It takes more than just music to get things started.
Have you ever wanted something so bad that you could taste it? You did absolutely everything right (well, in your own mind, at least). You wrote the music, hired the band, rehearsed endlessly for days and mailed out the invitations.
Only, no one showed up.
Or, they are there, but no toes are a tappin’. Maybe, it’s only your closest friends standing around the dance floor having the same old conversations. (Uh oh; looks like someone over-ordered food and is going to be eating leftover guacamole for days.)
Sometimes, things happen in a certain way just because that is what they do. The pendulum might swing in your favor – or it could knock you on your keister. The funny thing is, when we are on the winning side, we think we earned it. That, of course, the victory was a foregone conclusion. (Check out my recent post as to why our brain is wired this way.)
But when we are on our backsides looking up from the floor, it is easy to shake your fist at others rather than taking a good hard look at ourselves. If it is not working and no one is dancing to your beat, maybe your playlist still needs a little work, you invited the wrong people to the party or you simply need to re-think your promotion.
That is the hardest part. How do you figure out the reason everything fell flat when you thought you had nailed it?
First, you have to acknowledge that you cannot make something happen just by sheer will, boundless desire and determination. Those things are great, but this post carries the title it does for a reason.
Then get started by performing a post-mortem on the swing-and-a-miss. Perhaps the rejection is just part of the process. Suck it up, push on through and try again. Or, it could be that you need to tweak or refine your offering, better explain what your product is and why it matters, or it could reveal you are in a hopelessly leaky boat and it is time to abandon ship.
To get there, ask questions. A lot of them. And really listen to the answers. Pay especially close attention to the negative. It might sting a little bit, but there is knowledge hidden amongst those nos. And avoid the echo chamber. It might feel all warm and fuzzy to surround yourself with (sometimes false) positivity, but selling only to your closest buddies is not how you build a business – or accomplish much of anything.
At the end of it all, though, play your music. Invite your friends. Put up flyers around town. But make sure you get the rhythm right or it will feel more like an awkward, middle school dance than a booming house party.
MUSIC BOX
You Can't Force A Dance Party by Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele
This song is at first awkward, then quirky, shortly followed by just downright fun. Dent May has a smooth, retro-feeling voice, and this tune showcases what he was made to do. And that is to rock a ukulele and get everyone up and out of their seats. Maybe that dance party isn’t that hard, after all...