From my previous blog post, you aware that I have moved to the Chicago area. As new and exciting that may be, trying to build my cliental up from the beginning is stressful. It does, however, give me an opportunity to retarget my marketing and tweak my branding. There are services out there that performers can use, Thumbtack, Bark, and Gigmasters just to name a few. While those may be good to get notified who is looking for entertainment, the user is bombarded with requests and can be overwhelming for them. In addition to other entertainers willing to lowball prices, it can be hard to get a gig and get one that pays well. Building up word-of-mouth marketing will take some time and I need to be patient and enjoy the journey.
I am looking to move to theater and black box shows. The Chicago area offers plenty of venues, however most require deposits and/or splitting the ticket sales. Providing a deposit puts a lot of risk on the performer to get butts in seats. While I’m aware of the risk and it may take several months for a show to pick up steam, the reward of doing that type of show is, I feel, well worth it. This pivot requires focusing on different material and marketing to a different consumer. All of this is new and exciting. Even if I attempt this and it fails, at least I would have gain the knowledge and experience of getting a venue and producing a one person show.
My plan is post about my success/failure of starting my performing business in a new area. I would love to hear from anyone that has any ideas, thoughts, or suggestions.