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| Published in: Business Opportunities
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Depending on your personality, you can choose to be in the limelight or offer support services.
Irrespective of which business you decide to go into, there are a few generic points to consider on your way to success.
1. Specialise
When you first start out, try and specialise in a particular industry.
Get as much experience in your field as possible. This will stand you in good stead when the time comes to expand.
2. Start small
If you have dreams of running a group of DJs catering to festivals and clubs, start small by getting gigs at local weddings, engagements and 21st birthday parties.
Pretty soon friends will be recommending you to their friends and family and before you know it your customer base will have exploded.
3. Be contactable
Make sure that clients can reach you easily. This means email, fax machines and telephones.
There is nothing more unprofessional than being unreachable or unable to send a quote.
4. Spread the word
Put a lot of energy into your marketing strategy. Set up a website, generate business cards, or hand out leaflets to everyone who will take one. A great idea is to approach schools in your area and offer them discounted rates for functions. This will expose you to a market which is constantly in need of entertainment services.
5. Focus on the basics
In order to succeed every business needs a constant influx of new clients.
As your business grows you should get someone on board to take care of servicing the clients.
This will leave you free to get on with the important task of finding more clients.
Event photography
 Digital photography may be your path to success.
Gone are the days when tons of equipment was required for a professional photo-shoot.
Technology today has made it possible to take high quality pictures, edit imperfections out and print them all in the comfort of your own home.
A unique selling point may be to get a portable printer and produce high-quality pictures at the event you
are covering.
Becoming a DJ
 With the computer age firmly entrenched in everyday society, getting a decent DJ setup is not as expensive as you may think.
Gone are the days of carrying suitcases full of vinyl to parties with bulky turntables.
Most entry level computers can store more music you will ever be able to play at a gig and professional mixing software is freely available online on sites like www.tucows.com.
Coupled to this, speakers have radically come down in price allowing you to buy an entry level setup for less than you expect.
This will allow you to be mobile, able to do small venues and make money to invest in a bigger rig.
The old rig can then be used by new staff members allowing you to do far more events.
Children’s entertainment
 If you are good with kids then catering for their party needs may be a great way to supplement your income or build a solid business.
Start out slowly with face painting and balloon animals.
You can eventually move onto the bigger money spinners like jumping castles, clowns, catering and music.
To get a good idea of what kids like and respond to, the next time you are at a children’s party take note of what the entertainers and caterers do. Are they holding the children’s attention? If so, how?
It may also be a good idea to specialise initially and target a specific age group.
Create a basic plan for your act whether it is a petting zoo, a magic show, or music and singing.
Once you have a basic template you will need variations of it to fit the different parameters of each event like the number of children, their ages and space limitations.
Gift baskets
 You can provide your customised service to both businesses and individuals.
Gift baskets can be given any time of year, can fit many different budgets and can cater to a wide variety of preferences.
As a business owner, you can be creative with the products you offer and the markets you cater to.
To differentiate yourself, make sure you are able to fill custom orders.
This will stand you in good stead for specific launches, special occasions and company functions.
Firm favourites, like chocolate baskets with imported goodies and champagne, always sell well.
Themed Christmas or Easter baskets make fantastic corporate gifts.
Some other ideas to consider are wine and cheese baskets, coffee or tea lover’s gift baskets, champagne or beer and a pet gift basket. All it takes to make a unique gift basket is a little ingenuity and your personal touch. |
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