This past weekend, I was doing a show. It was one of those strange weekends, a comedy of errors, if you like. It seemed like everything was going wrong.

Thankfully, or maybe unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, the misery was spread out amongst several vendors.

It started out in the morning with setup. The show promoters had placed the booth spaces so they were more toward the middle of the street. This left much less room for our vehicles to drive in to unload. Many artists had to wait for other cars to get out of the way before they could get to their booths. One artist was trying to squeeze her truck into a tight space and backed into another vehicle. Thankfully, there was no damage. That's one big reason why I always try to get to a show before the specified setup time.

After unloading and moving my car, I went to help a fellow artist who was trying to put up a dome style canopy by herself. Almost impossible to do. That's why I have developed my booth setup so that I can do it all by myself and in a reasonable amount of time.

This same flustered artist experienced the first mishap of the show. Her display table fell over sending frames flying and glass breaking. That's why all of my display fixtures are very stable and either they are weighted down, or they are attached to the tent frame.

Not to be outdone, one of my other booth neighbors experienced similar problems. It was her first outdoor show. She had a tent with no sides and no weights, so the afternoon winds went whistling through her booth, shifting her tent around and dumping her precariously displayed frames to the asphalt. That's why I attach weights to my tent even if the wind is calm in the morning.

Another booth neighbor wasn't prepared for the weather. It was a picture perfect sunny California day. She was wearing a tank top and was starting to turn a pale shade of red. That's why I am always prepared with several layers of clothing, a hat, and sunscreen.

There were lots of other minor mishaps throughout the weekend. I won't go into the details. However, there is one more that I need to talk about. It was an incident that the police got involved with.

My next door booth neighbor was burglarized. She was helping a "customer" who distracted her. The "customer" was able to take the cashbox without the artist's knowledge. It was toward the end of the day, so the artist's entire take for the day was in that cashbox along with her $300 for making change. That's why I don't use a cashbox. I keep a very small amount of money in an envelope for making change, and all of my take goes into my pockets or other hidden places. Also, you really don't need $300 for making change. $50 at most is sufficient.

Well, this sure wasn't a boring weekend. I would have preferred to say that it was interesting because of all the sales that I made. But, at least I came home with more cash than when I started. And, that's the reason for doing a show, isn't it?

There's something a little bit scary about clicking the button. The button that says, "Okay, I'm ready to send this out into the world.

I just did that today. I clicked the button. I approved the final version of my next book.

This is a very similar feeling to completing a piece of artwork. You know ... that moment when you sign your name to the piece declaring IT IS DONE.

It's an exhilarating feeling mixed with a bit of apprehension. A little bit of "I love this piece!" and a little bit of "Is anyone else going to like this?"

When you complete a piece of artwork and put it out into the world, you are putting a piece of yourself out there as well.

How your artwork, and ultimately you, are received by the world is one of those fears that all artists face.

Right now, today, I am facing that fear. While I do have some trepidation, I am proud of the book that I wrote. I know I've done the best that I can do. And, in the end, if you know in your heart that you have done your best, then there is no reason to fear.

I had a wonderful experience a couple of days ago. I was interviewed by fellow artist Nancy Roux for the Art-A-Fair Festival Facebook page. Now, usually, I am on the other side of the table asking the questions.  In fact, you can see me interviewing Nancy on the video page. So, this was a shift from my normal function as interviewer.

It was a very different perspective.

Rather than having to listen to come up with the next question to ask, I merely had to respond to the questions I was asked. It was a lot easier!

Of course, it helped having a kind, friendly, and helpful interviewer asking the questions. Even the photo shoot portion was fun! I've noticed that over my years of having to appear in public, I have shed many of my inhibitions about being photographed. This transition has taken many years of practice to get to the point where I can feel comfortable under public scrutiny. Sometimes it's still hard. However, it does get easier every time I do it.

I think Nancy did a fabulous job with her article writing. And the photos turned out great, too. This article was just posted on Facebook today. You can see the results here.

And, as if this isn't already ego inflating enough, today I just found out that I was chosen as the featured artist for the Oceanside Days of Art!

I was at the Craft and Hobby Association trade show this last weekend. It's a great big trade show where buyers go to find the latest craft items and other things to sell in their shops. Since it's a trade show, you can't purchase items and take them home with you. So, it's a little bit different from the regular art or craft shows that most of us are used to doing.

However, the concept is still the same. People come into your booth, you talk to them, and hopefully, they buy something.

Unlike some of the shows that you or I might do, instead of paying $100 or so for booth space, these companies are spending thousands. So, imagine my surprise when I walk into a booth and get ignored by three people who are busily texting.

Now, I may not have been their next million-dollar order, but they'll never know.

And this company was not the only guilty party. I saw quite a few booths where the vendors were either talking on their phones, texting, or working on their computers. And, they were ignoring all their potential buyers.

Is this any way to run a business?

Definitely not. It doesn't matter if you've invested $100, $1000, or $10,000, if you paid to be at a show, you should be talking to all those potential buyers.

