Southwest Chamber Music’s Summer Festival at The Huntington: 20 years of outdoor concerts included challenges of logistics, added lighting, and a large campus. Our budget included beautiful lamps, walkie talkies, drinking water, and blanket rentals for outdoor seating!

As one gathers ideas to begin a new venture, many questions surface. What do you want to do? Is your idea unique? Where is the best location and when should we begin? Who can I ask to help? And, what resources are available?

Ah, “resources.” This often becomes a code word for “where’s the money?” Even if you are beginning with funds out of your own pocket, you need many resources to support your idea. And, I wish to stress, the idea MUST always come first. A quick route to mediocrity is finding money first and then deciding what you can afford. A strong idea will always generate the resources —…