http://www.dogstarmediapreview.com/clientpreview/cosmeticchannel/preview.html
I have several tweaks for the design team on this design and the video is pretty raw. But, for those of you who want to start to visualize what The Cosmetic Channel™ will look like on your web sites... this is it.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Mark Your Calendars for September
September is going to be big! So mark these dates on your calendar.
Thursday, September 6. Each year this is one of my favorite days... the kickoff of the National Football League season. If you are a pro football fan, visit my blog on Fridays. (There will be no email alert on Fridays so you will have to remember on your own.) Each Friday, a select group of Dog Star Media employees, friends of Dog Star and Dog Star clients will stick their necks out in a Sudden Death Football Pool. So far, DSM employees Charlie Patric, Jason Lim and I are playing, Jennifer Jens the sporty girl from The Cosmetic Channel™ is in (watch out for her... she knows her football), DSM client Samir Pancholi from Cosmetic Surgery of Las Vegas is in and so are friends of Dog Star Mark Collins and Barry Williams. I am clearly the favorite as my lifetime percentage straight up (around 70%) will attest. The game is Sudden Death. Pick one winner per week and you can only pick each team once. Please no wagering. This contest is for honor only and anyone who wants to play is welcome to join. Just email me.
Saturday, September 8 - Dog Star Media will announce the upcoming release of a new product exclusively for doctors who perform liposuction. We will make the announcement at the Facial Rejuvenation Course held that weekend at Tulsa Surgical Arts. Once the announcement is made live in Tulsa, an email will go out to everyone in my blog email alert. If you perform liposuction, do not miss this annoucement.
Saturday, September 15 - The Cosmetic Channel™ goes live! Thirteen shows debut and the regular price schedule will go into effect. The early shows are great... very informative and entertaining. Nothing like you have seen before. Subscriptions are still available for cosmetic dentists and cosmetic surgeons at $240/month for the 12-month Season 1. If you are interested, email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Dog Star Media has some more cool things coming this fall. Stay tuned.
Thursday, September 6. Each year this is one of my favorite days... the kickoff of the National Football League season. If you are a pro football fan, visit my blog on Fridays. (There will be no email alert on Fridays so you will have to remember on your own.) Each Friday, a select group of Dog Star Media employees, friends of Dog Star and Dog Star clients will stick their necks out in a Sudden Death Football Pool. So far, DSM employees Charlie Patric, Jason Lim and I are playing, Jennifer Jens the sporty girl from The Cosmetic Channel™ is in (watch out for her... she knows her football), DSM client Samir Pancholi from Cosmetic Surgery of Las Vegas is in and so are friends of Dog Star Mark Collins and Barry Williams. I am clearly the favorite as my lifetime percentage straight up (around 70%) will attest. The game is Sudden Death. Pick one winner per week and you can only pick each team once. Please no wagering. This contest is for honor only and anyone who wants to play is welcome to join. Just email me.
Saturday, September 8 - Dog Star Media will announce the upcoming release of a new product exclusively for doctors who perform liposuction. We will make the announcement at the Facial Rejuvenation Course held that weekend at Tulsa Surgical Arts. Once the announcement is made live in Tulsa, an email will go out to everyone in my blog email alert. If you perform liposuction, do not miss this annoucement.
Saturday, September 15 - The Cosmetic Channel™ goes live! Thirteen shows debut and the regular price schedule will go into effect. The early shows are great... very informative and entertaining. Nothing like you have seen before. Subscriptions are still available for cosmetic dentists and cosmetic surgeons at $240/month for the 12-month Season 1. If you are interested, email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Dog Star Media has some more cool things coming this fall. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
What to do about business peaks and valleys.
I am always glad when we get into August. It means that I will hear clients talk less about business being slow. After working in the cosmetic dental and medical fields for a few years, I know that about the beginning of July, I will start to hear some nervous voices. I see the pattern each year and I try to remind my more long-term clients that we have similar conversations each year in early July through mid-August, despite good progress during the preceding year.
Peaks and valleys are common for all types of business. Although these fields are not seasonal, doctors and dentists are affected by Macro-economic trends and current conditions in their markets. In the past, Dog Star Media has worked with all sorts of small business fields including accounting, architecture and arts/entertainment. All along, we have said for years that the first companies to feel economic trends are small businesses. Unfortunately, small businesses are also the last ones to feel the recovery.
Take it from me. Dog Star Media has survived the Internet Bubble Bust and the 9/11 recession. I personally have analyzed our sales patterns over the years, so I know when and how the peaks and valleys occur. I recommend doing this to prepare yourself and your business. However, I get regular indications that most are not following that advice.
