I received this Anonymous submission and was asked to post it.
I want to talk about something. About owning a business where part of your income comes from attending and selling at shows. And about being smart about what shows you go to.
I learned the hard way, at a very young age, what going to a show without doing research could cost me. It only took the one time, and it was a show called Technocon 2. I just assumed because of the guest list that we’d do great there. But I think a grand total of 37 people showed up. All but one dealer had zero sales. At least I got to meet Scott McNeil and do a few trades for some of my Transformers collection. And Brian Drummond.
So let’s say, some “con man” comes by… some polite sounding guy with a dadbod and clipboard to tell you about this fabulous event he has started. But you did your research and discovered there’s a catch. He complains constantly on social media about how he’s been “canceled” and how the “bad people” call his hotels and scare people away. How he can’t get things done or space vendors out because of *insert random staffer here.*. How everyone is out to get him, nobody listens to his side, and how he’s persecuted left right and sideways because, *insert reasons here.*.
There can be a slew of blogs and articles about him. Multiple videos on TikTok or other places. Testimonials and court cases. Even documented, provable evidence that the “con man” owes a sizeable amount of money in taxes he hasn’t paid (which of course is the fault of *insert random person here.*). Those naughty bad people just won’t let the “con man” run his shows, dang it. There can be photos and reviews too of the venue he hosts at that show parts of the building falling down, no heat, or exorbitant charges being made. Or an event ticket handler deciding to take legal action because so many people complained.
As someone who’s owned a business for 20+ years successfully what is the smart thing to do?
Believe the “con man.”
That’s right. You heard me. Believe him.
He genuinely believes the world is out to get him. He probably does actually have people who are.
So why is the smart thing to do, to believe him? I’ll tell you why. Because it puts your involvement in his show into the liability category. If people really despise the “con man” that much, and if he’s really that awful at picking staff who can’t do a good job, it’s important to not question that. Because it’s your money, your sales and your reputation on the line. If his events are plagued by old baggage, bad publicity, incompetency of staffers or just rotten luck, why would anyone believe the next event would be any different?
There are plenty of fish in the sea when it comes to doing shows. Beware the smiling “con man” with the clipboard. Do your research. Listen to what people have said about his past events. And believe the “con man” because no matter what anyone says, no matter what proof is out there, he believes what he’s saying. Don’t go to a show with this level of baggage and bad juju. It’s just not smart… and you have to be smarter these days about every penny you spend.
