Planning For 2007
Although 2006 still has several months remaining, it’s time to begin the process of planning for next year. This is not a painful process, but does require you to sit down with a good cup of coffee and a notepad and do some creative brainstorming.
My getaway spot is our families’ property in the Northwest corner of Montana. No people, no noise, only the peaceful sound of the river as it strolls by our camp trailer. It’s the perfect place to disconnect from the world for a little while and free my mind from the chaos and hecticness that exists in my normal days. I make at least 2 trips there each year, and I always come away refreshed, full of great ideas, and ready to take on the world!
We all need to have that “perfect” place that we can escape to when we need to get some creative thinking done. It may be a mountain stream, or a condo on the ocean, or maybe it’s in you basement!
Before you can figure out where you want to go, you must understand where you have been and good “data” can help you with your journey. You will need to following…..
Total number of weddings photographed in 2006
Total revenues from weddings
Total number of families photographed
Total revenues from families
Total number of children photographed
Total revenues from children
Total number of seniors photographed
Total revenues from seniors.
Once you have this information you can easily figure out what your average is for each category. That will be your jumping off point for setting some goals for 2007. Here’s some questions that you can ask yourself…..
How many weddings/families/children/seniors do I want to photograph next year?
What will my average be for each category?
What major equipment purchases will I make next year? How will I pay for those purchases?
How many days OFF do I want each week?
Will I be hiring any new employees next year? What will there job description be?
What do I want to make next year?
How many weeks of vacation will I plan for next year, and where will I go?
What educational events will I attend next year? How much will that cost?
These are but a few questions that you can ask yourself about what you will do with you business next year, but the most important thing is to ASK! Without going through the motions of brainstorming like this, the direction of your boat will be left to the winds, and I don’t know about you…....but I like to have control over my business.
Otherwise, the business runs you instead of you running the business!
Good luck with you thinking, and I hope you reach for the stars next year!
Power Selling!
Mitche Graf
Georgia School
I went straight from my workshop in England to the PP of Georgia School in Helen, Georgia. We had a completely full class, and by weeks end we were one big happy family! From almost the entire class taking a dip in the chilly river outside of our hotel, to taking a field trip to the wonderful downtown of Clarksville, to eating tasty southern cookin’, it was a fantastic experience!
My students were some of the best the Southeast has to offer, and I was honored to be able to spend an entire week with them. I always take away FAR more than I give, and this group had some great ideas that I will be able to take back to my business. Thank you all!
Now, I’m home for a few weeks before the Power Marketing Super Conference www.powermarketing101.com June 4-7. That is shaping up to be a great event, and I hope to see many of you there! Registration is open right up until the day of the event, but preregistration is recommended.
Spring is in the air, so make sure you spend some time outside in our beautiful weather and take advantage of this time of year! The outdoors is what keeps me recharged and looking forward to each and every day!
Power Selling!
Mitche
UK Workshop
I’m sitting here in O’Hare Airport on the way over to Manchester, England to spend a few days with some wonderful photographers from the UK.
Last I heard we had 17 signed up, which is the perfect size for an intensive 3-day workshop. Many of the students attended one of my 1-day seminars from last fall, so it will be good to see my new friends again. I LOVE IT! Photographers that want to learn marketing, sales, pricing, and making money! None of that boring posing, lighting, Photoshop or actions!!!!
We begin first thing on Tuesday morning, which is really midnight my time…..arghhhhh!
Until then, keep the passion!
Mitche
WPPI On The Horizon!
Well, it’s been a VERY crazy month since the last time I gave you an update on the happenings in the Graf world. As soon as I returned home from giving programs at SPI, the UK National Convention and Imaging USA, I had to prepare for a week-long PPA school in Cape Code, Mass. (NEIPP).
My students at NEIPP were awesome, and I look forward to staying in touch with them in the coming months to see how their studios are progressing. I even “took the plunge” and jumped into the ocean as part of the annual Polar Bear Plunge. What a crazy group! There was even a group of photogs that took a second jump into the ocean (the Grizzley Bear Club), and an even smaller group that went back an insane 3rd time! (the Kodiak Bear Club).
It has become an annual tradition for the students and instructors there, and as long as you don’t think too much about it, it’s not that bad! Ya, right!
Now, I am sitting at the airport getting ready to head to Omaha and spend a few days with the Heart Of America group before making the trek down to Las Vegas for the WPPI Convention.
If you plan on attending, you will NOT want to miss the opening program that Calvin Hayes and myself are putting together. Complete with a world-renowned magician to open the program, lots of beach balls, door prizes, and of course loads of fun! For those of you who know Calvin, you can attest to his endless well of energy and enthusiasm that he puts into each and every day. It has been a dream of mine for quite some time to be able to do a program with this wonderful human being, and I am humbled that he agreed to help do the opening program. Next Saturday at 4pm. DON’T MISS IT!
Now the important stuff!...........Jaycee will be 11 months old next week, and she is just about walking on her own without the help from good ole Mom and Dad. She is changing so much every day that I sometimes wish I could slow down time so I can savour the time with her a little bit longer.
The flowers in the yard are all coming up and spreading their colors like magic, which makes my day when I look outside each morning. Most mornings in Portland are filled with fog, but on those rare days where the sun shines through, it makes the world a little sweeter place!
On a more subdued note, I want to make sure that all of you are keeping Joe B. in your thoughts and prayers. He successfully made it through his heart surgery and will now begin the task of rehab and getting back to normal. He is one of the most caring and giving individuals you could ever know, and I know we all wish him a speedy recovery. See you soon Big Joe!
That’s it for now…....hope to see you in Vegas next week. Stop by and say hi if you get the chance. Our booth is #101.
Until next time, keep moving forward and may your days be full of passion!!!!
Mitche
Power Marketing Super Conference
We finally have the information for this year’s PMSC! It will be held June 4th-7th at the Resort At The Mountain in Mt Hood, Oregon. 4 days and 3 nights of intensive sales and marketing education! What could be better than that!?
Check out the line-up….Larry Peters, Sandy Puc’, Bruce Hudson, Skip Cohen, Greg Stangl, Kevin Casey, Sarah Petty, and myself. We also have a few surprises to announce later this spring, but the main part of the line-up is complete!
There will be a very good trade show with vendors from all over North America, live music, a magician, a golf scramble tournament, live auction, a marketing exchange, plus lots of other great activities.
For more information you can log onto www.powermarketing101.com and click on the PMSC link. You can even register right from the website.
For those of you that have been to this event in the past, you know what a great time this will be! Lots of learning, friends, and of course a great time! Hope to see you all there!
Mitche
Daytona Beach, The UK, and Austin!
Man O Man! What a trip…...3 programs in 7 days, plus about 20,000 miles in the air!
It all started in Daytona Beach for the annual SPI Convention that Ed Burns puts on. What a wonderful event it was, and the photographers there were truely amazing. Great weather, a fantastic turnout, and one of the best folio competitions I have ever seen. If you are not already a member of this wonderful group I recommend you check them out! www.spiinfo.com . Michael Redford, Vicki Taufer, Ellie Vayo, Colleen and Darty, plus several others put on a tremendous educational event.
From, there I was whisked away right after my program on the H&H jet to Atlanta so I could catch the last plane to the UK on Thursday night. My program in England was scheduled for Friday afternoon at 4pm, and the only way to make the connecting flight was to catch a ride on my lab’s lear jet. Without the graciousness of Wayne Haub and the staff at H&H Color Lab, this would not have been possible. They went above and beyond the call of duty to help me out, and this is the exact same way they treat all their customers at the lab….LIKE GOLD! A big thank you goes out to them!
It was all working out well, untill I arrived in Paris…....I missed my connecting flight to England and had to call and notify the organizers that I would not be able to make it in time. Thank goodness my friend from down under Malcolm Matheson voluteered to step in and do my program, and I took his spot on Saturday. Thank you Malcolm!!!!
The convention had over 3400 photographers from all over the world. Phil and Juliet Jones did a bang up job in putting their convention together, and it looks like next year will be even better as they are moving to London!
