Root Bound or Rootless?

Three Steps to Business Health

Every now and then I will go out to the garden to trim a plant or add fertilizer and find that I’m able to lift a plant completely out of the dirt. The plant had appeared to be alive but was actually existingon air with no visible means of support. It’s roots had atrophied long ago.

As someone in the creative field of special events, it’s easy to focus attention on the excitement of current clients and projects – the green, flowering plant that lives above the ground — only to find that when business slows down its roots have died from lack of nutrients such as an ongoing marketing campaign. And when that happens revival efforts become difficult. 

It’s understandable. You got into this industry because of those adrenaline moments and crunch times that bring out all your passions. But there is a different type of creativity and excitement to be found in building marketing campaigns. They just take a little more work and a little more time at the foundation level (or, using the analogy of the garden, in the dirt)!

Here’s some actions you can take now…

1. Practice business Pilates and get re-acquainted with your core

• Take a hard, honest look at your business. Does everything you do tell your story to the client?
• Consider what three descriptive words apply to your company and invoke them every time you reach out to a new client, take on a new marketing action, blog, or tweet. Such as: “My company is all about events that are hip, green and professional?”
• Have you marketed your assets to their full potential? Before adding on another service or going in a new direction, dig deeply into your core business and find new ways to market it.

2. Cultivate old relationships and build new ones

• Create face-to-face opportunities where possible. These could be as elaborate as producing your own happening for top clients or starting a workshop to as simple as calling someone for lunch or going to an industry event.
• Build a new community on Twitter and Facebook. Simple, effective, doable.
• Start a blog to keep things fresh. It will actually force you to look at yourself anew. You are the story and the brand — what do you want to say? This can be a very invigorating exercise and that excitement will extend to everything you do.

3. Reach out to the media

• Why not? It’s surprising how many people don’t send items and photos into the media. Just touching base with editors of targeted publications with a great idea or photo once a month helps you build a relationship, build name recognition with them and put you in their line of sight when they are looking for a source or story idea. And remember that bloggers are now media too!

It’s all about digging in the dirt, getting a bit messy, trying something new and always amending the soil with rich nutrients. You will be surprised at what new growth you’ll find for your business and for yourself personally.