The Year in Review
2012 is history. Another fast flying year gone. 2013 has arrived and is a week old as of this post. 2012 was an outstanding year for us in terms of gigging, special events, and resetting business methods and goals. For a year that was steeped in anticipation for its hype of end-of-world implications, it was a relatively tepid year compared to 2011, which was a volatile year of mega-earthquakes, ongoing and non-ceasing Japanese nuclear meltdown disaster, Wall Street occupations, and world wide uprisings for better human, economic, and political conditions. 2012 didn't deliver the bang that was anticipated for years. The Mayan Calendar end of world December 21 came and went and we are plugging away yet again to another year in the making.
2012 was a turning point for our business. I started Smooth Groove Productions in 1999 and have had much successes as well as much challenges. During that time we went through the dot-com crash at the end of 2000 and a recession that resulted. 9-11 happened as well and further deepened the woes for the special events industry as well as most industries. The economy came back around the mid-2000's only to be hit with another recession beginning in 2007, and culminating in the fall of 2008 with the economic crash. That crash is still reverberating around the nation as well as the world. Unfortunately, this business that I am in is not recession-proof. The special events industry is especially vulnerable to economic decline. People are not as apt to using live entertainment and music for their events when the economy goes south. In a party you need food and a place to celebrate, but the live music/entertainment is one of the first things that gets dialed back or totally lopped off from an event budget. I spent much of my time during the recession years doing what I could to produce revenue and garner business. I understand what it means to work twice as hard just to get to "par". It's a tough battle. It isn't just the economy that has been challenging but the nature of business itself has been shifting and morphing. Business marketing has changed quite drastically since I started in 1999.
With the advent of social online networking such as Facebook and Twitter, the marketing landscape has transformed profoundly. When I began as a small business owner, e-commerce was not established yet. It was brand new and there was no precedent for it to determine what would happen. Back in 1999 print marketing material was the norm. I had great brochures, sharp looking marketing folders with inserts printed on thick quality paper, and the essential fax machine. I used to regularly mail heavy info laden promo packs to prospective clients. Now, other than printed business cards, all of my marketing and promo material is online. I still have an old fax machine, but rarely does it get used. Still, I have been behind the curve these last few years in making the transition from the old ways of printed marketing to fully leveraging the world wide web. I remember when I finally got a MySpace account it was on its way out. All of a sudden Facebook and Twitter are the things to be in. I personally don't gravitate towards these social online networks. I don't really engage in Facebook like many people do. I am quite ambivalent towards it and I seldom log onto my personal Facebook page. However, I do understand that having a Facebook and Twitter presence is important for business. Practically every business has the icons of these two social media behemoths on their products, signs, and websites. 2012 marked the year that I needed to catch up and become modernized in the current business playing field.
One of my biggest goals and intentions at the beginning of 2012 was to figure out what to do in regards to Facebook, Twitter, and any other relevant online tools to grow business. I saw a speaker back in February at
NACE my catering association. He spoke of the role of social networks and how important their role is. He also mentioned that maintaining a blog for your business was of utmost importance. See what I'm doing now?! This lead me to contact him and see if I could get on the right track. Being a small sole proprietor, I wasn't a qualified client for this person and his company. They deal with big companies. But, he referred me to an individual that could help me. His name is
Ben Rapson and he is a University of Washington grad who works with film and social media. He is very savvy and on the cutting edge on how to leverage social media and online marketing. I ended up hiring him to create and set up the
Smooth Groove Productions Facebook page and
YouTube channel. For a four-month period beginning in May, Ben managed my social media and acted as my voice on Facebook. He did a great job for me. At the end of our stint he moved on and got married and continues to do his numerous projects in film and marketing. I was fortunate to meet another individual who is just as knowledgeable with social media and could continue where Ben left off.
Carey Fuller is a contributor on Huffington Post and is a tireless crusader in advancing the causes for the less fortunate. She is also doing some PR work for a start-up record company that I have been a part of since March, which is how I met her. Carey is one of the most remarkable and interesting people that I have met. She has been managing on a weekly basis our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other pertinent sites. She has been acting as my voice by scheduling tweets, Facebook posts, and maintaining my business presence online. I'm very fortunate to have met her and have her do what she does for the business.
So, I basically reset my business in 2012 and made a point to update the
website and have a stronger business presence online. I feel pretty good about where things are at. It took some years to get here. I wasn't sure exactly what to do and how to go about utilizing social media. And, this is an area that is always evolving and morphing into the next thing. Who knows? Maybe Facebook will end up like MySpace and lose relevancy, and we'll be having to latch onto the next big deal. But, at this time, I feel as if I have caught up to what needs to be done in terms of having my business postured to leverage the social media tools. We're on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest (I still am not sure how this one works), and now maintain a
blog. Our
YouTube channel has been a terrific thing. I bought a pocket camcorder in May and have been recording almost all my gigs at
The Georgian. I have over 100 videos posted on YouTube. It's been a great tool for being able to give prospective clients a very accessible and easy way to see what we do. The confirmation that we're doing something right came back in September when I got a call from
CKC Structural Engineers to provide entertainment for their company's 25th Anniversary at Escala Towers in October. The owner Cary Kopczynski told me that they had vetted out many bands and had settled upon us as their choice based upon our YouTube videos. I couldn't have been more thrilled! That was a tangible ROI!
So here we are at the start of 2013. My hope is to continue to make progress in growing this business. I look forward to meeting new folks, clients, and playing with all of the great musicians in The Georgian, events, weddings, and special occasions.
In Gratitude
I must acknowledge where I am at and the fact of the matter is that I could not be where I am at without the ongoing support of key people in my life. This year will mark the seventh year of performing in The Georgian at The Fairmont Olympic Hotel. When this gig started in mid-2005, it was an experiment to try to bring back some live music into the Olympic Hotel after it had transitioned from the Four Seasons to The Fairmont Hotel. Back in the Four Season Olympic Hotel days, The Garden was the nightclub of the hotel for many many years. I played there at the tail end of the Four Seasons before it became The Fairmont. The Garden ceased operating as a restaurant/nightclub and became a private banquet room for special events. With this room dark there was no live music ensembles in The Olympic Hotel. In 2005 the General Manager Dennis Clark and his executive staff tried to find a way to bring back some live music. I was called in to attempt to see what we could do. The first night we brought my jazz quartet. It was a bit too much in terms of volume and intensity for what the role of live music should be in The Georgian, which is for ambiance. The Georgian is as elegant a room that one will find in the Pacific Northwest fine dining experience. The gig became a jazz duo with myself and guitarist Dan Sales. I eventually replaced Dan and opened up the seat three years ago in order to feature a different stellar jazz musician every night.
I have to say thank you to Mr. Dennis Clark for having me there all these years. I always wanted a house gig where I could play jazz twice a week, learn tunes, and play consistently. I am thankful that Mr. Clark and the management has allowed me to grow in this gig. It took me about a year and a half to realize that this music experiment was the dream gig I always wanted. It was an experiment that kept on going for almost seven years. I am just very thankful to have the opportunity to be at one of the best gigs in town.
Thank you, Mr. Clark!
In appreciation to the fantastic people at The Fairmont Olympic Hotel: Executive Chef Gavin Stephenson, all of the great and professional managers, staff, and servers of The Georgian, Food and Beverage Director Yvon Lambert, Director of Operations Guy Bittner, Patti at accounts payables, the concierge personnel, everyone in catering and sales, past executives, and everybody whom I have interacted at The Fairmont Olympic Hotel. There are no better group of folks.
