Now that I am self-employed, I must wear multiple hats, including marketer, office manager and strategic planner, in addition to my role as wine educator. Of course, it is the former set of roles that will permit me to enjoy the latter one, even though teaching about wine is more fun.

In this regard, I have been attending seminars and lectures that will help me stay focused on building our business. The most recent of these was a program on self promotion held at the NYPL’s Business & Science library that I attended last night.

Among the concepts discussed, the facilitator noted that it is important for companies to use the language of your market when promoting your business as opposed to industry jargon or words that aren’t as intuitive for them. Along these lines, I have been noting that people (aka potential clients) seem to use the terms "wine tasting" or "tasting event," rather than "wine education" or "wine class." I understand why consumers would use these terms, but am concerned that the education will get lost somewhere unless it is expressly stated.

While I am committed to making my classes fun and entertaining, I am equally committed to making sure that the participants have an opportunity to increase their knowledge of wine. I want people to feel that I have helped them along in their wine journey. As I work to create a new website and to develop marketing materials to promote Grand Cru Classes, I find that it is difficult to convey this balance to my audience. I don’t want people to think that I am a wine snob or a boring, technical speaker, but as an educator, learning is important to me. I feel that I do a good job in presenting wine in a manner that is both enjoyable and informative. But, I wonder if "wine education" is such a dirty word. Are people so turned off by the thought of having to learn? Just something for me to ponder.

In any case, I will be working diligently on my marketing plan and hope that I can entice people to want to learn more about wine.