The Maker’s Quest

Tips for Selling at Trade Shows, Art Galleries, and Craft Shows

In this episode, the guys talk about their experiences at tradeshows, art galleries, and arts and crafts shows. They talk about what they do to make the show successful and things that are challenging.
 
Hosted by
Brian Benham
https://www.briansbenham.com/ 
Portfolio: https://www.behance.net/Brian_Benham Brian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQCustom Furniture https://www.benhamdesignconcepts.com/
Greg Porter
https://skyscraperguitars.com/Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitars YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
Show Notes
Sometimes, the best contacts you make at a show are with other vendors for B2B business.
Not everyone gets enough orders at the show to pay for the booth fee, but people often remember you and become future customers.
The general rule of marketing is 1 out of 1000.  On average you have to hand out 1000 business cards to get 1 customer. or 1000 clicks to get a sale, etc.
Sharing a booth fee can help bring down the cost, but check the booth rules to be sure you aren't breaking their rules and get kicked out.
 Have literature that customers can take with them so they can look you up later.
 Present yourself in a professional, friendly manner; don't have RBF (Resting Brian Face)

New Projects In The Work Shop

Today, we take a break from discussing designs and making topics and talk a little about what we have going on in our shops: current projects, new projects on the horizon, and the daily grind of being a maker.
Show Notes
Brian has a large steel table base in the shop, working on new patination processes.  The sheer size makes him wish he had a shop helper to help schlep it around.
He had challenges controlling the chemicals to get the colors he was looking for
Brian has a new bed project in the wings. Greene and Greene inspired
Greg is trying to fill a void in the guitar market but can't find electronic parts made in the US and is forced to look overseas.
That product is a side heated side bender for acoustic guitars.
He really wanted to source everything in the US, but nobody made the parts he needed, so he had to find someone on the global market and import the electronics.
There are a lot of Challenges in prototyping a new product.
Hosted by
Brian Benham
https://www.briansbenham.com/
Portfolio https://archinect.com/people/cover/150398593/brian-benhamBrian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQCustom Furniture https://www.benhamdesignconcepts.com/
Greg Porter
https://skyscraperguitars.com/Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitars YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
 

Making Pens with Curt Van Filipowski From Confounded Machine EP22

Curt creates handmade pens from Titanium that are precision machined in his home workshop.   He got his start from his curiosity in machining and CAD.  He created a pen for himself and started carrying it around with him, and people noticed and commented on the quality.  It wasn't long before he was able to quit his job and make pens full-time.
You can connect with Curt at
Website: https://www.confoundedmachine.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcRm7BOOAQgbuehhrHCc34Q
Instagram: @confoundedmachine
Hosted by
Brian Benham
https://www.briansbenham.com/Brian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQCustom Furniture https://www.benhamdesignconcepts.com/
Greg Porter
https://skyscraperguitars.com/Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitars YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
 
 

Custom Drums With Bryan Bales EP21

Today, we talked with Custom Drum maker Bryan Bales.  Bryan got his start in drum making from his curiosity of wanting to learn how to make drums and his love for making things.
Bryan can be found on Instagram at Bales5000, his YouTube is Bales5000, and he is active on Instructables, sharing his drum and prop builds,
When he is not building crazy experimental drums or over-the-top Halloween costumes, he works with his friend at Calderwood Percussion, building high-end custom drums.
Hosted by
Greg Porter
https://skyscraperguitars.com/Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitars YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
Brian Benham
https://www.briansbenham.com/Brian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQCustom Furniture https://www.benhamdesignconcepts.com/
 
Thank you. https://www.themakersquest.com/

Is Social Media Still Viable to Promote Your Business

Is social media still a viable way to promote your business, or is the new business model to be a content creator, making products secondary?
Today, we talk about our past successes and our future strategies for getting our products out in front of people.
Show Notes
Instagram Top 9 in the hashtags, is it still a thing
Brian says Social Media no longer sends him much passive income
Organic growth on social media is dead
You  have to sell your sole to the algorithm to grow
Social media companies have lost the importance of community
Selling on Amazon is a huge pain but can pay off
Passive income can bring in big dollars but takes time to build up.
Andy Birkey: "Some days you make art, some days you make rent."
Aprentachips will teach you a lot; do it before you have responsibilities.
SEO and blogs might make a comeback if social media totally falls apart.
At the end of the day, it's still an outlet to get your message out in the world; you just have to keep up with the changes
Hosted by
Greg Porter
https://skyscraperguitars.com/Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitars YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
Brian Benham
https://www.brianbenham.com/Brian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQCustom Furniture https://www.benhamdesignconcepts.com/

How to Price Your Creative Work and Avoid Pitfalls - EP19

Tonight, we talk about how to price your work so you can run a successful business and put food on your table.  Whether it is pricing a custom piece or a mass-manufactured piece, we've got you covered with a few tips you can implement today to price your work for success!
Hosted by
Brian Benham  https://www.benhamdesignconcepts.com/
Greg Porter https://skyscraperguitars.com/

The Unhealthy Pursuit of Perfection

The Unhealthy Pursuit of Perfection, we have all been there.  Every one of us who makes things tries to make it perfect, but perfection is a fool's earned and unattainable.  The more you know, the more you know you don't know.   In this episode, we talk about how the pursuit of Perfection can reach unhealthy levels and what we do to stay sane and continue our maker's quest.
Hosted by
Greg Porterhttps://skyscraperguitars.com/Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitarsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
Brian Benhamhttps://www.brianbenham.com/Brian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQCustom Furniture https://www.benhamdesignconcepts.com/

How Many Projects are Too Many Projects

This is a common issue for creatives that make things. We all have active imaginations; we can visualize lots of things.  Then the distractions come into play. We are drawn to the new shiny project or derailed by a project that we have to do to make money to keep the bills paid.
https://www.themakersquest.com/how-many-projects-are-too-many-projects-ep17
Greg Porterhttps://skyscraperguitars.com/Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitarsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
Brian Benhamhttps://www.brianbenham.com/Brian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQCustom Furniture https://www.benhamdesignconcepts.com/

How To Stay Curious to Stay Creative

In this episode, the guys talk about the power of staying curious and how it will help you stay creative in your journey as a  maker.
Show notes: https://www.themakersquest.com/how-to-stay-curious-to-stay-creative
 
Hosted by
Greg Porterhttps://skyscraperguitars.com/Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitarsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
Brian Benhamhttps://www.brianbenham.com/Brian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQCustom Furniture https://www.benhamdesignconcepts.com/

Gathering Inspiration For Designs - EP15

In today's episode, Brian and Greg Talk about different techniques for gathering inspiration for their designs and then iterating from basic design principles to more abstract concepts and techniques.
Show Notes:
https://www.themakersquest.com/gathering-insperation-for-designs-ep15
Hosted by
Greg Porterhttps://skyscraperguitars.com/Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitarsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
Brian Benhamhttps://www.brianbenham.com/Brian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQