanted to write a monthly column of marketing tips and tricks for artists. I had already been in touch with Simon, who had been writing for Beyond Robson. We immediately connected on our joint passion to help artists become more serious about their businesses, so when I pitched the idea to him, he was all for it.

So I started writing, and the column slowly grew into more. I started recording podcasts, and the subject matter for the column started to expand into other areas of business. And I was seriously getting into the blogging thing. And then, about a month ago, I sent Simon an email saying that I was thinking of starting my own blog, and, to his credit, he was very supportive. And today is that day….

I want to say a very special thanks to Simon for being a great editor, and an even better friend. As a sounding board, a spell-checker, and a fount of information on the technical aspects of blogging, he has been invaluable. In my inbox at this moment, there are 196 emails from Simon, and about the same amount in my sent mail to him. It’s been a blast….  In fact, Simon is some of the inspiration for my first blog post.

I will continue to write a monthly piece for The Next Stage. But now the Vancouver Theatre Blogger scene is one stronger. Our quest to build an audience for local theatre and to help artists become better business people continues.