Quality over Quantity: The Importance of Putting Your Business’s Value First

Despite what Punxsutawney Phil saw on Groundhog’s Day this year, spring season is still just around the corner for event professionals. Whether there will be six more weeks of winter or not, there’s a good chance your business will see an influx of potential clients. This is nothing to be afraid of— if you have a ton of leads coming your way then you’re definitely doing something right! However, it’s good to keep in mind that you are only one person and even if you do happen to staff several employees, running your company ragged is bad for business.

While you may want to take on every project that falls into your lap, remember that you must uphold the promise you've made in assuring folks of your high-quality services. Here are a few things to always remember:

Always, always, always be wary of the accidental double booking. There’s nothing worse than having to call a client after finalizing dates because you realized you’ve already got a gig in the books on that particular day. Don’t think we’re questioning your expertise, but hey, we’re all human and we all make mistakes. This is why keeping calendars detailed and organized is absolutely vital, along with sharing them with any employees you may have so that they, too, are up to speed. Don’t forget that with Inspherio, double booking events is avoided like the plague.

Double booking’s unfriendly cousin— Overbooking. Oh yeah, there is definitely such a thing. Some businesses may thrive from keeping their calendars jammed packed, but that doesn’t mean it works for everyone. As a business owner, it’s important to know your limit. If you and all of your employees are working non-stop, at some point one, or all, of you are going to get tired and grouchy, which could ultimately result in the demise of the high quality services you promise to your clients. It’s easy to avoid this by simply setting a limit to how many events you do a week and if by chance you need to book extra, compensate by seeking extra help.

It’s okay to say “no” to a potential client. I know, this can always be a bit of an awkward situation. But you must etch into your mind that not all clients are going to be a good match for you and vice versa. Step back and take a look at your business, whether it be wedding planning, photography, videography, DJing— you’re doing something you’re good at for a reason. You’ve recognized this, started a business, and now you’re out there making the promise that you can deliver to clients the best of the best. If you happen to say yes to a client who expects something from you that you aren’t sure you are able to give at 100%, then you shouldn’t be working for them. This isn’t to say you aren’t good at the business, but rather a call of attention to the value of your business. Don’t debase that by contracting with a client that you know you won’t be able to satisfy.

Being busy is good, but we know that when it comes to planning events and making clients happy, getting sloppy just isn’t an option. We propose to you this Spring season that you give it your all while always remembering the importance of resting and recharging your batteries.

Don't forget you can manage your business better with Inspherio. Keep track of your events, clients, calendar, and so much more all in one program.

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Your Desk is a Double-Edged Sword

As a business owner, you must spend a great deal of time at your desk in order to build your business.  In this modern era, everything is moving online.  Your business prospects and colleagues are all on Facebook, your banking can be done remotely, and if you are ahead of the curve, you also use a web-based program to manage your business entirely.  

Although there are obvious reasons that it is very necessary to spend a considerable amount of time at your desk in order to run your business more efficiently, a recent article on Inc.com by Jessica Stillman cites several recent scientific findings that spending extended periods of time at a desk contributes to poor health and also poor memory.  
The idea that sitting at a desk all day is bad for your health is old news, but the fact that it can actually decrease your working memory is a little frightening.  The British Psychological Society's Research Digest explains that in a series of findings, working memory was much more accurate for all age groups while walking at their chosen speed.  

What does this mean for your business?  Obviously, you want to be in the best physical and mental condition in order to run your business appropriately.  Depending on your personality and preferences, you may be able to incorporate more activity to your typical business day through several different ways.  Not everyone can just go out and buy a Bicycle Desk and others may not be cut out for a Donald Rumsfeld style Standing Desk.  

It is important to take short breaks to walk around in order to boost your mental health and recharge your batteries so to speak.  Studies suggest that it can especially help to take a stroll outdoors for as little as 5 minutes to boost your mood for the day.  These simple activities throughout your day can help boost your overall performance in a similar way that taking a shower helps give you good ideas.  Sometimes when you step back and separate yourself from what you are focusing on, you can see the big picture more clearly.

Of course, when you do come back to your desk it also helps to use efficient programs to run your business.  If you are not already using the all-in-one solution to manage your business, you can try Inspherio for Free.
Inspherio is an All-in-One business management tool for event industry professionals.

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How to Become More Efficient in Your Business

Although Productivity and Efficiency are often used synonymously, they are not entirely same. Productivity is more about getting things done, efficiency is about the Way those things get done.  

If you are reading this blog, you probably have a business and that business is successful or at least becoming successful. So that means that you must be getting things done. Well, the tips below will help you make it more Efficient.