So, here are a few tips if you want to prepare yourself from next year. Your slow time is about to end, so I would begin planning now.
You could approach it like a former Dog Star Media accounting client.
This accounting client was so successful the practice was sold long ago. However, when they put in their marketing and web site strategies with us prior to the sale, they established a budget and saved the budgeted amount each month until they had a year saved up. Then, they bought the marketing program from us. The marketing venture did not cut into immediate cash flow.
Translated for this program: Look at the shortfalls you experience in your valleys. Divide that total shortfall from the mid-summer swoon across the 10 normal months of the year. Build up some savings each month to cover the shortfall in July and August. Build your shortfall into your budget and try to enjoy the time off in the summer. P.S. This worked for me this year.
#2) Recognize the cycles.
Do it yourself but ask your bookkeeper to chart your accounts receivable by month over the last few years. Look for the trends. Look for the recoveries. A lot of the nervous calls I get during the mid-summer swoon are rooted in the fact that most of the clients are projecting the shortfall to continue. You have to realize that a bad month or so, especially ones that you can forecast, are not the new level of production for your practice. I had a very successful client tell me once that, despite 15 years in practice with multiple locations, he sometimes woke up wondering if the phone would ring that day. Part of being a small business owner is having to bear those feelings. What works for me is remembering the time Amy told me I have to have faith in the business.
#3) Don’t knee-jerk with jump-start marketing during the swoon and don’t drop anything.
I tell clients all the time that marketing and media programs should be consistent over time. As a small business owner, you cannot finance a big enough marketing push to be worth it over a short time. This is especially so during a time that is usually slow anyway.
Hopefully, you are aware of all of this and you cope well with the annual peaks and valleys. If not, possibly you could use our coaching package from Dog Star Media. It is inexpensive and it tends to calm some routine fears. If you want to talk about it and cope better with the mid-summer swoon, email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com
Peaks and valleys are common for all types of business. Although these fields are not seasonal, doctors and dentists are affected by Macro-economic trends and current conditions in their markets. In the past, Dog Star Media has worked with all sorts of small business fields including accounting, architecture and arts/entertainment. All along, we have said for years that the first companies to feel economic trends are small businesses. Unfortunately, small businesses are also the last ones to feel the recovery.
Take it from me. Dog Star Media has survived the Internet Bubble Bust and the 9/11 recession. I personally have analyzed our sales patterns over the years, so I know when and how the peaks and valleys occur. I recommend doing this to prepare yourself and your business. However, I get regular indications that most are not following that advice.
So, here are a few tips if you want to prepare yourself from next year. Your slow time is about to end, so I would begin planning now.
You could approach it like a former Dog Star Media accounting client.
This accounting client was so successful the practice was sold long ago. However, when they put in their marketing and web site strategies with us prior to the sale, they established a budget and saved the budgeted amount each month until they had a year saved up. Then, they bought the marketing program from us. The marketing venture did not cut into immediate cash flow.
Translated for this program: Look at the shortfalls you experience in your valleys. Divide that total shortfall from the mid-summer swoon across the 10 normal months of the year. Build up some savings each month to cover the shortfall in July and August. Build your shortfall into your budget and try to enjoy the time off in the summer. P.S. This worked for me this year.
#2) Recognize the cycles.
Do it yourself but ask your bookkeeper to chart your accounts receivable by month over the last few years. Look for the trends. Look for the recoveries. A lot of the nervous calls I get during the mid-summer swoon are rooted in the fact that most of the clients are projecting the shortfall to continue. You have to realize that a bad month or so, especially ones that you can forecast, are not the new level of production for your practice. I had a very successful client tell me once that, despite 15 years in practice with multiple locations, he sometimes woke up wondering if the phone would ring that day. Part of being a small business owner is having to bear those feelings. What works for me is remembering the time Amy told me I have to have faith in the business.
#3) Don’t knee-jerk with jump-start marketing during the swoon and don’t drop anything.
I tell clients all the time that marketing and media programs should be consistent over time. As a small business owner, you cannot finance a big enough marketing push to be worth it over a short time. This is especially so during a time that is usually slow anyway.
Hopefully, you are aware of all of this and you cope well with the annual peaks and valleys. If not, possibly you could use our coaching package from Dog Star Media. It is inexpensive and it tends to calm some routine fears. If you want to talk about it and cope better with the mid-summer swoon, email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com
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