A New Decade Is Coming…Are You Ready?…

By Erin Reyes, IDA Communications Coordinator

Can you believe that a new decade is almost upon us? In just over a month, we will be leaving behind the entirety of the 2010s and everything that came with them. Whether the last ten years were good, bad, or just plain ugly for you, there is something exciting about a fresh start. If you feel the same way, keep reading for tips on making the most of 2020 and the years to come.

Take A Census Of Your Achievements And Goals

Every ten years, the United States completes a census to count its population. The results are not only looked at as a snapshot of the current population, but also compared to the previous census to find out what’s changed and make projections for the future. You can do the same with your business.

Take a look back at the last ten years. Where did you begin in 2010? Were you just opening a new business? Making a career change? Deciding to get more involved with the IDA (which was still just in its infancy at the time)? Perhaps you were still in school trying to decide what you wanted to be when you grew up. Whatever the case may be, you were almost definitely not in the same place then as you are now.

Sometimes, thanks to the speed at which technology is evolving, it’s difficult to slow down and take a moment to think about how much has changed or how much we’ve grown. The beginning of a new decade is a perfect time to step back, reflect and take a look at things on a bigger scope to see how far you’ve come and set your sights on where you’re going.

Perhaps you aren’t quite where you expected to be 10 years ago. Take a survey of what didn’t come together as planned, then evaluate what prevented it from coming to fruition. Once you have that figured out, write down your goals and an actionable plan to achieve them in the next ten years, and use this as your guideline to get you where you want to be by 2030.

Elect To Invest In Your Career

In case you haven’t heard, there is a big election taking place in the United States in 2020, and while that election may seem like it’s out of your control, you can at least elect to take your own future into your hands.

There are many things you can do to make a significant investment in your career. Perhaps this is the year you should attend your first trade show or industry event. Maybe 2020 is the year you will finally earn your IDA Certification (or another industry certification). Or maybe you will vow to attend every IDA webinar for the entire year.

You might be hesitant because tradeshows, certifications and other educational classes often have a significant monetary investment associated with them. While that may be true in some cases, you should always consider the return on investment (ROI); it is important to weigh the cost against the long-term positive impact it could have on your business.

Remember, IDA webinars are free to attend for IDA members, so they are not even an investment of your money, but rather your time. An IDA webinar is an hour per month, ten times a year (that’s only ten hours out of 8,760 total hours in an entire year) to take the time to learn from your colleagues and other industry experts who are willing to share their time and knowledge with you. If all you walk away with is one valuable piece of information per webinar that helps you do something faster or better for the rest of your career, wouldn’t you say that is a worthy investment?

Also, why not start off the year—or better yet, the decade—with a bang by attending Mobile Tech Expo (MTE) in Orlando, January 30 – February 1, 2020? The IDA will have a big presence there as usual with an exhibit booth, a complete certification event, and our Annual Business Meeting and Awards Presentation.

While attending MTE does come with an investment of money and time away from work, the educational sessions are top notch, and the connections you will make are simply invaluable. If MTE is simply out of reach, you could also consider attending smaller, regional events. The important thing is to step out of your comfort zone and attend an event that will help you build your network and ultimately your business, with relationships that could span the rest of your career.

You could also take your career to a whole new stratosphere by not only attending a tradeshow, but by being part of it—either as a speaker, an exhibitor or a volunteer at the IDA booth. Your involvement will increase your credibility and could help you be seen as a thought leader or influencer within the industry.

Just take a look at IDA member Raymond Harrison Sr., who—after 35 years in the industry—will be a first-time IDA speaker at MTE.

“I love teaching people the knowledge I have gained over the years,” Harrison said. With so many years of experience under his belt, he is finally ready to share his lessons learned and help others learn from his mistakes and triumphs onstage at MTE. If you want to follow his example and make this the year you start sharing your knowledge and skills with your detailing colleagues, keep an eye out for opportunities to become a speaker at an upcoming trade show near you.

Take Your Marketing Into A New Era

If your website and marketing materials look like they belong in Y2K more than 2020, then it might be time to think about giving things a facelift. Give your website a refresh or update your business cards and flyers to fit the trend of a more modern, clean aesthetic.

Don’t forget your social media channels. Facebook is 15 years old, and in 2020, Instagram will be turning the big one-oh. If you aren’t even on social media, then now is the time to jump on board. Even if you don’t maintain personal social media accounts, your business needs them. They help with SEO, and—even though we are hearing about mass exoduses from platforms such as Facebook and algorithm changes on Instagram—your customers should still be able to find your business and contact you directly from social media.

Also, think about integrated solutions and time-savers. There are many tools that can help you create highly effective and visually appealing marketing campaigns quickly and easily, such as social media schedulers, email automation and graphic design platforms with pre-built templates that will save time, so you can get back to the work you really enjoy—detailing!

Of course, we’ve all heard that video is the future of content marketing, so if you haven’t yet done so, you must make this a part of your marketing strategy. Whether or not you have the capacity to do video on your own or must outsource it, it is something you can no longer ignore. Make 2020 the year you finally bring video into your content plan. 

Be a Part of a Movement

If you’re not yet a member of the IDA, 2020 is a great time to join. Just like you, over the past decade, the IDA has experienced tremendous growth, and we are ready to launch into a new decade and continue the forward momentum of our organization and the detailing industry as a whole.

Or if you are already a member of the IDA, look at getting more involved in the association. There are many ways to get involved and take your participation to the next level, including volunteering on a committee, speaking at a trade show, leading a webinar, or simply becoming an advocate for the association and the professional detailing industry.

Get involved in your community as well. The past few years have been marked by separation and divisiveness; let’s make the ’20s a time to give back in a way that is meaningful to our communities and that will help move us forward, together.

We hope the 2020s will be your best decade yet!