Instructions: 

Create a draft of the budget and budget narrative for your Final Project. Your budget should reflect all of the costs associated with the project. Incorporate the budget from your Marketing Campaign. In addition to line item costs, include a total dollar amount. You may also want to include columns for “estimated costs” and “actual costs.”

Format: Please Create your Budget as a Spreadsheet. 

Budget Narrative: Your budget narrative should be 1-2 paragraphs long (300-600 words). Please summarize your budget. You should discuss and justify your total dollar amount, the various categories you included, and specific line items. Justification means that you make a case for why certain expenses are certain amounts and why you included unexpected expenses / didn’t include expected expenses.

Refer to the Sample Budget Templates (Links to an external site.) Note: If you use one of the templates – tailor it to the specifics of your project.

Please submit your budget as a PDF on Canvas. 

You will be graded on:

• Completeness (includes all necessary budget categories/items as indicated by your project-specific instructions and the sample budget templates)
• Clarity & Organization (budget and narrative are clear, easy to read and navigate)
• Narrative (Discussed and justified all relevant budget items)
• Spelling and grammar.

Project Option-Specific Instructions: 

Option #1 Plan to Start Your Own Business

In your budget, include information about

• Start-up costs (What will it cost to get the business up and running? Are there permits, licenses, etc. that you will need? What other unexpected costs might there be?)
• Overhead and Operational Costs (What do you need to run the business and how much do things cost? Overhead and operational costs include leasing space, payroll (employees), equipment, supplies, marketing and advertising, etc.) Note: your marketing campaign budget should be incorporated into your Overall Budget.
• Financial Projection – How much money do you need to get started and how long will it take you to become profitable?
• Total Expense Amount: Sum of all budget items.

Budget Narrative: Use the narrative to summarize your budget and justify the dollar amounts you claim. With the narrative you can explain the financial plan for your business as well as your Financial Projections.

Option #2 Plan to Record and Release a Record

Your budget should include items associated with:

• Pre-Production Costs: licenses, space or equipment rentals for rehearsals.
• Recording Costs: studio and equipment rentals, personnel (musicians, engineers, producers, etc.), other miscellaneous expenses.
• Post Production Costs: manufacturing, distribution, and marketing expenses.
• Total Budget Amount: Sum of all expenses.

Budget Narrative: Use the narrative to summarize your budget and justify the dollar amounts you claim. Include the total dollar amount. Profit Projections: Include how you plan to recuperate the expense of the record. How much do you plan to charge for each recording (album, ep, etc.) and how long will it take you to recoup the total cost?

Option #3 Plan a Tour

Your budget should include items associated with:

• Planning the Tour: fees for Electronic Press Kit (EPK) (may include graphic designer, web service, etc.), tour consultant/manager, market research, creating merchandise.
• The Tour:  vehicle/equipment rental, travel/lodging costs, marketing, venue fees.
• Total Tour Cost: Sum of all expenses.

Budget Narrative: Use the narrative to summarize your budget and justify the dollar amounts you claim. Include the total dollar amount. Profit Projections: Include how you plan to recuperate the expense of the tour. How much do you plan to charge for merch, and how long will it take to recoup the total cost?

Option #4 Professional Portfolio

Your budget should include items associated with:

• Creating your Portfolio: expenses related to creating a website, hiring a graphic designer or photographer, a professional consultant.
• Online Profiles/Services: such as LinkedIn Premium, ZipRecruiter.
• Marketing/Promotion: expenses associated with promoting yourself professionally.
• Total Cost: Sum of all expenses.

Budget Narrative: Use the narrative to summarize your budget and justify the dollar amounts you claim. Include the total dollar amount. Explain how taking on these expenses will give you an advantage in the job market.

SampleBudgetTemplate