Bambi and I shared a booth at the trade show selling our educational products and meeting new friends from all around the globe. One thing I can tell you is this….....if you ever get Bambi around a jar of Fart Puddy, watch out! She’s deadly!
On the last night in town, Bambi and her husband Steve, Michael VanAuken and his wife Peg, and myself had a marvelous meal and several bottles of wine at a quaint little country inn and reflected on our experiences there. What a great way to finish up the weekend! Great food, great friends, and of course a Cuban cigar!
I then headed back to the states for our PPA Convention. I gave one of the Bonus Programs for the pre-convention Business Modules, then stayed to enjoy the trade show and some of the other programs. WHAT AN AMAZING SHOW! Over 7000 in attendance and the energy was non-stop. Next year IUSA will be back in San Antonio, Texas and it promises to be even bigger yet.
When I finally made it back home on Wednesday, January 25th, it had been 14 days since I had seen my beautiful wife and my 8 month old little girl…...I decided that from now on, any trip that I take that is over 7 days in length, the girls are going with me! Life it too!
Anyway, now I’m home for a few weeks and I’m really looking forward to chillin’ for awhile. Teaching is very fulfilling, but there is nothing in this world better than holding your baby in your arms after a hard days work! That’s as good as it gets for me!
Talk to you soon!
Mitche
UK- Day #2
I should have known better! It all looked soooo good on paper. The plan was to finish up my program at SPI in Daytona Beach, then jump on a plane to Birmingham, England immediately after so I could do the opening program for their National Convention the next day. Needless to say, I had to go through Paris before coming to England. I always thought I wanted to take a vacation in France, but have changed my mind! They are not nice people at all….especially to Americans!
I missed my connecting flight, and didn’t get in until 3 hours after when my program was suppose to start. Good ole Malcolm Matheson from Australia jumped in and filled my spot, and I took his spot this morning at 7am. Bambi spoke yesterday as well, and Dave Newman from the states is also on the roster.
I will be sharing a booth with Bambi at their trade show for the next 2 days, then heading to Austin, Texas on Tuesday for the IUSA.
Raining, gloomy, foggy, etc…..reminds me of last week when I left Portland, Oregon!
Mitche
Comment [1]
January Road Trip!
In about 4 days, I’m leaving on a 2-Continent, 3-City speaking trip and I’m already starting to miss my 8-month old little girl and wife. The time on the road will give me the opportunity to get in some good writing (without crying in the background) and some great reading….....but without my girls around it’s not quite the same.
They won’t be going with me on this particular trip, but will have the chance to travel with Daddy on 14 other trips I will be taking in 2006. That makes it all worth it to me! While Dad is working during the day, the girls will be site-seeing and checking out the local sites, then at night we all have the chance to catch up and enjoy some good ole “family time”.
I would love to hear stories about the birth of your first child and how it affected your outlook on life! Your work, your goals, your inspirations, etc….
I will be blogging during my trip and may even snap a few photos to upload from my trip to Daytona Beach, the United Kingdom, and Austin! Talk to you from the road!
Mitche
Happy New Year!
I want to wish each of you a Happy New Year and the hopes for the best year ever in 2006! Most of you are probably feeling a bit of a let-dwon after the big Christmas push, and are now looking forward to some down time to recharge your batteries and take a much-needed break.
During your quiet time, I challenge you to think about not only your business, but also your life. Are you getting everything out of it that you want out of your personal life? Are there things that you once did that have been put on the back burner because your studio has taken up 7 days of week of your time? If so, then it’s time to change!
You have the ultimate power to dictate your schedule, and what you do with your time. This is a GREAT time of year to re-evaluate your priorities and set in motion some new positive habits.
One of the new habits I will be creating this year is to get the the health club more than 1-2 times per week. My goal is to increase that to 4-5 times, even when I’m on the road. It’s very easy to fall into the trap of “I can’t work out today because I have those files to retouch, or I have to walk my dog, or I have to go in for hair transplant surgery”! DON’T LET ANYTHING INTERFERE WITH YOUR GOALS THIS YEAR!
I am really looking forward to the brand new year with vigor and excitement, and hope you are as well…..
Make it a GREAT day!