Our listening group
So today I payed hooky from family and life to make a run to Portland to sit and meet with a group of folks listening to the DKYDJ podcast.
It was a long slog, made longer by handling some errands while I was inland, and I knew it would be. However I thought it was essential to meet up with these folks. I really wanted to get some validation and whatever suggestions I could get from creative minds that have no background in kites.
Fortunately I got the validation that I was hoping for (even better than I actually expected), and some solid suggestions to improve the product.
Besides my selfish desires being fulfilled, it was a lovely chat with some friendly, caring, and creative people about their desires, objectives, challenges and misgivings.
I’m pretty certain that I’m the oldest of the group that met today (not everyone made it) by a good margin, and I hope that I didn’t dominate the conversations with the suggestions that I make very naturally to my Scouts when we discuss their challenges.
Prime example from my one of my friends
On my way home tonight, some of the misgivings expressed by one of the members (which echoed thoughts from plenty of other listeners throughout the podcast thus far) regarding the desire for a passion project, but the lack of a passion, lead me to think of my friend Scott Hampton and his side hustle(s) of many years.
Scott is now a retired school teacher from Utah, but when I first knew him he would have been one of my teachers. He had the kiting bug, but also had a family.
I met him at the Washington State International Kite Festival (WSIKF), a week long festival that fills a mile of a wide beach in Southwest Washingtin. Scott had brought some wire figure sculptures featuring kites. These were popular, I believe they sold out, paid for his trip, but most importantly created and audience for him.
The next two times that I saw Scott (at that same annual event) he further endeared himself to that audience by selling posters with representations of the flying works of the attendees of the event.
Scott never left the day job, but pivoted his creative drive, and developed his technique and his audience over the years. Now he is making gorgeous kites, banners, and wind toys and his work is instantly recognized by his group of fans that spans the globe.
Telling bad stories relentlessly
My visit with the listening group showed me that my kites can be appreciated by folks without a background in kites, but that I need to add two things to my packaging.
First I need to include instructions. Both for flying the kite and displaying the card. I want to make them as concise as possible, wish me luck.
Also, they pointed out that my story will be an important reason that people will purchase the card and a way to generate future direct sales.
So, as Seth Godin has said, I need to tell my story until I get better at telling it. While I obviously don’t mind writing, I really will have to get over the twisting in my gut when I think that I’m waving my hands screaming “Look at me, look at me!”.
So my homework from the meeting is, write my story, rewrite my story again and again, until it is good. Can I hope for great, without perfectionism stalling me?