Thankfully, not all the vendors exhibited this type of behavior. I walked into several booths where I was greeted warmly, and given information. There was even one booth where there was a lady demonstrating their products. She greeted me and gave me one of the bracelets that she was making. Do you think I'll remember that vendor in the future? Definitely.

So, remember this: you never know if that person walking into your booth is going to be your next customer. Don’t ignore them. Better yet, give them a reason to buy from you.

I am a do-it-yourselfer. If there's something that needs to be done, I'll get in there and do it. Sometimes I don't even know how to do what needs to be done. But, I do it anyway.

Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. And, the times that it doesn't work, can often result in mistakes.

Now, mistakes aren't necessarily bad. It's how we learn. However, wouldn't it be easier to let someone else make the mistakes?

That's where a guide comes in. Wouldn't it be great to have someone walking ahead of you, who has already been on the path? Your guide can point out where the pitfalls are. Your guide can help you navigate along the path.

Your guide can save you time, money, and effort by helping you stay on the right path. Wouldn't that be valuable to you?

So, how do you get one of these guides? Well, here are five different ways:

1. The first and most obvious is to simply ask someone. Of course, it goes without saying, that as shy artists, we are unlikely to do that. I know I would have a difficult time walking up to another artist and asking them to be my mentor.
2. Another way is to just start talking to other artists. We often have downtime during shows when there are no customers around. This is a good opportunity to just talk. And, by asking some questions, you can get a lot of information.
3. Not quite as good is the observation method. Just sit back and watch what you're booth neighbors do and try to emulate it.
4. Join an artist group. Art associations will often have guest speakers talking about the business of art. Absorb as much information as you can.
5. Lastly, for the truly shy amongst us, there are always books. There are many many books out there talking about how to sell, how to communicate, how to get rid of shyness, how to relate to your customers, how to talk, how to act, how to dress, and the list goes on and on. My book, "The Shy Artists Guide to Dealing with the Public", is one of these.

Now, if you're truly serious about changing the way you deal with your customers, I would recommend doing all of these things. The more information you expose yourself to, the better you'll be able to find what works for you.

Tell me what methods you've used successfully. Leave a comment below.

So, why do we do it? Why do we put ourselves through miles of driving, back breaking setup, long hours of standing, and tearing it all back down again?

What drives us?

Hope.

It's the hope that by making great art, the buyers will come. We know our art is good and we know that if people just see it, that they will buy it.

But, isn't this just a delusion? Stop and think about this for a minute. Let's say you need to buy a food processor. Do you just go to the department store, point to the first food processor you see, and say, “I'll take it?” no. You probably start by doing some research, checking out different models to see which one will suit your needs. Then, when you get to the store, you'll at least have an idea of what you want.

Customers at an art show are no different. While they're there to buy art rather than a food processor, the thought process is similar. They're still trying to figure out if what you have is what they want.

Don't delude yourself into thinking that all you need to do is put your art work out, and people will buy it.

Just like you might need some help choosing the best food processor, your customers also need help choosing your art work. Are you there to help them?

Give yourself more than hope. If you can actively engage your customers, and get them involved with your art work, you can greatly increase your chance of making sales. And, you can make getting up before the crack of dawn worthwhile.

It was really quiet for Monday night, so we didn't even have to wait in line. The cashier looked in the cart and saw the box. Her eyes lit up. She looked up and asked, "Can you wait on this?"

Huh? But it's my birthday! ... Today! ... I want my present!

Well, the cashier went on to explain, "If you could wait until Thursday, this will be $25 off." Oh, now I get it. Hey, 25 bucks is worth waiting for. And, she was waiting until Thursday to get one for herself.

So, here's what I want to remark on. The Costco cashier didn't have to say anything. She could have let us buy it for the regular price, and we still would've been happy. Instead, she let us know that it was going to be going on sale. She didn't have to do that.

Now, this is a small thing. After all, it's only $25. However, it was a nice thing for her to do. Here's where the remarkable part comes in. I've just mentioned Costco in this blog post several times, and in a positive way.

I've shopped at Costco for many years. Today, for the first time, I am remarking on them, because one of their employees did something remarkable.

It doesn't take much to get people talking. What remarkable thing can you do to get people talking about you? Share your ideas...

Personally, I like to know where I am going. Thankfully, there is Google maps and GPS systems.

Do you have a GPS for your art career? Do you know where your passion is located?

Finding out where your passion lies can be a big step toward overcoming shyness. Imagine that you are in high school and you have to give a report on the history of cardboard. Yeah, I know, really exciting, isn't it?!? Do you really care about your subject? I mean REALLY care?

If not, then you are probably not going to put the work and effort into giving a great report. If you don't care, then why do the work, right?

Now, turn that around. What if you do care? What if the topic you have to give a report about is something you really love? What if it is something that you have a lot of knowledge about? What if it is something that is really interesting to you?

Don't you want to share your knowledge with other people?

What does that feel like? Think for a moment. Was there ever a time when you felt really excited about some interesting information and you just had to share it with someone else? Did you feel shy or reserved about sharing? I'm guessing probably not. And, even if you felt a little bit of shyness, your excitement probably allowed you to overcome the shyness, right?

So, where does your excitement and passion come from? Once you are able to answer that question, you will be on your way to your True North.