Grade 7 Arts and Entrepreneurship cheat sheet

Arts entrepreneurship combines artistic creation (intrinsic value) with a repeatable process for delivering that work to an audience who pays, funds, or commissions it.

Three core resources of any creative venture: creative capital (skill, ideas), human capital (time, collaborators), and financial capital (cash, credit, materials).

Value in the arts is created in two layers: the artifact (song, mural, garment) and the experience (performance, workshop, commission process).

Revenue models for creative work: sale of objects, licensing of rights, performance or service fees, teaching, patronage/grants, and subscription or membership.

A creative venture reaches sustainability when recurring revenue covers fixed costs plus the artist's living wage; one-off sales alone rarely do.

Risk profile of arts ventures is high-variance: income is project-based, so a 3-6 month cash buffer is a common planning benchmark.

Distinguish hobby from enterprise: enterprise keeps records, prices to cover full costs, and separates personal and business money.

Stakeholders map: audience/customer, funder, collaborator, supplier, venue, and regulator; each holds a different definition of quality.

Divergent phase generates many options without judgment; convergent phase filters and selects. Mixing the two too early suppresses idea quantity.

Idea-generation tools: brainstorming, SCAMPER (Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other use, Eliminate, Reverse), mind mapping, and constraint-based prompts.

The iterative loop is prototype → test with real users → observe → revise; each cycle should be short enough to fail cheaply.

Constraints (budget, time, materials, format) usually increase rather than reduce creative output because they narrow the search space.

Document the process: sketchbooks, version numbers, and dated drafts support both refinement and later proof of authorship.

Feedback is separated into description, interpretation, and evaluation; collect description first to avoid defending the work prematurely.

Creative block responses that are testable: change medium, impose a new constraint, switch from solo to paired work, or set a fixed time box.

An idea is ready to advance when it can be stated as a problem-solution pair and someone outside the project understands it in one sentence.

Elements of art: line, shape, form, value, color, texture, space. Principles: balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, unity, proportion.

Color theory: primary colors mix to secondaries; complementary pairs sit opposite on the color wheel and produce maximum contrast when adjacent.

Value is the lightness or darkness of a tone; a value scale of 9 steps is a standard reference for judging contrast.

Types of balance: symmetrical (mirror), asymmetrical (equal visual weight, unequal forms), and radial (radiating from a center).

Media categories: dry (graphite, charcoal, pastel), wet (ink, watercolor, acrylic, oil), printmaking, digital, and mixed media; each has distinct drying, layering, and fixative requirements.

Perspective: one-point uses a single vanishing point on the horizon; two-point uses two; atmospheric perspective reduces contrast and saturation with distance.

Watercolor is transparent and works light-to-dark; oil and acrylic are opaque-capable and work dark-to-light, with acrylic drying fastest.

Critique vocabulary: composition, focal point, negative space, edge quality, and color temperature (warm/cool) allow precise description of a work.

Music fundamentals: pitch (frequency), duration (rhythm), dynamics (volume), timbre (tone color), and texture (how parts combine).

Meter organizes beats into groups; 4/4 has four quarter-note beats per bar, 3/4 has three, 6/8 has two groups of three eighth notes.

Dance elements: body, action, space (level, direction, pathway), time (tempo, duration), and energy (force quality).

Choreographic devices: repetition, canon, retrograde, unison, contrast, and abstraction from gesture.

Drama structure: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution; conflict drives the action.

Stage geography from the performer's view: stage right/left, upstage (away from audience), downstage (toward audience), plus wings and apron.

Rehearsal planning uses run-throughs versus sectionals; tech rehearsal adds lights, sound, and cues before the dress rehearsal.

Performance rights: live performance of copyrighted music generally requires a license from a performing rights organization unless the work is public domain or cleared.

Design process: define the problem, research users, sketch alternatives, prototype, test, refine, produce.

Form follows function: a design decision is justified by the user need it serves, not decoration alone.

Ergonomics and anthropometrics use body measurements to size handles, seating, and wearables; poor fit is a design failure, not a user failure.

Materials decision rules: consider strength, weight, cost per unit, workability, finish, and end-of-life (repair, recycle, compost).

Craft production methods: one-off (highest unit cost, highest exclusivity), batch/small series (balanced), and mass production (lowest unit cost, high tooling cost).

Standard cost sheet for a craft item: materials + direct labor (hours × hourly rate) + overhead allocation = full unit cost.

Quality control checks: dimensional tolerance, join strength, surface finish, color consistency across a batch, and packaging durability.

Sustainability levers in applied arts: local sourcing, offcut reuse, non-toxic finishes, repairable construction, and minimal packaging.

Entrepreneurial mindset traits that are observable: opportunity spotting, comfort with calculated risk, resourcefulness, persistence after failure, and willingness to ask for help.

Opportunity versus idea: an opportunity has a customer with a real problem, willingness to pay, and a feasible path to reach them.

Pain points, unmet needs, and underserved niches are the three most common sources of creative-venture opportunity.

Effectuation logic: start with means at hand (who you are, what you know, whom you know) and let the goal adapt, rather than predicting a fixed market.

Calculated risk uses a defined loss ceiling: decide in advance the maximum money and time to be risked on an experiment.

