January 12, 2009

 

I definitely am not an expert on marketing or business.  However, advice that I have been reading from many different experts in those fields is that adapting and innovation are how to thrive in a recession.  For example, one of the few major corporations to report a fourth quarter profit in 2008 was Apple Computers.  Much of their profit came from their popular iPhone instead of their computers.  They had found a successful new product and market when they needed it.
 
A major advantage to studying creativity is that it allows you to adapt.  I have had to adapt many times in my career.  Perhaps the largest adaptation came in 1983 when a small circus I had been touring with closed at the beginning of the summer.  I was suddenly out of work.  In searching for work, I was hired by Raging Waters, an aquatic amusement park, for their grand opening.  They liked what I did and hired me for the rest of the summer.  After six seasons with circuses I had become an expert in that type of performance.  I knew how to meet the needs of circus producers.  I quickly discovered that an amusement park had a different set of needs.  For example, in a circus the audience is seated and I might have to fill a specific period of time while the riggers set props.  One of my first duties at the amusement park was entertaining people waiting in line for an attraction.  That meant my audience was moving past me and I did not have time to perform a long routine.  I had to adapt to working much faster.  As I learned more about the needs of an amusement park I discovered new ways to meet them.  As a result I worked for them for eleven years and they would have liked me to stay longer.  They hired other entertainers over the years, but they did not last long because they could not figure out how to adapt their performances to the needs of the park. 
 
Raging Waters was closed during the winter so I needed a source of income between seasons.  I was invited by the Ports O' Call shopping center to be one of their street performers.  (Ports O' Call is next to the Los Angeles cruise ship terminal and a tourist destination.)  Again I had to adapt my performances.  I had to attract a crowd before each show.  Store owners wanted me to attract people to their portion of the center but I had to be careful that my crowd did not block their doorways for very long.  (Eventually I learned which owners would allow me to block their doors because they had increased sales after my show and which owners became upset if their door was blocked at all.)  I also had to learn how to collect tips during my performance.
 
When I first moved to Seattle I started performing birthday parties.  I had to adapt to that because it is different from circus and amusement park entertainment.  That venue has not been as successful for me recently.  I have been finding more success doing strolling entertainment at large events.  A venue I have always been interested in is Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquets, but I have not done many of them.  So, I decided to pursue that this year.  Part of the reason I decided the timing is right is this is the 100th anniversary of scouting in America so the packs will be making this a big celebration and spend money on entertainment.  I contacted the local Boy Scout Council to get some information on how to contact the Packs and learned their annual expo is this month.  I have arranged to have a booth and showcase at their expo.  I also learned that there is a second annual event where Cub Packs use entertainment, the Pinewood Derby Races, and am planning my promotional material to include that option.
 
Since I have fewer bookings right now I am using the available time to update my promotional material.  The Scout Expo is set up for PowerPoint presentations so I am working on one for that venue that I can easily adapt to other venues.  I have been gradually updating and improving my web site.  I am learning how to use a new program to improve my email newsletters.  I have put together a brochure promoting my services as a variety arts instructor and have gotten good initial response to it.  Recently a customer asked if I had anything available on YouTube that they could see, so I am looking into using that medium to promote my business.
 
What new venue have you been interested in?  Is this the time to try to break into it?  What is the best way to market to them?  What changes would you have to make to your performances to meet the needs of that venue?  What can you do to improve your promotional materials?