계획을 세워서 지키는 사람이 얼마나 있을까..?
이번에 신년때 계획을 세우는 사람은 분명 엄청나게 많을 것이다!! 그러나 얼마나 지킬까?!
흡연하는 사람들은 이번에 금연하겠다고 계획을 세울것이고..ㅋㅋㅋ
나같은 경우는 오히려 잉여시간을 줄이는 것으로 계획을 세웠다.. ㅋㅋㅋ
생각보다 잉여시간이 너무 많아서 하루가 비효율적인 날이 간간히 있기때문에.. 그것이 오히려 나를 작게 만드는듯!!
이번년도에는 더 열심히 살고, 더 중요하고, 선택의 기로에서 서있는 입장이니까 어떤 선택을 하든 후회만 하지 않게 열심히 할것이다
I am planning a trip to Disney World with my family, and am very excited! Over the past few weeks and months, we have visited our travel agent and have made our reservations for airfare and accommodations. Anyone who has been to Disney World knows that it’s not just a “sit by the pool all day and enjoy cool refreshing beverages” kind of vacation…especially with kids. It’s a lot of planning: from booking dining reservations, getting Fast Pass times for attractions, and knowing what parks we are going to visit on certain days. When it is all said and done, I will probably need a vacation from taking the trip, but I know all of this work will be worth it for the enjoyment of my family.
But what if I didn’t do all of this pre-planning? What would happen when I landed in Orlando and got off the plane? What would happen if I didn’t make the dining reservations or Fast pass arrangements? What if I didn’t book the breakfast with the Princesses for Madison? Sure, my family and I would probably still enjoy ourselves because it’s Disney World. But we would probably spend the majority of our time standing in long lines for attractions and not enjoying all that Disney World has to offer, and we probably would spend a little more money on the trip too because of the unexpected expenses that could come up due to not planning ahead. Furthermore, we would miss so much of the experience of Disney if we just did things spontaneously.
My trip to Disney World has some bearing to our DJ businesses and how to improve your business. But first, I think it’s important to note that the Small Business Administration indicates that 12% of businesses fail each year, and that ONE HALF of the businesses in the United States survive more than 5 years. That number decreases to one third after 10 years. There are a variety of factors, but you are probably wondering “How can I make sure my business is around in 10 years—or more?” You may even look at those statistics and be looking for the “quick fix”—the things that will help improve your business for the short term. My seminar, “5 Things You Can Do to Improve Your DJ Business Starting Tomorrow,” at Mobile Beat Las Vegas will help with that. But today, here’s something to get you started.
One of the first steps to improving your business is to know what goals you are going to achieve and how you intend to achieve them. I think it’s fair to say that most mobile DJs who are operating a DJ business know a few things:
They know how they intend to operate their business
They know what kind of events they would like to target
They have a set number in mind when it comes to the number of events they would like to book
They have long-term business goals that they believe will ensure their business will not fail
If you’re reading this, and you don’t know any or all of the above, then you have your work cut out for you. If you don’t have a business plan that includes information about your long-term goals and how you operate your business, your chances of surviving five years will decrease, because you will not have any idea of where your business can go. Your business plan should also include information about how you will survive financially.
Once you have that together, your next move is to build your strategy. A strategic plan includes the short-term goals that will help you in achieving your long-term goals, so your business will survive. If your goal is to book 30 weddings a year, then you need to plan out how you intend to make that happen. (Most people in our industry will agree that doing nothing and waiting for the phone to ring probably will not work!) Will you do online advertising or bridal shows? Spell out what steps you will take to get it done.
The best part about goals and making a strategy is that it is not too late to make them: You can start today—or tomorrow. By putting them in place, you should be on your way to improving your DJ Business. To make sense of all of this, consider this analogy based on my upcoming trip to Disney World:
The business plan is similar to the plan we had to go to Disney World, which included picking the dates, looking at hotels, airfare and how much it was going to cost (and even figuering out how we would pay for it! All of this is done with the goal of creating a fun vacation with my family at Disney World.
The strategic plan is similar to the reservations, Fast Pass appointments, and the planning out of which resorts we intend to visit on certain days. It’s also the “To Do” list, including booking the trip and airfare, packing for the trip and all of the preparations we need to make beforehand.
I invite you to join me at Mobile Beat Las Vegas for my seminar, where I will share my complete set of five ways to improve your DJ business, starting tomorrow—and I’ll even tell you about my trip to Disney World if you ask. See you there!