So you want to produce your own play (Part 2)

2. Do the math.

How do you plan for success? Simple. By putting together a budget.

It doesn't have to be anything fancy, but it does have to include a reasonable estimate for each of the expenses you expect to incur. For us, those were rent, salary, set, costumes and advertising.

Here are our numbers:

Rent: $1000 (not including $200 security deposit)
Set: $500
Costumes: $500
Cast and crew: $800
Advertising: $200

Total: $3000

Now the big question: can you sell enough tickets to cover your expenses? We were overly optimistic. We thought we could sell 300 tickets at $15 a pop. That would have given us a total of $4500.

We ended up selling only 210. But our expenses came in a little lower too, which is what allowed us to turn a profit. I'll go into more detail in a future post.

Don't spend a dollar of your money until you've put together a budget. And make sure the numbers are realistic.