Attending an MBS event resulted in a rebellious act.
We had exhibited with an organiser for years. As I walked to my talk, I counted a number of stalls similar to our own. Fourteen tables selling the same product. We could hold own that weekend and covered the costs without a problem. The point is there were others who suffered that weekend. On the journey home the decision we could not be part of this illusion was made. Anyone can fill a room with exhibitors leading them to believe they may cover their overheads. They leave without profit and a weekend of life hours is wasted. For my part, the organiser’s reputation was over and could not be repaired. I could not be a part of this anymore.
We often find it difficult to walk away from apparent safety. We may reflect that situations which affect unique aspects of our lives, impact on a greater part of our existence, we eventually meet a breaking point. The events were supposed to help visitors enhance their lives, and the exhibitors were falling like moths around the flame of a candle. We saw the organisations as rooms where many exhibitors experience continuous failure. The most challenging aspect was there was no guidance or support. My goodness, the list of failures is catastrophic, one example is this: – People standing in lecture rooms advising the audience how to become rich and driving home on a wing and a prayer. I could not be part of this anymore.
I return to the words of a friend Francis ‘It can take years to succeed – Although every day is a success – hurdles will be encountered and should be enjoyed – nothing is lost’ We can think about his words, and many will dismiss them. Although with scrutiny it is evident the statement is accurate. There are formulas to prosperity and knowing how to manage money is not the priority. The priority is the perception of what you want to achieve. When money is the priority, it is an objective which can be evasive.
Liz and I talked about the years of standing at MBS fairs and our indoor market stall. NO doubt we can evidence our success. After three months we’d formulated how we would expand our small events business. The priority was to place ethos and reputation before profit. The original objective was to give our exhibitors a platform where they could exhibit for the first time. Market Rasen and Trowell fulfilled this perfectly. The shows were evolving, for example, we no longer considered the people who made the show as exhibitors, we had become a family, and the idea of the community began to become a reality. The realisation we needed to make a differing impression and be clear about our ethos would be imperative to our success.
I referred to my journals, and specifically to the way our contributions to other events had either been ignored or squandered. I took careful note of organisers disadvantaging their clients. However as I revisited my comments, the common observation was ‘we are never thanked for our custom.’ As I spoke to other exhibitors, they agreed with the view. It is interesting that I have fourteen years of information specifically filed under ‘Shows’ and I can evidence the changes made by organisers. And I can also evidence certain changes made by ourselves have filtered down the line, the one of note is gratitude.
Liz and I have always demonstrated gratitude to the community and I will express this with a formal declaration of thanks. I will make a clear statement of our foundational ideas. I hope they will become a benchmark in time. We make the following four commitments as an indication of gratitude: –
- LizianEvents is a platform for A Community, and we put ethos and integrity before profit.
- To enable us to do this we embellish transparency and fairness – Therefore a number of statues are written to form the constitution of our purpose. These statues are the ‘nine guiding rules’ written on our exhibitor information page.
- We are not the event. The community is the event.
- We will work to promote each member of our community and give them every opportunity to increase their profile on our media platform. We will make videos, record MP3 downloads and publish exhibitors essays and opinions in pursuit of this objective.
We have now formulated our path for the next twelve months. The four parts of this article reveal how we have decided to progress. We know we have an immense responsibility in taking this path. One of creating a truly integrated and sharing platform where like-minded people can prosper and share their ideas with other people. We feel this is the only way for our events to progress and build a special reputation with our visitors. Those who choose to come with us on this journey can truly know, they will become part of their events.
Part Two: continues tomorrow
