Gary,

It’s a good thing for them, your prices must be too low, if you put them up they may pan you and then you can take the well earned rest. I can well understand that a website in your business isn't going to get you new gigs, they never will, who wants to look at a booking sheet, probably a thief who knows you’re not home on certain dates, you would be a dummy posting your diary IMO, did you have demos on your website, that should get people interested, they can see your performance and make a judgement.

Are you still cutting people up or putting them to sleep or being wisked from the high seas.

Regards

Tony

One of the major reasons I never say anything, on-line, about road trips or tours before I do them, and only afterwards...not a wise move to announce when your home will be left unattended, especially if you live alone.

That is a good point, Tony.

Ian

Ian,

I would be the last person in the World to tell the entire World where I am on certain days of the year, perhaps the people who do it have big dogs at home or leave their Doris to deal with the robbers when they knock on the door with a sledge hammer.

Always better to be wise before the event, but if advertising your whereabouts to the World is your weakness, then so be it. I am getting wiser as I get older not silly.


Tony

Tony,

I escaped from the field of medicine many years ago and never looked back. That was a difficult decision to make, but I still believe it was one of the better moves I've made in my life.

I'm still sailing, though, but not as much as I would like. The boat is big enough to sail to the UK, but I'm just too old to make the voyage across the pond.

As for the pay-scale, if you recall I posted something about this last year. I raised my prices by 25%, lost one client, and gained four more. I guess because I charge more they think I'm better--go figure.

I never posted a calendar on my website--figured that the maintenance was too much, and it told the entire world when you were not home. Additionally, it provided site visitors with your telephone number, which could easily lead to someone stealing your identity.

Cheers,

Gary

Garry,

A more sensible approach from you about your website, and BTW the waves in the pond can get up to 40ft would you be happy with that if you did make the trip, how long is the boat.

Tony

The boat is 33-feet long and tips the scales at 12,500 pounds. It's a Morgan 33 Out-Island, which was specifically designed for blue-water sailing. The boat could handle the 40-foot waves, but this old man could not.

If I were 40 years younger I wouldn't hesitate to make the voyage. Alas, Father Time and the Grim Reaper are both catching up to me much faster than I anticipated. Attached is a photo of a Morgan 33 OI located in Florida. For some reason I'm not able to access my photobucket account with this new computer.

Cheers,

Gary

Excellent point ... that's why I talked about our Hawaii trip AFTER it was over ...

Just to prove that what works for one guy doesn't another, I have a fairly good web presence and typically pull in an extra 5k a year through Corporate gigs and private parties that have verified they found my website and based on the appearance/demos, etc. decided to hire me. .

Plus, my regular clients say the love having the ability to book directly through my website. They say its a huge time saver for them and no one misses the phone tag frustrations.

OTOH, I think Gary has had great success with direct mail, and I've never found it to be cost effective.

The two of us I think, both turn away a nice chunk of work every year. So, two different aspects of a marketing plan, which take different routes, seem to wind up at mostly the same place.

Interesting stuff...