View source for Getting Organized with Project Jackets

==Article Transcript==
Right now, you may be sitting in your studio or office,
you’ve just started down the road as an entrepreneur
and have a few client projects on the table. You’re
able to organize them by laying the projects out on
the desk in front of you and are able to recognize them just
by the piece of paper and the pen that you used to write them
out with. So you may not feel that you need project jackets
for your studio. The truth is that you will grow, you will get
more clients, and you will get tighter deadlines. At that point,
the days of recognizing projects at a glance will be gone. You
will need some type of system that will help you keep track of
the projects that are live on the board. Let me introduce the
project jacket. You may have even heard of these before, as
many artists use them, but what do you put on them and how
does the system work?

Project jackets aren’t rocket science but can save your life
down the road. What you put on the project jacket is up to you,
and everyone may be a little different based upon the services
they offer. The first thing you need is a place for a tracking
number. When we were a smaller organization, I used to use
the date (20120111) and would add a letter if I got another
project on the same day. That worked for a while, until the
days started mixing together. So now we just create stickers
that can be put on the front in sequential order. You will need
a due date and an order date for the project. We also add
customer numbers to each new client; that helps in tracking
the growth of the business. You will need a space for a contact
name, company name, phone, email and address. You will
want to add a spot for the type of project (book illustration,
etc.), and any special instructions. I also add some empty
space so that I can write down a call log as to when I spoke
with people on the project.

So I create all that information on a Word document and
print it on the front of a 9x12 envelope. You now have the
important information on the front and a place to insert notes,
sketches, etc. that relate to the project. Once the project is
completed, the whole envelope gets filed in the cabinet. We
use this system faithfully for projects, events and more, and it
has worked well for us. Hopefully it will work for you as well.

''Bruce Outridge is an illustrator and author of the book How to Start an Artistic Business in 12 Easy Steps. To order the book or for more information on Bruce, please visit his website at www.bruceoutridgeproductions.com''
==YouTube Video==
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