Always plan ahead. It’s best to pick the end of your workweek for this stage. (We don’t want to call it Friday, because we know that most people in the Event Industry are working over the weekend).  Sit down by yourself or with your team and go over your goals for the week, month or a year. Write them down and add them to the calendar. With SpanPlan, your team can share the same calendar to stay in-sync with your current agenda.

Adhere to your deadlines. Since you have written them in the calendar and everyone is aware that they exist, now is the time to plan according to the deadlines.  Make sure that you have all the staff and tools ready at the planning stage of the project.  That way there is less chance that you will be caught off guard in the middle of the project. (Think about it as if you are baking a cake and realize that you are out of sugar when all other ingredients are already in the bowl. Of course, you can run to the store, but will the cake be ready for the client to pick up on time? You are lucky if it will be. So, why stress out? Plan ahead!)

Respect other vendors’ deadlines and demand the same from them. If you are an Interior Designer and the Event Planner wanted you to have the space set up 3 hours before the event, have the room ready 3 hours before the event, not 2 or 2 and a half. The same for your table linen and chair covers rental company, they must deliver 2 hours before you start setting up tables.

Get organized (see our post about Organizing your business), remember: clutter on your desk leads to clutter in your head. So, do it now!

Keep personal stuff out of business hours. As we always say, it takes a long time to gain the concentration once you have been interrupted. It is especially challenging if you run your business from home. For this topic we will dedicate an entire blog post, so stay tuned.

We decided that every Friday we will be sharing tips that will help you grow personally and as a business. So, come back and check our blog every Friday.  Also, read our other new blog themes, every Monday and Wednesday.

At SpanPlan we always strive to streamline your work to free up your time for the things you enjoy doing. Now, see what efficiency solutions Inspherio can offer for You!

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8 Features You Could Use Now to Run Your Business

Wouldn't you like to have all your business information in one place?

The answer is obviously: Yes! The perfect solution is Inspherio!

So, what is Inspherio ?

Inspherio is an all-in-one Cloud based Business Management solution for the Event Industry professionals.

 With Inspherio you can:

• Manage your leads and all your communications with clients
• Instantly send pricing and packages with just a few clicks
• Collect information from your clients in real time with our exclusive KYE form.  You can customize the KYE questions as you want and also apply end dates for each of them.
• Generate contracts automatically with information from KYE form
• Put together payment plans for your clients and set dates automatically
• Send the contract directly and your client can view and e-sign the contract. You also have the option to print and fax the contract if needed.
• Manage all your finances from one place
• Stay on top of networking by using the exclusive Market Place to promote your business to other vendors

Here is the best part, with Inspherio you can custom create a website and it is included with your subscription!
You can program your current 'contact' form on your website to import incoming leads directly into the leads in your Inspherio account.
At the end of the year, or at any other time, see where your business is and how it is doing by taking advantage of our extensive reporting section.  Now being ready for tax season is a breeze!

For a quick tour of these features, check out our video above.

We have only included a few of the features Inspherio is capable of, it is a very extensive program, so click on the ‘Try’ button now to get started & learn more!   There is no credit card required to try it out!

Check out our Popular posts: 

How to Organize your Business

8 Things you are not doing if you cannot get your Work done

7 Better Business Tools

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How to Turn Any Feedback Into a Positive One!

Customer Service is one the most important tasks in your business regardless of whether you are a B2C (your direct customer is a final consumer: Wedding Planner, Photographer) or B2B (your direct customer is a business: Party rentals, Florist) type of business.

Click Here to read our recent blog about handling customer complaints to learn some very important information about Customer Service.

Photos is a courtesy of Pixels On Paper. http://www.pixelsonpaper.biz

Today, we would like to talk about the times when the customer feedback goes public and the word spreads around. What to do and how to do it.

• As we mentioned earlier:  act fast. The faster you address the complaint the better.
• Contact the customer directly (if possible) asking for all the details of their complaint
• Start working on rectifying the issue, try to make it as fast as possible.
•  It is extremely important that the customer is satisfied with the recovery process.
• Go the extra mile, WOW your customer by anticipating the next step of the process or go beyond the usual line of service. For example, if you are a photographer and the bride is not satisfied with the picture quality. The usual step would be to make steps to improve the quality, if any way possible, and the extra step would be to mail picture copies to the relatives and friends of her choice at no cost.
• Depending on how the word got out, try to make an announcement via the same channel... i.e.: Facebook, Twitter, Yelp.  If possible, ask your customer to pass the word along that the issue has been rectified and to recommend your service in the future.

  Visit Inspherio for more ways to improve Your Business!

   

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