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Last Halloween I had an unexpected thought about creating opportunities. Inspired by one of our trick-or-treaters.
I always enjoy the kids. Same with you? A few years back I wrote about kids and their Halloween costumes, and here are some of our recent trick-or-treaters, with visiting dignitaries.
This year my wife, mother-in-law, and I sat in our patio and greeted the kids with a basket of candies as they visited. One little girl looked in the basket and cried, “Oooh! I love Milky Way! I’ve been hoping I’d get a Milky Way tonight!”
What a bonanza! Her good luck just fell out of the blue, and she didn’t have to create opportunities. She easily could have gone Milky Way-less all evening.
She made me think about how differently my colleagues make a living. Many of us are entrepreneurs — like photographers, florists, and wedding coordinators. Most of the rest are employees — like hotel catering managers and country club event planners.
Regardless of whatever once motivated us to get involved with our current careers, we’ve also become skillful in helping our dreams come true. In other words, creating opportunities for ourselves. Like the hunter-gatherers who lived thousands of years ago, I’m constantly seeking and collecting. For me, it’s ways to meet people planning a wedding or a party. To be successful, we all need to keep our schedules full, and just wishing and hoping isn’t enough.
Of course, first we need to become experts in our field. But also we must become adept at promotion, marketing, advertising, sales — everything that encourages people to buy our products or book our services.
Creating opportunities isn’t simple, but it isn’t rocket science, either. Seems to me it’s just a few basic principles, lots of ingenuity and passion, and lots of practice and patience.
I don’t mean to sound overly crass and materialistic, but we all need to be savvy about baiting many hooks and tossing them where the fish are.
Bottom Line: To remain in business, even experts must create opportunities for themselves. It isn’t enough to cross our fingers and cry “Trick or treat”! Right?
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Meanwhile, the Magnolia Jazz Band entertains at weddings and parties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. If you are ever nearby, you’ll love catching us in action, seeing and hearing us create a great mood.
How can I help you? Call 408-245-9120 or use Robbie@MagnoliaJazz.com. Planning a celebration? Ask about our availability.
