An Air Show Performer's Road to Success
My name is Joanne Dashney and I have had the unique and exciting experience of being involoved in the Air Show industry for several years. I have played multiple roles which included:
- Performer ground crew support
- Website Design and Marketing
- Air Show organizing/volunteering
I was an ICAS convention exhibitor in Las Vegas for the December, 2007 convention. What an education! As I observed 4 days and nights of exhibitor and Air Show Organizer interaction, there appeared to be a definite element to this convention that I needed to discuss with Air Show performers. It's not about “booking your act”! You may disagree. Read on and you'll see my logic.
My desire to share this insight began several years ago, when my brother was a new, solo aerobatic performer, and was new to ICAS. After each ICAS Convention He would call me and express his disappointment in not being able to book any shows for the up and coming year. Sound familiar? Not only could he not secure any bookings, he was also faced with indifference from some of the organizers. Some, although polite, remained uninterested while others seemed evasive and not ready to engage in conversation. This can be quite an “ego bruise” if you are not prepared for it.
By year 4 of his attendance, He was considering leaving the industry altogether. With a bit of encouragement and determination he managed to tough it out for a while longer, and over the next few years his contacts began to grow, and his number of bookings began to increase. What was the change? It's no secret. The following pages in this site will tell you everything you already knew about developing your network, but forgot.
Not to worry. My next site will be about “Techniques for Memory Recovery”.
Joanne Dashney
True North Graphix