Art Gallery Business Plan and SWOT Analysis

Art Gallery Business Plan, Marketing Plan, How To Guide, and Funding Directory

The Art Gallery Business Plan and Business Development toolkit features 18 different documents that you can use for capital raising or general business planning purposes. Our product line also features comprehensive information regarding to how to start an Art Gallery business. All business planning packages come with easy-to-use instructions so that you can reduce the time needed to create a professional business plan and presentation.

Your Business Planning Package will be available for download after your purchase.

Product Specifications (please see images below):

  • Bank/Investor Ready!
  • Complete Industry Research
  • 3 Year Excel Financial Model
  • Business Plan (26 to 30 pages)
  • Loan Amortization and ROI Tools
  • Three SWOT Analysis Templates
  • Easy to Use Instructions
  • All Documents Delivered in Word, Excel, and PDF Format
  • Meets SBA Requirements

The startup cost associated with the new art gallery are considered to be relatively low. Given that there is not much need for furniture, fixtures, and equipment outside of a large space and a few computers – start up costs can range anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000 depending on the specific location. In major metropolitan areas the biggest cost associated with launching a new art gallery is the actual acquisition of retail space. However, many of these locations are operated in up-and-coming aspects of town do have a lower ongoing rental expense. The gross margins generated from art can vary widely. Typically, prints will have a gross profit of approximately 60% to 90% while sales of original artwork typically generate gross margins of about 50%. This is due to the fact that many pieces of original artwork typically sold on commission or on consignment. As such, these high gross margins will ensure that most art galleries are able to remain profitable and cash flow positive in most economic climates.

Generally, most art galleries are started with an investment from a third-party investor or from the owner themselves. Most financial institutions typically shy away from providing large capital commitments to these businesses given the fact that their revenues are subject to changes in economic fluctuations. Additionally, most art galleries do not have a very large tangible asset base. However, once two years have passed and an art gallery becomes profitable then in financial institution may provide the owner with a working capital one credit based on their online and in-store sales. This is frequently referred to as merchant financing. If an individual is seeking to raise capital from private investor then an art gallery business plan is going to be required. This document should feature a three-year profit and loss statement, cash flow analysis, balance sheet, breakeven analysis, and business ratios page.

This document should also have a very in-depth overview of the demographics that we targeted for sales of art through the retail location and all mine. Within the local market this includes a examination of median household income, median family income, population size, population density, and the number of other art galleries that are operating within the target market. As it relates to competition there should be a significant examination of all other art galleries and are in operation in order to ensure that these businesses will not have a deleterious effect on the art galleries initial revenues.

Included within the business plan should be examination of the industry as well. As of this year, or galleries generate about $5 billion a year of revenue and provide employment for were about 25,000 people. There are currently about seven 6,700 individual or galleries within the United States. Annual payrolls each of the last five years have exceeded $750 million. The anticipated growth rate of this industry will be that of the general economy which is currently around 2% to 3% per year.

It is extremely important that the owner develop an art gallery marketing plan as well that focuses not only on promoting the retail location but also via online sales channels. As relates to retail marketing, most art galleries will frequently have openings each month that showcase the art that is currently held by the business. There should always be available a number of prints so that individuals can make small purchases if they choose not to purchase an original piece of art. These are gallery openings are usually marketed through print advertisements, radio advertisements, television, as well as your online sales channels.

As it relates to online marketing, and art gallery needs to have an expansive e-commerce driven website that showcases the facility, current works being shown, prints available, hours of operation, contact information, and information regarding upcoming events at the art gallery. As it relates to e-commerce functionality, the entire inventory of the art gallery should be made available so that any individual anywhere in the world can make a purchase of either a print or an original piece of art directly from the company’s website. Additionally, as it relates to e-commerce operations – many art galleries will place their listings on popular websites such as Amazon, eBay, and Etsy.com in order to further drive sales.

Beyond the proprietary e-commerce driven website, almost all art galleries maintain expansive presences on social networking platforms such as FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn, and Reddit. These online social media platforms are of a special importance to our gallery given the extremely competitive nature of this industry. Additionally, an owner-operator of this business can announce our gallery openings, shows, and new artists that are sponsored by the business. As such, once a large following is developed through these platforms than the costs relating to marketing will decline substantially over a five-year period. With a simple touch of a button the owner of an art gallery can form potentially tens of thousands of people of special deals, discounts, and new work that is available at the facility.

An art gallery SWOT analysis needs to be produced as well. This analysis focuses on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats there normally faced by these types of companies. As it relates to strengths, typically in our gallery does not have very high barriers to entry and nor does it have very high operating expenses. However, large sales are required in order to ensure that these businesses are able to remain profitable in most economic climates. The ability to make sales via an e-commerce driven website and through social media platforms substantially reduces the ongoing risks associated with operating a brick-and-mortar art gallery location. For weaknesses, again – these businesses revenues are heavily subject to changes in the economy. A severe economic recession, like the one scene 2008, can have a substantial negative affect on an art galleries ability to remain afloat. For opportunities, these businesses are able to thrive whenever able to source new and up-and-coming artists whose work is in demand among the general public. Additionally, many art galleries can operate in a brick-and-mortar capacity so that they never take possession of any particular piece of art they are able to source a specific piece on behalf of a wealthy buyer. This can become a very important revenue stream for an art gallery owner that is very familiar with in demand art. For threats, really there is nothing is going to impact the way that these companies do business outside of a major economic recession. Art that is created is typically one-of-a-kind and as such the demand for these individual items remain strong among wealthy upper middle income to upper income buyers. However, it is expected that competition within this market will continually increase as the Internet allows independent artists to showcase their work to the general public without going through a traditional art gallery. This is going to be one of the reasons why the owner operator needs to have a substantial marketing platform in place so that inventory turnover can remain very high.

An art gallery can be a fun and exciting small business to operate provided that the owner has an understanding of the industry, has appropriate contacts in place to make sales, and understands how to effectively market the business to the general public with a specific focus on the wealthier population. The return on investment as it relates to the equity injection for these businesses can be significantly high. There is also nothing that is going to change about this industry even as technology increases over the next two decades.