Probably the biggest difficulty in what I am trying to do is that there is a shortage of successful business models to follow. The best way I can describe what I do is: part street peddler, part traveling repairman, part poet, part minstrel. And it's going to take me awhile to learn how to market each successfully, not wear too many hats, and make sure there is no conflict between the various means of making a living.
One thing I've discovered, though: it sure makes you ready for the off days. There's a lot of work in trying to get work, and just the job of scoping out that night's lodging is a vocation in itself. I have the luxury of bringing my shelter with me; a lot of folks do not.
So I'm trying to develop marketing materials, because a $50 virus clean can sure make a trip more lucrative. And as I can build a reputation for service and reliability, maybe I can increase that over time. I'll just have to make contacts while I am traveling.
I think I'm going to print up some online business cards; I will publish some of my itinerary on the FB page, but it's going to take a little luck and a lot of favorable winds to really get things into high gear. In the meantime, I am trying to find gigs in the Okemah, OK - Oklahoma City area between July 6-13, as I will be away at WoodyFest, our family's annual pilgrimage.
I am gaining a much greater respect for the fathers who spent months at a time away from their families in railroad, in the oilfields, and in war. I have the luxury of returning home more often, and as weary as I am at the end of the week, I can barely imagine the fatigue that occurs after months, or years, at a time.
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