Bike Night without Working

Well, tonight was the first Bike Night that we attended where we did not work. This is the first time in a very long time where we were actually participants in a Bike Night. We were able to participate in the raffle (when we work at a Bike Night, we hand out raffle tickets, but do not keep any for ourselves...just didn't seem right) and mingle with everyone and not have to watch a table. It was a very pleasant experience to just be a participant.

Even though we were happily wandering around at this Bike Night at Mirage in Apache Junction, it does not mean we were not indirectly promoting our business. I was wearing our Hawgwash, LLC shirt, with our Hawgwash pig logo on it. We were dressed for motorcycle riding, but we were dressed for business also. What was really helpful is that there were many attendees at this event that were regular participants in our Thursday night Bike Nights. Many people teased us about not working, some people were looking for our product table, they were so used to seeing us work, that they were thrown off realizing we were not working.

Even if you are not working at a table or booth, every opportunity you get to meet people is an opportunity to promote your business. Again, I am not talking about getting in people's faces and 'pushing' your business on them. What I am referring to is when people are just socializing, if they are not familiar with you, the inevitable question is "what do you do for a living". This is always a great opportunity to provide a 30 second or less pitch for your business. You want to provide them with just enough information to answer their question, but not too much information to overwhelm them. If you are providing something they would be interested in, then they will pursue the subject by asking you more questions. If you try to push your business on everyone you meet, you will find that you have very few friends, and even fewer invitations to any events.

What was particularly fun tonight is as I mentioned, many people knew us from our Thursday Bike Night. They would come up to us to just talk about what we were going to do going forward. That was neat, because we didn't have to bring up our business at all, they initiated the conversation. Then, anyone else in ear-shot would hear about our business, again, without us pressuring anyone to listen. It is a very non-invasive way to let others know that you are in business. It is fun having your friends and customers, put their heads together to solve our dilemma of where to go next. It is heartwarming to know that they enjoyed our Thursday Bike Nights so much that they want us to find another location and start them up again. It is times like this when you realize that you truly built relationships with people instead of just making impersonal sales.

Being in business does not mean you have to treat your customers as dollar signs or just purchasers of your products. Being in business is more developing relationships with people, helping them when they need a hand and not expecting or requiring them to reciprocate. As I have stated many times in the past, we are really in the business of helping other people's lives better. If we are able to do that, our business is successful.

Until tomorrow...