This weekend was full of music at the Loud On Lake Street Outdoor Music Festival on Saturday. Our booth The Art Shoppe was a little close to the music speakers but it kept us moving and awake from 11 – 4:30 pm. I was with 3 other artists and we got a front row seat to all the cultural dances, costumes, and group dances. The cloudy skies held in all the rain and we didn’t bake in our tent.
A constant stream of bicycles and scooters road past and down the long stretch of blocked off roads. I did’t realize they were going to close off that many blocks. At one point, I sent my husband in search of homemade tacos because we pass by the food trucks when we work in the shop. We haven’t stopped because we’ve always been on our way to and from another thing on our to-do list.
All the small businesses inside Midtown Global Market took the streets with US and a funny thing happened. Well, one of us felt bad because we were setting up the tent and inside his bag the top was missing. Luckily, the building owners were there for their vendors. They rescued us with a purple tent of their own and we were ready for a quick set-up.
The fact that we managed to get everything out in less than hour has been my best time yet. I remembered the tips from other fair goers. I created tiered tables, height with stands, and items on the outside for interest. Some of our fellow artists will be happy because their items sold and are on their way to a new home.
After some food, conversation, group dance flashbacks, and people watching I was exhausted. I was tempted to lie down and close my eyes but I have shows coming up and naughty me took some time off from creating. I managed to try a few new designs and as always I put them in The Art Shoppe to see how they do. If you ever get the chance to test market your books, or whatever else you do, then take it.
Test out locations for your books because the first place you thought was great, might not do so well. Then try again. Don’t be afraid to market yourself. Go into the mom and pop shops and ask if they’re willing to sell what you created. Sometimes our target is moving and we need to find the sweep spot. There’s been times when I thought something would be great and it was a bust. Then, I try another event or place it I end up going over my goal.
The point is that you need to keep trying. Keep testing the market. Then, post the heck out of it for a while. It takes times to build followers and to get traction because most of us are not going to be the success over night story. That happens to very few. If you’re not in the right place yet, then keep moving until you find it. There’s no glory without the grind.
My posts are Monday through Friday.
Imagine Inspire Create: 52 Weeks of action and gratitude is available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S6XCLFY/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_Q7MHM9CFBSASDG56YMJQ
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Writer's Block Inc 