Today I think that I have performance anxiety. A young woman came by the booth and told me that she had found my blog and that she was enjoying reading my stories. Now I sit here and hope that I can live up to her expectations, and what if I actually exceed expectations, is this something I can do again and again over the next few days. I keep thinking of situations in "terms of my blog" rather than just letting the situations happen and reflecting on them the next day and seeing what is noteworthy. I wonder if true journalists go through life with this third party view on experiences. It can make me feel quite detached.
There was little notable about the day. Sales were fine, not exceptional but fine. If I compare the first five days with this year, with the first five of last year, I am down close to 50%. I have taken an informal poll of some of the other repeat artists and I'm not the only one, this is defiantly a trend. I feel, and so do some of the others I've spoken to, that we are getting repeat business, but not much new blood. If people have bought from us before, and they like out product, they are coming by and buying again, but when new potential customers come into the stand, it is some of the hardest sales work I've had in a while to eek out a purchase from them.
I'm taking the time to catch up on some reading. Like I noted in another blog, I've been pouring though some Forbes Small Business and The Crafts Report amongst some other trade publications. Diligently reading and taking notes, and taking this quiet time to plan some future business thoughts, and research some things I have in the works. I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that people who produce arts and crafts are not business people, that we all do it for a hobby. I ready an article just yesterday that stated that only 29% of us consider this a hobby, but unfortunately so many us have a hard time making a living at out art that almost 50% have a second job on the side. And those who don't do anything else, on average only contribute 25% to the overall household income. Gives a whole new meaning to "starving artist".
I did read what I think is good news on the Mcall web site today: "Musikfest director Jeff Parks smiles as he sits in front of Americaplatz at Musikfest in Bethlehem on Monday. In a change of mind, Parks said the festival no longer wants to move to an 'arts park' on the South Side of Bethlehem that would charge admission. Parks said the Bethlehem Works project, which developer's hope will have a slots parlor, is not the place for the festival. He said Musikfest would remain a free street fair and, most likely, continue to break even or lose money." (sorry not an exact quote, I fixed the grammatical errors). I am really glad to hear this. I think one of the most beautiful things about Musikfest is that it engulfs the city, and that most of the city embraces it. You can really take some time to see the historic section and walk around the shops on Main and near Main street in between music. Do I think charging admission and cramming the whole thing into a park may increase my sales- yes, it might, but I just might not want to be an exhibitor at that sort of festival.
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