Minimum viable offer: the smallest version of the product or service that produces real customer behavior (payment, booking, sign-up).

Failure post-mortem questions: what was assumed, what was tested, what happened, and what changes next time.

Opportunity screening criteria: market size, willingness to pay, competition intensity, cost to deliver, and founder fit/skill match.

Primary research collects new data (interviews, surveys, observation); secondary research uses existing data (reports, statistics, reviews, competitor sites).

Customer discovery interviews ask about past behavior and current workarounds, not hypothetical intent; "would you buy this?" answers are unreliable.

Interview rules: open questions, no leading, ask why repeatedly, and target people who actually have the problem.

Survey design: avoid double-barreled questions, keep scales consistent, and report sample size and response rate with results.

Market segmentation variables: demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral.

Target customer profile fields: who, what problem, current solution, budget, decision-maker, and where they can be reached.

Competitive analysis includes direct competitors, indirect substitutes (including "do nothing"), and the customer's DIY alternative.

Data quality checks: sample bias, small-sample caution, and separating correlation from causation before drawing conclusions.

Value proposition formula: for (target customer) who (problem), our (offer) provides (benefit) unlike (alternative), because (evidence).

Business Model Canvas blocks: customer segments, value propositions, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partners, cost structure.

Lean planning order: problem → customer → solution → channels → revenue → costs; validate earlier blocks before detailing later ones.

Revenue streams: one-time sale, subscription, licensing/royalty, commission, rental, workshop fees, and advertising/sponsorship.

Break-even point in units = fixed costs ÷ (price per unit − variable cost per unit).

Milestones should be time-bound and measurable (e.g., "10 pre-orders by March 31"), not activity descriptions.

Risk register fields: risk, likelihood, impact, mitigation, owner; legal, cash-flow, supply, and demand risks are the usual top categories.

A one-page plan is sufficient for pitching; a full plan adds market analysis, operations detail, and financial projections.

Marketing mix (4Ps): product, price, place, promotion; for services, people, process, and physical evidence extend it to 7Ps.

Positioning statement: target segment + category + key differentiator + reason to believe.

Brand identity elements: name, logo, color palette, typography, tone of voice, and consistent visual rules applied across channels.

AIDA funnel: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action; content is chosen per stage rather than one message for all.

Pricing approaches: cost-plus, value-based, and competitive/market rate; underpricing is the most common error in creative markets.

Promotion channels: owned (website, mailing list), earned (press, word of mouth, reviews), and paid (ads, sponsored posts).

Portfolio strategy: show the work you want more of, curate to 6-12 strong pieces, and label each with a clear title, medium, and price.

Metrics that matter: conversion rate, cost per acquisition, repeat purchase rate, and average order value.

Profit = total revenue − total costs. Total costs = fixed costs + variable costs.

Gross margin = (revenue − cost of goods sold) ÷ revenue, expressed as a percentage.

Markup versus margin: markup is applied to cost; margin is a share of price. A 50% markup equals a 33.3% margin.

Cash flow differs from profit: timing of receipts and payments can leave a profitable venture short of cash.

Startup cost categories: materials and equipment, licenses and insurance, marketing, website/platform fees, and working capital reserve.

Break-even in units = fixed costs ÷ contribution margin per unit, where contribution margin = price − variable cost per unit.

Pricing to cover labor: chargeable hours are fewer than total hours; divide target income by realistic billable hours, then add materials and overhead.

Record-keeping: separate business bank account, keep receipts, track invoices and payment terms, and set aside a percentage for taxes.

Copyright protects original expression fixed in a tangible medium (text, music, images, code) and arises automatically on creation; registration strengthens enforcement.

Trademarks protect brand identifiers (names, logos, slogans) tied to goods or services; patents protect novel, useful inventions; designs may be protected separately.

Copyright does not cover ideas, facts, or styles, only the specific expression; independent creation of a similar work is not automatically infringement.

Fair use/fair dealing is a balancing test weighing purpose, nature of the work, amount used, and market effect; it is not a blanket permission.

Licensing terms to check: territory, duration, exclusivity, media, credit requirement, and derivative-work rights.

Written agreements before collaboration: who owns the work, revenue split, deadlines, credit, and exit terms; verbal agreements are hard to enforce.

Model and property releases are required to use identifiable people or private property in commercial imagery.

Ethics in creative business: honest representation of authorship, transparent pricing, respectful use of cultural sources, and consent from collaborators.

Pitch structure: hook, problem, solution, evidence/traction, market, ask (money, partners, or support), and next step.

Time allocation rule of thumb: roughly 10-15% hook and problem, 40-50% solution and evidence, 20% market and model, 15-20% ask and close.

Evidence beats adjectives: use specific numbers (pre-orders, attendance, revenue, testimonials) instead of "amazing" or "unique".

Visual deck rules: one idea per slide, large readable type, consistent palette, minimal text, and a clear call to action on the final slide.

Delivery skills: rehearse aloud, time the pitch, make eye contact, slow the pace, and prepare answers to likely questions.

Team roles for collaboration: project lead, creative lead, finance/admin, and communications; each role has defined deliverables and deadlines.

Project management basics: task list with owners and due dates, milestone reviews, and a shared file-naming and version convention.

Handling questions: restate the question, answer briefly with evidence, and if unknown, say so and commit to following up.