Gallery Founders Playbook — Share the systems, templates & first‑year priorities that actually worked

Goal: build a practical, reusable playbook for opening, stabilizing, and growing small independent galleries. Please share concrete assets, short summaries, and measurable results so others can adapt them.

What to post (brief + one attachment/link if possible):
- First‑year priorities & week-by-week exhibition timeline (how you sequenced fundraising, buildout, programming, sales). Include square footage and launch date.
- Sample first‑year budget (monthly cashflow, breakeven month, assumptions). Note revenue streams and one‑time vs recurring costs.
- Consignment/representation contract clauses you rely on (split, duration, termination, reproduction/loan rights, insurance). Mark anything you’d change.
- Pricing tools or calculators (how you set retail, commission math, fair pricing across media). Share a sheet or formula.
- Marketing funnel(s): online + offline — sample cadence, channels, average conversion rates, and one campaign that moved the needle.
- E‑commerce & POS setup tips (platform, tax handling, shipping logic, inventory sync).
- Logistics vendors & insurance: who handled packing, shipping, customs, claims well for you (region-specific).
- Real results & lessons: sales run‑rates, avg sale price, % sales from collectors vs walk-ins, months to stable cashflow, top failures.

Please include these metadata with each post: gallery size (sq ft), city/country, annual revenue band (est.), business model (commercial/artist-run/nonprofit/online-first), and whether the asset is shareable for reuse (CC‑BY or private).

Start simple: post the single most useful document or clause you wish you’d had when you opened. Tag posts with region and gallery size. Looking for first‑hand, practical examples and short postmortems — not theory. Who wants to go first?