A little over ten months ago my wife and I relocated from Atlanta to Memphis. It was the right thing to do for lots of reasons, mostly family-related. But one major concern was how the move would affect my business. In Atlanta I had the benefit of over three decades of personal and professional networking, and moving to Memphis at this point felt a lot like starting over, albeit with a lot of lessons learned along the way.
Here’s a summary of the road so far and how I tried to set myself up to be successful.
Pre-Planning
After we had decided to move, I scheduled some informal gatherings with local colleagues. I wanted to make sure they knew that my intent was to build new business and to respect existing client relationships. I was already aware of a few performers and their gigs in the area, and I wanted to be clear that I would not be proactively contacting people’s standing clients. In moving to a smaller city, the last thing I wanted to do was to create any animosity.
Professional Networking and Local Press
I had joined the local county chamber of commerce six months before we moved here. It is not a chamber with a lot of networking events, but I wanted to start building relationships with people who could help me meet people. I also sought out other networking opportunities.
As a result of my first networking meeting, I scheduled an event speaking to the board of another local chamber. I arranged to speak for a fee plus a year’s membership. This led to connecting with a local magazine producer who wanted to feature my work in an article. This led to other opportunities. You can read the article in the graphic below, or download the PDF here.
Further networking activities included participating in the local magic club, attending and serving at churches, attending civic events, doing free Rotary Club appearances, attending and observing comedy open mics and attending other professional networking events.
Producing and Promoting My Own Appearances
Attending comedy open mics was not entirely for entertainment and networking. I was also scouting possible locations to produce my own show. In the process of looking for those venues, though, I found another venue that allowed me to create additional work.
The unexpected work was another restaurant gig. I had performed table-side magic at a restaurant near Atlanta for a decade, and it was extremely helpful in getting me booked for corporate events during the first part of my career. I found a venue in Collierville that was not really suitable for a parlor/stage magic show, but which was perfect for strolling restaurant magic. I scheduled a meeting, an audition, and now they want me there as many times each month as I’m available.
The main project I was seeking to house, though, was a ticketed magic show in the vein of the show I had co-produced in Atlanta for the last eleven years. I found two venues and am currently seeking additional venues. Launching this show also gave me a story to pitch to local television, and that resulted in a television appearance which you can watch below.
What Have I Learned So Far?
While the last ten months have been a challenge, there are a number of successes, including many not mentioned here. I continue to make appearances for clients in Atlanta two to three times each month. My other clients have adjusted to flying me from Memphis, which while admittedly isn’t as convenient as the direct flights from Atlanta, has the benefit of a much less stressful entry and security process.
My biggest takeaway is that there is no substitute for getting out there and making the connections happen. If you are in a business that depends on being in the right place at the right time and knowing the right people, then it follows that you need to be in a lot of places, at a lot of times, and get to know a lot of people. If I have a networking strategy, that’s probably it!
