Setting up for a Motorcycle Rally

Well, today was setup day for the Milledgeville Thunder Rally. We got up early, and arrived at the venue a little after 9 am in anticipation of a possible gaggle of vendors arriving for setup. Setting up for a motorcycle rally is not for the faint of heart. More times than not, even when the promoter recommends that you show up by a certain time, there will be many vendors who would have cued up the night before.

It seems that you can never accurately anticipate what set up will be like at a rally unless you have attended it in prior years. Even then, knowledge of how a rally was run in prior years does not necessarily mean it will be OK this year. All the same, Milledgeville Thunder Rally is a new rally for us, so we had no idea what we were going to encounter when we arrived at the staging area.

What we found was a beautiful open field with electrical boxes scattered around and three vendors already set up. Seeing other vendors set up sometimes makes me feel like I missed the memo stating we needed to arrive a day earlier... The good news was that it was only three vendors, not three dozen already set up. Even better news was that the promoter had already confirmed we had a space, so our anxiety was somewhat reduced. The promote arrived shortly after we did and we were able to get the motor home placed, our electric set up and identify where our booth was to be set all by noon.

Setting up for a Motorcycle Rally can be a stressful experience especially if this is either the first time you have ever been a vendor at this type of event, or if this is a new event for you. The best way to prepare for a Motorcycle Rally, or any other weekend event is to do as much homework as you can in advance of the event. You can look on the Internet for pictures of prior years' events, you can talk to the promoter (more on that later) and you can contact other vendors who attended the event in years past. Even if you do all of the above, there is no guarantee that this particular event will be good for you. Keep that information in mind if you plan on participating as a vendor at events. Even if the event went very well last year, there is no guarantee that it will again go well this year. People change, economic conditions change and the weather can be a huge factor.

Assuming you have done your homework prior to an event and still decide to attend, the best thing to do is to be sure you arrive no later than on time. That shows the promoter you respect their time and their event. It also usually allows you enough time to set up before people come around to purchase what you are offering. We love to come as early as possible so that we can not only be set up, but can take the extra time to walk around and talk to the other vendors at the motorcycle rally. Talking to other vendors is a great way to network, usually, if they are already set up, they are more than willing to spend a few minutes chatting with you about the event, their products, the attendees of the event and possibly other events that are coming up.

The information you can obtain from other vendors can be absolutely invaluable. We have received excellent leads regarding upcoming motorcycle rallies, who to talk to, and where to avoid. We have also found vendors selling items that we had personally been looking for. What also comes out of chatting with others is that they will ask you what you are offering. Again, this is an excellent opportunity to network and promote yourself. Even if the other vendor is not personally interested in your products or services, they will have in the back of their mind what you do, so if a customer wanders up and asks them about a certain product or service, there is a very good chance that they will point that customer to you if you are the one who can provide the product or service. Networking with other vendors is almost like creating a local directory of products and services for that motorcycle rally. you would be amazed once a rally starts, how many people will be in attendance. Many times the customers are looking for a particular product or service, but due to the crowds and possibly the layout of the motorcycle rally, the customers are not able to locate you. If other vendors are aware of who you are, where you are and what you have to offer, they will point the customers in your direction.

Good luck setting up for a motorcycle rally or any other weekend event. Motorcycle rallies and weekend flea markets are relatively similar events, so what I have suggested here can apply to flea markets, craft shows, etc. If you have specific questions regarding setting up for a motorcycle rally or other event, please feel free to contact us at hawgwash1@yahoo.com. If you are interested in starting up a home-based business and need ideas, please check out our website at http://www.hawgwash.net/.

Until tomorrow...

Direct Sales versus Regular JOBs - Part 2

Last night we talked about direct selling versus regular type 9-5 jobs. We are continuing that conversation tonight and exploring a little more about what a pyramid scheme is and what direct selling is not.

A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money (by enrolling others into the scheme) without any product or service being delivered. Pyramid schemes are a form of fraud. Many people also believe that direct sales models (sometimes called multi-level marketing) are nothing more than a pyramid scheme repackaged.

In a pyramid scheme, there is some type of business that claims to be simple to understand, yet have this awesome method of making tons of money without a lot of work needed to be performed. Essentially one person makes one payment and recruits others to make one payment each. The first person gets paid out of some of the money from his two recruits. Those recruits are then pushed to get two recruits, and the process continues. Each time a recruit pays into the system, the people above them get a piece of the action. The problem with this type of scheme is that the people at the bottom do not make a dime, while the guy at the top becomes rich.

OK, that sounds pretty bad, right? Well... if you think about it... what is the difference between the above described pyramid scheme and working for a regular company? Doesn't the guy at the top make a whole lot more money than the guys at the bottom of the work force? Don't the mail clerks make pennies for the work they do compared to the top level management of the same company? Essentially, everything we do is a type of pyramid. There is always someone on top making more money than you. The difference between a regular job and a pyramid scheme is that the people at the bottom in a regular job do make some money.

