Recently, I had a Tea and Scones party and sale. That is, I intended to have one. I sent out invitations to friends and neighbors in our village environs.
With hubby’s help, I cleaned, baked, decorated, and wove scarves. I served three kinds of scones and vanilla and cinnamon sugared almonds, along with a pot of organic assam tea and a pot of hot water for people who wanted to choose from a variety of specialty teas. The counter top, spread with tea and scones looked beautiful and festive.
The dining table held my handwoven scarves, books, CDs, prints and oils. Holiday music played softly…
And for the three hours, only 5 people showed up. My party was a flop. A failure.
Not a major disaster but sort of like getting rejections for your novel, or receiving bad reviews for your play or performance, or having a gallery opening and only family and a few friends show up.
After all the hard work, the inner child wants to go have a tantrum, singing out that old favorite, “Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, I’m gonna eat some worms…”
I’m not sure what eating worms will solve except give you something to really complain about when your stomach hurts afterwards, but for sure neither tantrum nor worm-eating will change anything.
Now granted, I totally believe in having a tantrum (in private) once in a while…let that inner child express herself and then be done with it.
But to turn any creative failure into future success, ask:
- Is it my creative work? Instinctively our first response, we ask ourselves if there is something wrong with our work and, beneath that, if there is something wrong with us. Assuming we have done our learning and developing as creatives then asking ourselves if there is something wrong with us is neither helpful nor useful. So that brings us back to the work. Did we hurry the process? Fail to get feedback? Falter on the finishing details?
- Is the timing off? For writers, that might look like writing a paranormal novel about vampires at a time when interest in that genre is beginning to wane. Or, painting abstracts when many collectors are attracted to photographic realism. You and your work may be ahead of your time or you may be lagging behind. IF so, you’ll have to promote and educate more, or incorporate some element to make the work timely.
- Am I promoting to the wrong market? This is a frequent problem. Your current market may be saturated. I saw this when I did professional craft shows with my weaving. Every time I turned around, someone else was sponsoring a craft show. Regions became saturated with shows AND with the exhibitors’ work. OR, it really isn’t the market for you in the first place. I made this mistake when I marketed an event to an audience that really didn’t “get” the work I do. In either case, the solution is to change the offering or look for a new market. Try smaller publishing houses for your novel, or smaller boutique galleries for your art work, for example.
Then, decide if you want to keep doing the work you are doing, which means asking a final question:
“What change(s) am I willing to make, or what action(s) am I willing to take, to turn this failure into my next success?”
Then commit to that change or action.
My changes? I won’t have a holiday party and sale here in this area again. This area is obviously no longer my market. So, I’m considering an alternative. The challenge?
How to serve tea and scones across the internet.
3 Responses
What a terrific gift you have given us all with this great post! Your example of how to handle the disappointment of a poor response to an offer is excellent. You walk the talk of the turning creative failure into future success!
I’m not sure that anyone who is an entrepreneur can avoid the experience of creating something that just doesn’t get the expected or anticipated results. Seems like it’s part of the entrepreneurial growth process. I know I’ve been there a couple of times and I’ve no doubt that it may happen again – it’s part of trying new things. Your sage advise is exactly what we all need to keep in mind – don’t stop trying because something doesn’t work – ask the tough questions and tune instead!
And I am so there for you with tea and scones across the internet – love it!
Thank you, Lynda-Ross. As someone who has stood in a crafts booth while potential customer after potential customer walked by and didn’t buy, and, as a creativity coach and writer who has experienced rejections and that sound of silence when nothing sells, we do just have to learn to take failure in stride. I can’t help but be reminded of my grandson who, in spite of falls and challenges while learning to crawl and walk, doesn’t keep trying, always with his eyes on where he wants to go…
And that’s the key, isn’t it? Keeping our eyes on the prize…
And what kind of tea would you like…white, green, black?
Hi Paula,
I’m sorry that your event was not well attended. I can tell from reading your post that you put so much time and prep work into having everything very welcoming. 🙁
It’s true that it is harder and harder to engage people, whether locally or on the internet. I’ve known you for a while, and I do think you are still searching where to find your most ideal customers and clients. But that sure doesn’t mean there is no value to what you offer – in fact, the opposite!
Sue P.