Being from North Central Texas, just east of the line of semiaridy specifically, we believe in three certainties in life. Two, most people are familiar with, Death and Taxes. Well, here we have a third. Death, Taxes, and we always need rain in Texas!
While this holds truth, it can end up being a hindrance in some situations. For one, we were invited to showcase our product this past weekend at Wind River Harley Davidson's Anniversary Open House. While we had a great time during our set up there, the rain throughout the weekend seemed to prevent a lot of folks from coming out and braving the weather.
Before I dig deeper into the gambles of setting up for events and fighting the weather, I must give a big THANK YOU! to the folks at Wind River! We don't normally cross the Red River into Oklahoma... you know Texan stuff... but we had a great time at the event. Christina Charnell contacted us for the event, and couldn't have been anymore helpful in the logistics for the event. If you need any help out there, give her a call!
They had several food trucks, a rocking DJ, other vendors, and Electric Circus set up for a rocking good time Live Show.
Again, if you are into Harleys then you need to check out Wind River!
Okay, now back to the gamble of weather delays and people braving the rain. While it is always a bummer to get rained out, we have found that when planning to attend an event as a vendor, it is very important to follow up with the organizers to confirm if they have a fall back plan in the vent of weather delay or cancellations. Unfortunately, we had to learn this the hard way a few years ago. You do not want to show up and organizers not have a plan for you , especially if it is a paid vendor fee to get in.
This is where I have to give another shout out to Wind River! In anticipation of the rainy weather, they rented and set up a large tent outside. Unfortunately, it had rained so much that the ground below the tent was flooded. However, their second fall back, was setting everyone up in their enormous shop inside. Needless to say, we were dry and comfortable all day. Great Planning!
Now, all is fine and well if you are protected from the weather, but the fact remains, any in-climate weather prevents people from coming out to events. So far as I know, there is no way around this. This is when the real gamble comes to play. As a vendor, you never really know what to expect when it comes to foot traffic. I think this has a lot to do with making folks weary of attending vendor events, which it completely understandable.
Lost Penguin is still a small brand, we have a good local following, but we are working on getting out there more. For this reason, we try to take advantage of shows where we can. We know that every event is a gamble, but we have to take that gamble and hope for the best. If we did not take events serious when we buckled down and wanted to grow LP, we would not have near the following we have now. Almost a year ago now, we attended our first vendor show, and that changed everything for us.
I guess what I am trying to get across is, if you are at the point of growth and outreach where you are ready to get out there, I highly encourage finding a vendor event to participate in. It is a great opportunity to get some face time, and talk about your product with potential customers. I love chatting with folks about what we do and why we do it. You just have to be willing to take that leap, put it all on Black so to speak.
Spring is here and summer is just around the corner, there will be many events all across,near and far. Reach out to one and take the gamble! (If you are close to Wichita Falls, Texas, shoot me an email, I know of several events in the coming months.)
** Note on bad shows. I have been lucky that the first few shows we attended were successes in our eyes. That is not always the case for folks. First events can be a flop, and bad experiences, but you have to look at each as a learning experience with potenyial for improvement. It is important to not let small obstacles keep you from trying again. As noted several times above, its always a a gamble. Stick with it!
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