An update

I've only tattooed conventions around Chicago, so jumping into the Baltimore convention was new to me. I know the depth of my clientele at home. Who knows if that'll really transfer elsewhere?

A small booth costs money. The travel and lodging costs even more. So it was a small leap of faith; you know, I went all in.

Then, a week after signing up, I got all nervous. What if nobody wants an appointment? Baltimore is loaded with some of the best traditional work around... I don't specialize in that stuff. Hmm... will I even get people walking up? How busy will it be?

So, to ease my concern, I promoted. Nothing incredible. But I made a small post on this site and sent out a Myspace bulletin. It was a matter of taking extra time to say "hey". I'm not too keen on doing it, but I knew it had to be done.

A few hours later I had my first appointment. Days later I was filling up spots. Then, who knew? I was booked solid. Now, I wasn't going to say anything until after it happened. But the response was tremendous.

And I say this not to boast (who cares?), but simply because I had no idea. Some photos, a website, an updated Myspace page and links from a convention site were enough to capture attention. Sure, I work hard on my tattoos. And that counts. But the combination of it all worked. So much so that I wasn't ready for it really. I wasn't prepared for the effort involved in scheduling.

Most contacts started via email. Then it was a matter of staying on top of the ideas and, if I wanted to do it, I had to buckle down and put things in stone. I opened up iCal and kept everything synced with my iPhone so I could have info on me when I was at the shop. I tried to give myself extra time between tattoos because of the environment, but will make a point to allow for more next time.

And, to top it off, I actually enjoyed each client I met in Baltimore. They couldn't have been a better group of people. And for those of you that specifically came up, introduced yourself as a reader, and gave me love... thank you!