11/26/21 Blog Continues
It’s been a very very crazy month. In preparation for starting up this business I had mentally prepared for a slow and sporadic start. Boy was I surprised with the activity that just flooded in. I was not prepared for this to take off like it did. Many things have had to change as the month progressed.
First: Time management has become critical! As the guests sign up for a tour, I need to make their reservations within the next day or two. I have found that I can’t wait until the day before to make those reservations. It has to be done almost immediately. It become to crazy to make the reservations the day before and then find out you have double booked or that it’s too late and then scramble to find a winery that will take last minute reservations.
Second: I need to put the guests packages together from the first moment. Trying to accumulate all the receipts from the tour after the fact is a bit of a nightmare. All of the receipts are emailed and need to be put together in a package for the book keeper to reconcile.
Third: I’ve got to spend about an hour on the computer for each tour package. Part of time management for sure. But the emails and receipts all have to get done and organized. If I do it immediately, when they book, its easier to keep track of all the receipts.
Fourth: Staying on top of detailing the van. The Van gets detailed before each and every tour. It is critical in my mind that the van is immaculate for each new tour. It makes an impression!
Fifth: Keeping the board up to date really helps keep track of all the tours.
Sixth: Weekly goals need to be achieved!
Seventh: This holiday week has slowed new tour sales to a drip. Need to stay on top of google and Yelp and facebook adds!
Eight: Photos need to be taken during every tour. Those photos and videos posted to facebook help tremendously. It also is a nice addition to the tour, that costs me nothing, but is nice for the guest to receive the photos at the end of the tour. It also keeps facebook page fresh and alive.
Nine: I’ve got to stay on top of inventory. I don’t want to order any more before the end of the year. I have to pay county taxes on physical inventory at the end of the year. I need to order more items for the gift bags, so it’s going to be a little bit of a exercise to get these items ordered but not in hand until the first of the year. Thinking out loud, that means holding out on the order until like the third week of December. These gift bags have been such a hit.
Tenth: starting this business has been scary. Business took off like a rocket this first month. But then I’ve had a slow week. I was expecting it to be slow the first couple months. But then the first month was busy and now I’m hitting a slow spot. My excitement with all the business did not prepare me for having a slow week and things slowing down. Mentally preparing myself for the slow response is necessary.
Eleventh: working with ADIQ is going to be a challenge. I know they are going to help me with my webpage my Facebook page Twitter Instagram. I need to stay on top of sending them material to keep these pages fresh. They have told me that they would get my ranking, or the placement of my page on Google searches, raised. I spent a lot to get them to help and manage these pages. There is a three week period where it seems nothing is happening as Google has a process to verify your business. Until that gets done, I’m kinda floundering. It is critical that I get my listing raised!
Well, there it is folks. Lessons learned, tasks identified, and work to be done. I have had a great Thanksgiving week, I hope everybody else had a nice Thanksgiving. However its time to get this thing kicked into high gear. My Goal for this upcoming week is to sell a minimum of Five tours. Starting today, until the fourth of December. Be safe, enjoy your families and time off, but give me a call and we will book a tour for you.We will talk again.