As small business owners we all try to sell tickets to our shows.

Our little shop show.

Our daily or weekly social media posts for the engagement. We use our phones to take thousands of videos and pictures of our product, story, background, specials, features and storefronts to sell tickets to pay our bills.

I’ve always called it a show because we have to put one on to stay relevant.

For our business. When that lifelong dream finally lands. It’s like reeling in that big catch that keeps falling back into the sea.

“I got it!”

*fish slips from your hands and back into the water

“FUCK”

We wake up, head filled with the tasks of putting on a new show, a new episode to bring out the eagerness of engagement. Gotta get my show in your head for 15-20 seconds and then

MAYBE

You’ll come see me

Or whatever Gary Vaynerchuk said. I used to like Gary. He’s tiresome to me now. Nothing against him whatsoever except for his shoes he produced wtf was that but this isn’t about grinding down Gary. Just the show we are both affiliated with.

Sorry Gary no offense

Back to the show

Somedays you sell out while most days you’re peddling discounted tickets on street corners. You get antsy when you don’t sell tickets so you feel the need to change your content up. More videos of the show.

Let’s change it up with some comedy.

We need more props

Let’s bring in some guest speakers to sell tickets (influencers)

Longer episodes

Double features

Let me throw in $20 of advertising so more people will have access to my shows

We need a better camera

The lighting must be wrong

Did I hashtag the right thing?

Post the show now while everyone is sitting on their sofa after dinner. Wait?? Post it before breakfast while their stomachs are growling,

We go into work early some days so we can set the stage. A one person production crew. Somedays you are excited about the next upcoming episode. This will be a good one! Hours spent on production and editing.

“Go! We are live!”

Two likes 👍🏼

Oof

Tomorrow will be better.

We always say that after a slow show

You have to

I watch other shows all the time. I try to engage and show up all the time. I always support other shows even when I’m tired of watching them. It’s not because of you. I’m hyper aware of the struggle. Business empathy is real and it’s exhausting for me.

I know the excitement and anticipation that comes when people start their own shows. Your dreams online for all to see. Some sell out a lot of shows and goddamn it I’m here for it. Others I watch the shows slowly fade as do their story lines.

It’s exhausting. I feel the heartbreak when you shut down. At the same time I can feel the relief too.

Consulting gets to me sometimes. People come to me with exciting ideas for shows and I smile at their enthusiasm. All I want to say to them is never let that enthusiasm go. It’s hard to get it back if it leaves. Most I’ve consulted for have closed or changed names to new people. Unfortunately some reach out to me when the show was over months ago.

I get notifications all the time from my social media accounts “chadcuterie is ready for more engagement with its followers!”

Facebook’s way of saying “where the hell have you been Chad?”

I’ve posted maybe 4 times in the last 3 months on fb for work. IG maybe 12?

Listen

It’s the same shit. All of it. We are all posting the same stuff online and it’s littered with redundant content. Doesn’t matter who you are or what you’re posting. It’s all been done. The riddles for engagement. Asking a question to get engagement. Prodding for product sales.

Reels of local content to sell homes

Professional photos of a $10 sandwich

Staged overhead photos of tables full of plated food, one arm reaching for a utensil while another holds a goblet of fluid

Tiktok trends

AI flyers

I can tell how busy or slow a business is by their content. One obvious way is when they post a half dozen TikTok videos in one day. Others when they change their content completely.

I’m not knocking you at all it’s not like I’ve figured this shit out I just stopped trying to sell tickets. If you haven’t come to my show by now then I’m not on your channel preference. How many charcuterie photos can you post until it becomes diluted? It’s all diluted even my friends business content I see it and scroll on because it’s the same thing every day. I’ll hit that like post and go on with my day. You guys do it too. We all do. If I get 30 likes on an instagram post 50% of them are the same 15 people that like all my posts regardless of content

Listen

I love you guys for it. It’s not a you thing it’s a me thing. The funny part of that 15 people probably 10 of you have never walked in the door of my business.

My show lacks engagement

It lacks because I stopped caring about it. Not my business just the show part.

I’m tired of putting on a show. I used to really enjoy it when I was at Southern. At that time I was told my shows were too engaging, over the top.

But

It sold tickets

I don’t have that pep anymore. I’d rather show you a sunrise or a moutain top. That’s not a show. It’s reality. My own little reality.

Graze still posts as it should unfortunately I can’t completely quit the show. My wife does the posts for Graze. I’m part of the audience now.

It’s weird when you look at thousands of charcuterie board pics with indifference. It’s all been done son. Hell even Hollywood can’t come up with original content anymore it’s all sequels or remakes.

Just like social media.

I’m fine y’all. My business isn’t bad or dying. I get in my feels when local businesses close on a daily basis. When their show comes to an end because I know how hard it is to wake up and audition

Every

Single

Day

Greenville has been and always will be a new show city. They go where the marquee shines the brightest. They’ll go and take pics of themselves in your show, they bring all their friends along. Sing the praises of your production until a new show comes out. Then it’s time to buy a new outfit and watch the new show.

Again

Again

And again

All the while the ticket prices keep going up. Higher ticket prices mean less shows the people can afford to see.

They may skip the double feature now. No time for matinees. Or they’ll skip the popcorn so you gotta cut the popcorn guy loose because popcorn sales dropped. Then you lose some more ticket sales because some only came for the popcorn 🍿.

Sounds depressing doesn’t it? That’s just the small business life out here sometimes.

Not the depression part the realism.

I adjusted to this situation years ago. I tweaked every possible problem to survive. I saw the writing on the wall. Doesn’t make me smarter than some just more weathered.

The show can be frustrating.

Ticket slumps

I’ve walked away from most of that show. Not because I don’t believe in it but because my heart has changed. Stepped out from behind the curtain, bowed and walked away.

“I’m gonna rent myself a house
In the shade of the freeway
Gonna pack my lunch in the morning
And go to work each day

And when the evening rolls around
I’ll go on home and lay my body down
And when the morning light comes streaming in
I’ll get up and do it again
Amen“