Sales are up, networking bears fruit, marketing looks good, but hiring brings some trouble.
The summer finally ended here in New England, and the leaves are turning with a distinct autumn chill in the air.
I have finalized the figures for July and August and I was more than astonished. In July we were up 43% compared to 2009, and in August we hit a 48% increase. We also saw a 25% increase in the average trip price which shows that the higher paying jobs are increasing, which pushes up the average.
Weddings slowed down for the first two weeks of September as well as everything else. It was a couple of very scary weeks with very little work. It came back full force and even our traditionally slow days are booked up.
I have still not bought into a wedding show yet. I need to just pick one, break the ice, and see how I do.
The marketing firm I am working with has redesigned my overall look so we have done postcards and business cards, and an Internet marketing campaign. We are working on Facebook, Twitter, and my web site, and we are creating a blog. This has kept me quite busy.
I held my first meeting as the new chair of the Executive Women’s Network. I had two mayors as my speakers and more than 80 people in attendance. It was a great meeting, resulting in two new clients one being corporate. As a result of the success of this group, the Working Women’s Network has asked me to be a board member. I am also the new treasurer of the Leominster Small Business Association and one of the founding members, which has brought me a great deal of business.
As for my livery association, New England Livery Association, I am working on a committee to produce the membership directory, volunteered at the golf tournament and chauffer appreciation day, which was held in the limousine lot at Logan International Airport in Boston.
My volunteer work is personally rewarding, and as the revenue figures show, is also working well for the business. I can’t wait to see how the new Internet marketing campaign affects our revenue.
On the darker side, we are still having trouble with hiring. We were also brought into court by a worker’s comp claim for an incident that happened before I owned the business. We are still working through this with much expense. I hope everyone is doing well, and a happy autumn to you all,
— Becky Laramee, ALL POINTS LIMOUSINE, Leominster, Mass.
Print | posted on Friday, October 29, 2010 10:32 AM