Preparing for the New Season
 by Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional

Every season has a beginning and an end.  When your season begins and ends is up to you.  In the global diving community, seasonality curves may differ, based on your geographic location, the stakeholder group you are associated with, or your sales and activity history.  Your season could begin or end on a calendar basis, coincide with a social event like the beginning of the school year, or be aligned with an industry trade show, like Surf Expo or the DEMA Show. 

Regardless of when your season begins and ends, your beginning should be signaled as a fresh start for both your company and your customers.  Starting fresh gives us the optimistic feeling that things are going to be better in the new season.  It’s a brand-new day and a new beginning kind of feeling.  I learned a valuable life lesson while reading a book called Holy Moments by Matthew Kelly.  I learned that every day is a new beginning and according to Kelly, “What matters most is what you do next.”   I took that advice to heart and now apply it to every new beginning, regardless of whether it’s a new day, week, month, or year.  Applying it to the beginning of every new season gives me a great psychological heads-up when I am starting a new season.

So, how do you get ready for the new season?  When we (my brother and I) started a new school year, my parents made sure we were physically ready and had seen our doctor, dentist, and barber.  Then we went shopping for new school clothes and school supplies.  When we arrived at school, we got our new books and study materials.  Today, getting ready for the new season is going to be a lot more involved than what it was as a child.  Maybe this is a good time to create a check list or a to-do list.  You may also want to create a not-to-do list!

Start with your business tools: Business is conducted by using business tools and marketing technologies.  Needless to say, our business tools get old, stale, and lose some of the speed and productivity they once had.  If we haven’t used a tool or technology frequently enough in the past season, they may or may not be operating at 100% capacity.  Now is the time to check them.  You should have listed all of your business tools and technologies in a company asset file.  I have them listed in our company’s “Playbook.”  Make sure you have the company and its contact information and any account numbers and user-names and passwords that belong to you.  It’s a good idea to log-in the date you first purchased the tool or program. 

Hardware & Software: Businesses are like people.  The older they get, the more baggage they have.  Baggage, unfortunately, gets worn, torn, and tattered with time.  Some of it becomes less effective or even useless with age.    Much like a boat, the less it gets used, the more maintenance it needs.  All of the hardware you use in operating your business should be checked.  That includes computers, monitors, printers, desk phones, mobile phones, iPads, and all of your electronic devices and accessories.  Make sure all of your software is current and in proper working order.  Is it the latest version or no more than one version less than the latest?  Much of the computer programs and mobile apps are offered in a monthly lease program.  This ensures that we are always using the most current software version available.  But you still have to check that you are familiar with and understand the current version.

Internet Accounts:  Internet accounts are something that business owners need to stay on top of.  Internet companies come and go, and in this day and age can be almost impossible to keep up with.  You don’t have to use all the programs that are available to business owners. You only need to use the ones that are a benefit to you.   As an example, if you use Facebook, make sure that your profile or business page is up-to-date and that you are posting to it often.  The last thing you want is a facebook page that hasn’t been used in two years.  Look at your account and try to see it through the eyes of your customer base.  Will your facebook page make you look good or bad?  If you haven’t posted to it in years, would people think your company is out of business?  The same thing goes for all of the other marketing and social media accounts.  If your not using it to its full extent, you may rethink using it at all.

Industry Contacts and Databases:  Before you do any business in the new season, make sure your contact databases are current.  Check to make sure the Key People in your supply chain are still your immediate contacts and that you have their current contact information.  People in the diving industry do switch companies, retire, and die.  Make sure you still know who’s who.  Most importantly, make sure your CRM database is current.  Your current customer list should be up-to-date.  If it isn’t, you have not been doing a good job of staying in touch with them.  Next, look over your former customer list and make any adjustments that are necessary.  Hold off on new customer contacts for now.  You’ll have plenty of time for that as the new season gets underway.

Give your Daily Operations a Once-Over:  Now that you have checked your tools and your contacts, it’s time to dry-run your daily operations.  This is your pre-season dress rehearsal.  Do a clean sweep of your physical location and make sure that the entire sales process of order entry, receiving, storing, merchandising, sales, shipping, and inventory control are in place and working as designed for peak performance.

Last But Not Least:  Before you start a new year or a new season, make sure you have closed the books on last year’s plans and have set new strategic goals and objective for the coming year.  But I am confident that if you have read this article this far and have prepared for the new season as recommended in the above text, you have already dealt with the pain and pleasure of strategically planning your new year.  If you have – You are my type of Dive Industry Professional.  If you have not – Please use our contact information below and call for an initial free consultation.  Have a great next season, and a successful one at that.

Become a Member of our Global Diving Business Network: Annual Membership in the Dive Industry Association is $125 and includes placement in a number of Trade Directories and websites.  Our organization uses websites and directories in advertising and marketing campaigns to refer business to our members.  By joining our network, you are becoming part of a network that works actively on your behalf to bring buyers and sellers together for the benefit and growth of the Global Diving Community.  Download a Membership Application today.

For more information about the Global Diving Business Network, contact Gene Muchanski, Executive Director, Dive Industry Association, 2294 Botanica Circle, West Melbourne, FL 32904.  Phone: 321-914-3778.  Email: gene@diveindustry.net 
                                           Web: www.diveindustry.net  

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