So again, it all boils back down to attitude. If you want to work for a direct sales company selling a product or service, if it is a reputable company (look at Avon, Mary Kay, etc...those are reputable Direct Selling companies), you should be relatively successful if you actually put the work into it (just like a regular job). Just like in a regular business though, sometimes you do well, sometimes you won't. Nothing in life is guaranteed, not even a regular job working for a brick-and-mortar company. The upshot of this two part post is to not necessarily promote any one direct sales company over another, but to at least suggest that if you look with an open mind, regular jobs can be pyramid schemes too. I am sure you know a person or two that couldn't succeed at any company they worked at. Perhaps their failure to succeed at that company was more because of their attitude towards that company rather than the company taking advantage of them.

All I am requesting is that you keep an open mind regarding direct selling (also known as Multi-level marketing [MLM] companies). Some are really not good companies, and they will take advantage of their distributors. Same holds true for regular brick-and-mortar companies. But if you do your homework and research before you get involved in any company, you may find one that can help you to get closer to your dreams. Just like anything else in life, you need to research, ask questions and research more before you put any money into any business opportunity. Do not summarily dismiss direct sales models just because someone related to you their bad experiences. Don't believe all that you hear (from others or from companies trying to get your business), do your homework. Again, not all people are cut out to do well in direct sales at all. That is not a reflection of the particular company, or of the person. The particular opportunity may not be a good fit for that person. Just like a commission sales job would not work for an introvert.

Hopefully this two part series was helpful and provided food for thought. If you are interested in seeing what we have for business opportunities, please feel free to check out http://www.hawgwash.net/, or feel free to contact us via e-mail at hawgwash1@yahoo.com.

As you can see from our website, even though we offer some direct selling opportunities, that is not our only focus. We want to help people help themselves. We offer products directly for sale (retail sales) that may improve health, or help save the earth's most precious resource - water, or we also offer products for sale that will just make you smile. It is up to you what you want out of our website.

Until tomorrow...

Business Networking

Tonight is going to be a very brief discussion. Business Networking is NOT a brief subject, but I wanted to introduce it as a discussion point and will continue to touch on this topic over the upcoming weeks. As we have discussed before, networking your business is most important if you want to stay in business.

Networking in general has received bad press in the past, but the term business networking is a marketing method where you create opportunities through networks of like-minded people. It would be the equivalent of a common interest club or group. You get a group of like-minded business people together, and you all learn about each other, in both the business and somewhat personal sense. By doing that, you may know someone who could use another business person's services, and the reverse could very easily be true.

Networking means you are essentially creating a net, or web (like a spider web) where each fiber leads to another like-minded business entity. As you build this net, you will find businesses that may compliment what you have to offer. If you are in need of a particular item or service, your network should be the first place you would look. You could follow one strand of that net to a business that would serve your needs. In reverse, that business would be able to locate you the same way, because of the net you helped to create. Building this net can build new business relationships and generate new business opportunities.

Business networking can be much less expensive than paper marketing (advertising in newspapers, sending out flyers) and can be much more valuable for you. By personally networking with other business owners, you get to know the people along with what they have to offer as a business. Instead of just looking up a name in a phone book, you have a person that you have built a professional relationship with already, so you are more comfortable working with them. On the flip side, that other business may know someone who is looking for the services and products that you may offer, and the other business may get their friend to contact you. You didn't directly market to that third party, but by business networking, you were able to indirectly touch that third party.

If you would like more information on business networking, stay tuned for future blogs. If you are interested in other business opportunities, or may be looking for something to compliment what you are already doing, please feel free to check out our website. You can always e-mail us if you have a specific question or request.

Until tomorrow...

Networking your Business Opportunity

Today was an extremely busy day. We had a car to detail in the morning then scooted up to Scottsdale to obtain a City Permit for the upcoming Good Guys show in March. We then reviewed some of the sites that Basha's will be having their Outdoor Festivals, and then wound our way home. We had enough time at home to catch up on some messages, phone calls and then it was out again for a preliminary meeting for developing a new networking group.

The subject of this blog is networking your business opportunity. I have mentioned in prior blogs several methods for networking. What we are trying is something hopefully different. Our concept is to get several small business owners together and brain storm about how to build our businesses in this current economy. Granted there are many networking groups out there, but we thought that it might be worthwhile to create a new group and bring in new ideas. We want to build new relationships and new concepts.

The people we are pulling together do not have a traditional brick and mortar business. We all work out of our homes and have used different methods to promote our businesses. We are hoping that by blending all of these people together, with their combined large experience in meeting people, we may be able to come up with some innovative ideas on growing our individual businesses. What we are hoping for is some new inspiration for building. We have no idea where this may take us, but it is worth a shot. Now is the time to really start thinking out of the box. We want to throw out the old rules and see if we can develop a new, repeatable concept.

We will keep you posted on our progress, and expect to come up with some exciting ideas. We are looking at our current situation like we are caterpillars, and we are now planning on becoming butterflies. In this economy, we are expecting the surviving businesses to be better, more innovative and stronger than they have ever been in the past. If any of you have any ideas you would like floated or, would be interested in getting involved, please send me an e-mail at hawgwash1@yahoo.com.

Until tomorrow...