A few questions for you to consider:
- How do you decide if something is a red flag, or if it’s just an obstacle?
- Is hindsight the only way to confirm it either way?
- At what point do you decide to ignore them or power through?
In our very nature as humans, we look for patterns. Early humans had to be hyper-aware of danger, and our brains evolved to become stronger in risk assessment to predict hazards.
As someone with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, I’m acutely aware that my brain is hard-wired to basically freak the fuck out at any sign of perceived threat. It’s annoying.
But this isn’t about OCD. This is about trying to predict if an event is going to be successful.
As I’ve written before, I do a fair amount of planning and thinking to know which shows I’m going to attend. In the early days of Log Slices by Margie, I attended shows regularly for a few years, but I took a break until I launched Hayes Street Candle Company. I’m now reestablishing my presence in the craft and artist market circuit, determining which ones are worth the effort and which ones are not.
This past December, I was recommended to a particular event planning company. I researched them some, checked out their previous events, and read reviews.
The feedback was mixed at best.
Some of the events were well attended; some of them were flops. Some vendors were repeat attendees; some were one and done. Some deemed the event a success; some deemed it a failure.
The thing that really stood out for me, though, was the negative remarks about the owner of the event company. In multiple comments, vendors reported this person’s negative attitude, inflexibility, rudeness, and lack of advertising efforts.
I took all this information in and decided to sign up anyway. (Important note: I’ve removed this event from my website, so it is not showing up in my past events)
The sign-up fee was under $100, so I figured I didn’t have much to lose financially. Plus, I’ve dealt with salty people before. I’m a big believer in “kill them with kindness” and it mostly works out.
Mostly.
The event was a bust in every sense of the word. Sales were the weakest I’ve experienced yet, and the foot traffic was minimal. Booths were unassigned in advance, which meant the layout was chaotic and disorganized.
As for the owner of the business, I had one interaction with them and it was unpleasant. No need to go into details, as that portion doesn’t matter other than it confirmed what other people had said.
All day at this event, I thought about what I could have done differently. Was I wrong to attend this event? Was it a waste of time? Did I ignore many red flags?
No. No. Yes.
It sounds like a random Instagram influencer’s mantra, but I try and think of everything I do as an opportunity to learn. (Okay, not everything--that’d be exhausting.)
It’s just that when something is really shitty and I want to feel less bad about it, I think of what it’s taught me. Maybe it’s toxic positivity, maybe it’s optimism, but knowledge can never be taken away from me.
With regards to this specific event, I learned that even if the booth fee isn’t terribly high, I’m still putting my time and energy into attending. I need to be more strategic. I can’t burn myself out.
I also learned I need to pay attention to what other people are saying. While writing this blog, it occurred to me that this was the first event I’ve attended in my 10+ years of doing this in which there was this much negativity around the coordinator. That wasn’t an obstacle; it was a bright red flag.
But on further thought, maybe obstacles and red flags aren’t that different. They’re both clues that something could be amiss. They’re not a guarantee you won’t succeed, but they do present challenges.
They’re both warnings.
Maybe it is just hindsight that establishes the correct label. If the show had been successful financially, would I have still considered the original things I discovered to be red flags? My interaction with the business owner was just a blip in the day, a minor frustration, an inconvenience and a brief increase in my blood pressure, so is that just an indicator of their personality?
Regardless of what we call them, I’ve learned my lesson. Will I continue to take risks? Absolutely. I’ll just give more weight to others’ personal experiences.
Just another bit of priceless knowledge I picked up at that event.