How to Work With Leads

Let’s talk about Leads today!

There are few ways you can work with leads via Inspherio:

As a part of your Inspherio subscription you can have your own website. You can use the “Contact Me” form to collect leads from visitors that come to your website, those leads will then appear in the Incoming Leads section of your Inspherio account.
You can Embed the HTML code, to enable your existing website to accept leads and to directly import them into your Inspherio account.
You can also create a “Contact Me” link to your Inspherio account from your existing website.
If you want to transfer a number of leads from another program you can do that by uploading a .CSV file; just follow the program prompts. Voila! All your Leads are now in your Inspherioaccount with just a few clicks.

For more ways to organize your business visit our website and our blog. 

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How to Organize Your Home Office

Is your business growing? 

But is it still not big enough to rent a space in an office building? Then you are, probably, working from home. 
As a part of our “Improve yourself –Improve your Business Friday” we have researched these tips for Event Professionals that work from home.

Just like in any other office, you must plan your day. Your day must not include house tasks; working hours should be for work only.

Dress for the job, just as if you were going to work at a traditional office. Get up at a certain time, shower, and get dressed. You have to feel professional to be professional.

Create a work space that is used for work exclusively. Preferably, isolated from other areas of the house, such as a separate room or a part of the room sectioned off with a divider of some sort.  As a self-employed individual, you are entitled to a tax write-off for a home office as long as it is exclusively used for your business.  Working near a stove in the kitchen, is usually not a good idea, you will have hard time concentrating.

Know your business budget and arrange your office accordingly. To save money, it’s better to buy used furniture or re-purpose items that are already in the house. Buy supplies at warehouse stores in bulk to always have plenty at hand. Decide how much time you spend in the office. If you spend very little time in the office, pay less money for office equipment, such as desktop computer and office chair, invest, instead, into mobile assistance: cloud-based software such as Inspherio, a tablet, and car office organizer.

Not having a traditional office space does not mean that you would not have traditional business etiquette. Keep in touch with your clients just like you would in a regular office; return their calls and e-mails promptly.  To stay on top of your clientele needs and to schedule your appointments on the go more efficiently, click here.

Structure your family and personal time; get a baby sitter, house help, etc. if needed to concentrate on working during working hours. On the same note, devote ample family time during non-working hours, since working from home can sometime erase the boundaries of a work day there is a risk of working from home around the clock.

Just as we mentioned in our Efficiency blog plan ahead and set your goals, challenge yourself to achieve and surpass them.

Reward yourself for the job well done. You have to remember if you do not have a conventional boss to pat you in a back and give you a bonus at the end of the month, you have to do it for yourself. Well…, bonus, depends on your direct earnings, but reward yourself with a purchase, new fancy camera lens, for example, trip with your family or other things that inspire you to do more.

Remember to network, find vendors and clients and keep in touch. The unique "Marketplace" feature within Inspherio can make this process very easy for you.

To network, get tasks done, and stay on top of your business with ease, get Inspherio now! See what great features we have to offer, click here.

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Green Trends in the Event Industry | Catering

Today we will continue our conversation about Green Trends in the Event Industry.

This time let’s talk about Catering.

First of all, Catering is about serving food and/or beverages, so it’s important that serving surfaces are made of environmentally friendly materials. Buy or build your tables, bar stations, chairs, etc. from Earth friendly material, such as reclaimed wood, bamboo, and recycled plastic. Also, tables that can be used without linen are great to reduce costs.

Use vegetable based ink to print menus, seat placements, signs and invitations.

Low wattage light fixtures will not only save you money by using less electricity, but also by emitting less heat, this will lower air conditioning costs.

For your menu, you could use natural, locally grown, preferably organic foods. Sometimes national producers of organic foods may raise prices, because the cost of organic food is much higher. So, instead of using well-known brands, visit your local farmers market, speak to vendors there, and check if they can cut you a deal with a long term contact. You may also check if a farmer would grow organic produce for you, in exchange for a promise/contact. Some catering businesses start to grow produce themselves, “in house” as we call it. This may be a great selling point for your business; if you would know exactly where the food comes from and how it was grown.

While serving, opt for glass bottles instead of plastic, they can be easily recycled. The same goes for dishes, stemware and silverware, use the ones that can be washed and used for the next function. Using, paper and plastic serving tools add to waste and increase cleanup effort.

Use pitchers instead of single serve bottles, rarely a customer would finish the entire bottle of water or soda during a meal. By offering a pitcher, you will reduce waste and save the cost of bottles that were thrown out half full. Also, ask guests whether they want water, instead of automatically bringing the water to them, by doing so, you will save gallons of water, plus you will have fewer glasses to wash at the end.

Try to use Energy Star Certified appliances in your business; they reduce energy cost and usually are more efficient.

If your catering business has a delivery car, opt for a vehicle that is fuel efficient and is the right size for the job.

We would like to mention that being Green is extremely popular today, if you adhere to environmentally friendly standards, you can use them to promote your business. Rest assured some clients will choose you over another caterer just because you use Earth friendly techniques.
Inspherio can also help your Catering business to be more environmentally friendly. Inspherio can optimize your schedule; send contracts to your clients, so you will have fewer trips to take every day. Our unique KYE form with customizable questions for your clients can build exclusive menu for your client, you would know exactly how many people to prepare for, what foods to stay away from and what foods/ beverages guests liked the most at the previous event. You can easily prepare for your event and wow your client, all without leaving your office. So, what are you waiting for? Check out what Inspherio can do for YOU now by clicking here!

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How to Create Great Invoices

Picture yourself after you have completed a big wedding, Birthday Party, Bar Mitzvah, etc. You have worked hard at the Event, the customer is satisfied and you go home to get some rest.

But, you’ve forgot one thing…

The invoice!

It is very important that the invoice is submitted to the customer in a timely manner. First of all, because you want to get paid sooner, second, it’s a vital part of Customer Service routine.

A rule of thumb for invoicing is that it should be in the customer’s inbox 72 hours after the event. However, depending on your business size and the arrangement with your customer it may happen sooner. We don’t recommend waiting longer than that, unless there are circumstances that are known and agreed upon by both parties.

To prepare a good invoice it is advised to use a professional program. That makes it more automated and looks more legitimate; see this video to learn how to create a quick and accurate invoice with Inspherio.

Your invoice has to have a unique Identifier: number or name, or both. That way, you can easily find a record of it anytime.

Look through all your expenses, add them up. Was there any extra money spent, overtime? Did you have any last minute additions and/or cancellations?

Check with all your vendors that have billed you for the event, then double check that those charges are correct.

Make sure that the Invoice is easy to read and to understand for your customer.

Is the information on your Invoice clear (amount, due date, acceptable methods of payment)? With Inspherio, your customer can pay you directly from the Invoice page by using PayPal, Google CheckOut or Authorize.net.

Double check mailing address/e-mail address before sending it over (you don’t have to worry about this step with Inspherio, the program will use the information from your Address Book.

We hope that this tip will help you along the way to grow your Event business. For more tips and trends in the Event Industry visit our website and our blog.

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