It was December 2019. I had just received a short poem from a friend, a really good short poem I might add. I was asked to send back notes on it, but felt sad that that was all I could do as our platform was for plays. A few hours later, my notes sent off, I was flicking through a tatty old notepad that was about to get thrown out. On the last page, no doubt written down in haste at the end of one of our first meetings as a company, were the three goals that we wanted to achieve for Very Rascals. The goal thing was something I was told every company had to do if you wanted to be successful. It’s the thing that keeps you on the correct path and also helps you figure out what your company will stand for or bring to your market. Now I had completely forgotten about these goals, they were primed for the bin, when luckily I had one last look through the notebook, and I am glad that I did.
Number one on our list was to share the voices and to create a platform for as many female identifying and non binary playwrights as we could. We had started the company by writing a play and a lot of plans that we had coming up also included in-house writing. Which meant we wouldn’t hit our number one target. Immediately after reading this target, a whole host of ideas came to mind about how we could get more voices out there, then I remembered this piece of writing from a friend, and the Monthly Spotlight was born.
These goals have helped a lot with how we have gone about future work. I now always check in with them and see if the work we are creating ticks those boxes. If it does we are on the right track, if not, we need some tweaking. Another thing it helps with is social media and applications. When you know your goals, it is easier to write with one voice and you have more chance of connecting to the people you want. It takes out the boring leg work that can occur at the start of a new application or project. Another big reason why I recommend new companies writing out these three goals is because all work I have done that has ticked the boxes has been my proudest. These spotlights for example: I am so proud of each and every one of them, and I feel honoured that Very Rascals is the platform that shared them.
So, what are you waiting for… get writing your own goals list!!
You can start simple and edit them as you go, or dream big and write your final goals. They can be anything from the type of work that you want to produce, to the way you want to communicate with creatives and the community you want to build.
For example, another goal of ours was to always try and reply to every application we received, putting communication with the artists as one of our top priorities and being open about how we run. This goal has a lot to answer for as we try and think up new and mildly helpful additions to this blog each week (do let us know if you have a topic you want us to chat about).
For our third goal, we talked a lot about what type of work is important to us, work that highlights social issues that don’t normally get a word in. Making this goal was great, as I still have a log of the words that were bandied around when we discussed it, and they are helpful when we’re in the development stages of projects. You will see these words pop up around our website or on social media. It makes life easier as I have a template to draw from and I am not always starting with a blank page.
It is a small thing you can do to make life a lot easier as you start out. Trust me! I didn’t believe in it either, but I have now moved our three little goals to the front of a brand new note book.