Being new to the business world, sometimes I feel like a small fish in a big ocean. That is of course a cliché statement, but true for there are those times that you just don’t feel like you have a unique way of selling yourself in the business world. I am learning that it just takes time, patience, getting your self out there and courage.
I am going to list for you what I have done so far to market myself since I am not in the mood to write paragraphs.
1. Got a kick ass website that is first on the list on google when you look up shiatsu, Victoria, bc, but you already know that since you are now reading my journal on the site. I have also set up this journal so that people can get to know me as well.
2. At my old location I had a sign made for my very large window by a company called Instant Signs, owned and operated by Dave Barrett. He doesn’t have a website yet but his number is 250 475-1008. He was very helpful and a nice guy. The prices were very reasonable too. A few weeks ago I had a new client come in; she had seen my sign a year ago but had not called me until just recently. It didn’t matter that I had taken the sign down and moved to a new place. She had kept my number and called.
3. I connected with the manager of Lifestyle Markets and asked if it were ok for me to do chair massage at their Douglas location. They said yes. Once a week I would go into the grocery store and give shiatsu 10-15 mins to people. A lot of the times I would just be a greeter and either help people find things or send them to people who could help them. I enjoyed being at the store, and had many clients come to see me because of the time I spent there. People who worked there were very supportive to me as well, and I highly recommend shopping there for they have an awesome selection on organic products, being an organic grocery store. www.lifestylemarkets.com I stopped doing the chair massage at the store, but it was a good experience. I learned how to talk to people about what I do and learned to be comfortable with what I do as well.
4. I have set up booths at health fairs and at an organic festival in the summer of 2008. http://www.organicislands.ca/ is the website for the festival. I will not be setting up a booth for 2009 but I am planning on attending for there are often amazing music and great presenters. I also had t-shirts made with my logo on it for this event, that I gave away during a draw.
5. Networking is a major key for marketing yourself. It is important to find networking groups, ones that you feel comfortable with. The first group I joined was called HOST, their website is http://hostvictoria.org/hostsite/index.php. I stop going to them due to life changes but I met some wonderful people who helped me in this business world. I have been offered to join other groups but the one I feel connected to at the moment is the Victoria Women’s business networking group. There website is: http://www.viwbn.org/index.html
Another really great group is green drinks, their website is http://greendrinksvictoria.ning.com/
Networking is also about being open to meeting people for tea and getting to know what they do in their job. It is about having good conversations and being interested in other people.
6. I have placed my brochure at many different stores. A couple of weeks ago I left some brochures at this coffee shop, http://khona.editnew.com/templates/textPage_2column.php?pageid=1 Khona coffee shop, which is just down a bit from my office space. Last week I had my first client come in from finding the brochure there. The coffee shop has a calming atmosphere, which is funny since coffee is so stimulating but it makes sense when you are in there. I like the waterfall wall display and the food they sell. The workers are also nice people. Last time I was in they were all wearing funky hats.
7. I led an all day workshop September 08 and plan on leading some more workshops in the future.
Marketing is about being creative. I am enjoying finding ways to help people find me. Marketing is about patience. Marketing is about trying many different ideas and letting go of the results. There is so much more I am learning about marketing and looking forward to sharing with you.