Hi all,
On Thursday and Friday of this week I went to the internet show, a convention in Sydney. It was pretty exciting because this was the first official outing in which I represented Hale & Fun. It was also exciting because the only conventions I had been to before this were either as a University student or Sci-Fi and comic book orientated. So to be a real "grown-up" convention was pretty big.
Of course, anyone familar with Hale & Fun would know that our focus at the moment is not exactly strongly internet orientated so why did I go to this convention? Well, firstly I have always hoped that Hale & Fun will move soon into the field of on-line courses and Web series similar to those offered by some of the Universities (such as MIT etc) so I was very interested in some of the stalls that offered video hosting and editing. Definitely got some interesting food for thought for future directions for the business.
But secondly and more importantly, I am becoming more and more impressed by the importance of continually learning how to interact with different situations in running a small business. In particular, how to be the face of Hale & Fun. Conventions offer an excellent training ground for such activities. A huge room full of people all sizing you up and assessing your strengths and weaknesses (of course this could just be the result of my highly paranoid nature) so it works well as a training ground for selling the business time and time again (Without the fear of being knocked back or losing a potential client). I remember reading somewhere that when you are representing a business you need to be good at "elevator talk" - basically how to condense what it is your business does in a short paragraph that could be used to communicate to someone who you meet in a lift. Now beyond spending your day going up and down an elevator Conventions are probably the best place to practice this. After two days of intensive training I definitely feel more confident in my ability to articulate exactly what Hale & Fun is all about.
Oh, a small side note, I have always felt that the years of being a University student has refined and honed my skills of getting free samples and promotional merchandise (as well as food and discounts) to peak condition but let me tell you, I was a true novice with the skills of some of these convention attendees. You remember back when the Easter show wasn't so expensive that only those with a credit rating death wish could afford to go and there would always be someone who didn't know when to say enough at the showbag pavilion. Watching some of the attendees walk out of the convention with their booty I was reminded of those people. But this is not in anyway a criticism. I am more in awe with their skills and talent. I felt a little like how the character that Steve martin played in dirty rotten scandals when he discovered just how far Michael Caine had taken the whole thing. But once again, I must emphasis not bad mouthing them in anyway. Just very impressed.
Finally, updates on the business proper. The business cards have been inspected by focal groups and in general it seems to that they are fine. I guess my concerns were unfounded in that regard, although I think part of the "slightly off" feeling I was getting was from the fact that they appear to be slightly smaller than some other business cards, but this is hardly an earth shattering problem. One of the really freaky things about Vista printing is that once you order one item, they throw a thousand offers and deals your way (sad to say you cannot pick and choose between deals but it still makes for a pretty good bargain, if you dont mind waiting 21 days for the shipping and handling). I have ordered a couple of things that might make good promotional material such as keyrings, hats and so forth.
The brochure is done and completed. The designer was kind enough to send me an alternative version which has my signature and credentials on the back. I feel that this adds a bit more of a personal feel to the brochure while also making it look like i know what i am doing (I do know what I am doing if anyone was worried though). We decided to go with the A3 format simply because it looks better and the fonts and copy looks much clear. Now I just have to finish the introduction letters to go with them and we can start the mail out.
There are a number of grant opportunities around at the moment that Hale & Fun is very interested in (gee a small business interested in free money, go figure!). So I have also been busy putting together the applications for these. It would be very good to be able to get access to some "seed" funds particularly for the "Open day" style promotion drives we are planning as the next step of our marketing. With more money we could really do these events in style. If we were lucky to get access to one of the bigger grants I would almost be tempted to hold the open day not one of the retirement villages but at a local RSL or community center and invite the retirement homes representatives there, but i suspect that may be a case of putting all my eggs in one basket. I have also started researching potential clients in much greater details so when it comes time to contact them, i will be right up to date with all the relevant information on them. Nothing impresses a client more than that sort of intimate individual knowledge (I have been attending a number of webinars on attracting clients so I should know!).
Hale & Fun also sent out its first ever media release to one of the local magazines. It is called the beast and is pretty iconic in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney so it would be really good if we can get some exposure in there.
The website has also been reformatted in something called a dynamic format. Apparently this will make changes a lot easier for the web designer. It also has some slight changes to the design which will make navigating the page a lot easier as well.
We are continuing to expand our syllabus with more and more facilitators coming on board.
and that is about it. Oh except that today the Randwick Ritz is showing Ghostbusters on the big screen further cementing my love of Halloween!
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