So what do you do when things don’t go the way you had planned or even how you had hoped they would go? Do you give up and never try again or do you keep going and push through? This is where I found myself the last few months.

June 26th I was at the Oak Highlands Brewery. It was an indoor/outdoor event and I had the benefit of being indoors. However, I am learning that inside space does not necessarily mean climate control inside space. At least for this show I didn’t have to set up a tent!

I was able to set up two tables with a variety of products. I had everything from small canvases to coasters to jewelry and wooden pieces. Prices ranged from $5 to $50, as they usually do with these products. I got some exposure with talking to people but I didn’t sell anything. I was hoping to at least make back the cost of the booth but unfortunately that was not the case. This was the second show this year that I had been to where I did not sell anything.

The next weekend after the Oak Highlands Brewery event, I was in Anna at the Barnhill Vineyard. Again I was inside and was actually provided a long table so all I needed to bring was product. That was a plus for sure!

For this show, I had the same product that I had at Oak Highlands with the exception of two trays that I had made during the week before I went to Anna. The main difference between Oak Highlands and Barnhill was the placing of my booth. At Oak Highlands, my booth was in the actually Brewery area rather than in the bar/seating area. At Barnhill, my booth was in the same place where people were enjoying wine, food or conversation.

Once they were done, or before they sat down, they’d walk around to all of the booths. The better placement of my booth allowed me to make a sale with someone who had previously been unsure. She had visited my table, sat down for a while and then came back to make the purchase. If my booth had been outside, she may not have come back.

While i still came up short for the cost of the space, the Anna event showed me that I just have to find the right venue and space. Breweries may not be the right place for me as I’ve come up short for two events there. But the Vinyard might be. I have two more shows to test this theory.

The other thing I did differently for the Barnhill event, was my own advertising. I used Facebook and Instagram to target an add for the event for people specifically in Anna,TX. I do think I got more foot traffic because of that. For the August 7th show, I have also done my own advertising for two weeks. We will see how that turns out Sunday.

I say all this to say, when something doesn’t turn out the way you wanted or had hoped, don’t give up. Just because something is hard, doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing. Just because two shows didn’t turnout the way I wanted, doesn’t mean I should shut down Eph210artstudio.

Things don’t always go the way we want them to. Sometimes the way we want things are not in God’s plan for our lives. Things will happen that will test our faith and make us question if what we are doing is right. When this happens, I pray for God’s guidance, direction and perseverance to keep going in the way He would have me go.

I pray for whatever trials or problems you are facing now. I pray for strength and endurance for you to keep going in that situation and for God’s grace and comfort.

Until next time,

God bless.