Sitting in the living room watching “The Making of UP” with my daughter. She’s booked in to see the film at the cinema this coming weekend. She can’t wait. Nor can I.
I’m reflecting on the last few days, all taken up with marketing and cup cakes.
First up was the BNI national conference here in Ireland. There were some phenomenal speakers and excellent networking opportunities. And the positivity was off the chart.
Mind you, it’s hard to be glum when you watch Dinah Liversidge walk on the stage, having just been told she spent 12 years in a wheel chair following a serious car accident in her early 20s. It’s even harder to be down when you here her talk about the time Virgin destroyed her electric wheelchair during a flight. It’s a remarkably uplifting story, best told by her so let’s just say that Virgin, and Richard Branson in particular, come out of it well.
Among the other great speakers were Frank de Raffele (who gave a superbly motivating and useful talk on the state of the economy, the future, and what happened when he took his daughter to see Cinderalla at Disneyland) and Iain Whyte (who last year rode a motorbike across the US – in a kilt).
From a personal point of view, the conference was great. I have confidence in 2010 thanks to some great contacts, which will help me build on some solid planning – provided I actually do the planning.
The general demeanour around the wedding fair in Cork that followed over the weekend was much less upbeat – in some quarters anyway. Looks like the wedding business is in for a rough ride in 2010 here in Ireland. This has been apparent among photographers for a while now. Everyone seems to be running at around 50% of where they were last year in terms of bookings.
My own thinking is that those photographers who can show a distinct style and offer unique products will ride out the storm. The casualties will be among the large group of wedding shooters who are pretty much producing carbon copy photographs in exactly the same albums as everyone else. The only way for them to differentiate is on price, and that’s a losing proposition for everybody – brides and grooms included.
Wedding photographers could learn a lot from the cake makers at the show. You’ve never met a more positive crowd (outside a BNI meeting, that is). Must be all the sugar or something. They seem to get on well with each other too, even sharing show stands, and are able to set themselves apart from one another by offering cakes that are unique to them.
They’re a generous lot too. We got a bunch of cup cakes to take away at the end of the show.
Chocoate cup cake from Karina's Cakes - (c) Roger Overall 2009
Butterfly cup cake from Flourishing Cakes - (c) Roger Overall 2009
They were gleefully received at home, I can tell you:
Vanishing cup cake - (c) Roger Overall 2009
My main take away from the last few days is this: be unique, plan and believe.
