Merchants of Dirt Episode #55 Kyle introduces Event Yak podcast dedicated to talking to event industry veterans who live, eat, and breathe live events. Introducing: Event Yak As Race Promoters and Directors trying to keep your Event Business alive during this unprecedented time, you need to find all the help and ideas you can get! Introducing: Event Yak -- a podcast hosted by my good friend Terri Walters from Moonfish Production. Terri's podcast features interviews from some of the top event industry veterans who live, eat and breathe live events. In this episode, Terri interviews someone who is near and dear to Mr. Murphy's heart -- ME! Learn more about Terri Walters and Event Yak: Moonfish Production Event Yak Podcast Event Yak on Apple Podcasts Event Yak on Google Event Yak on Spotify Get Lost Racing coming to Merchants of Dirt! The Get Lost Racing Podcast, hosted by Kyle M. Bondo, is a podcast about defining off-road racing disciplines! Each episode takes a look into an off-road sport and explains what it is, how it works, and how you can experience it! Over the next week weeks, Merchants of Dirt will include Get Lost Racing (GLR) episodes that explore endurance race disciplines that could be used to create your own virtual race portfolio! Thank You for Listening! Contact Us: MerchantsofDirt AT GMAIL DOT com Episode Show Notes: merchantsofdirt.com Podcast Episodes: merchantsofdirt.libsyn.com Race Promotion Thinking: Reckoner.com Merchants of Dirt is a Gagglepod production. Learn more at gagglepod.com.

Merchants of Dirt

Introducing: Event Yak

Merchants of Dirt Episode #54 Kyle talks about why building a community online with membership content is a better strategy for survival than replacing lost races. Build a Community Don't replace your races with a virtual equivalent. Instead, use this time to finally build your community. Spend time in developing online membership offerings that focus on daily, weekly, or monthly challenge content. A loyal following that is interested in your company month-after-month is far more rewarding than having them come to one race. Ideas for Pre-Built Membership Sites: meetup.com pabbly.com clubmaster.org wildapricot.com memberplanet.com memberspace.com patreon.com facebook.com Additional Reading Article: Virtual races embraced by endurance athletes during coronavirus pandemic Amy Porterfield - All About Membership Sites: Your Top 10 Burning Questions Amy Porterfield - How They Did It: 3 Inspiring Stories of Membership Site Success Amy Hoy - How to find your audience's online watering holes Thank You for Listening! Contact Us: MerchantsofDirt AT GMAIL DOT com Episode Show Notes: merchantsofdirt.com Podcast Episodes: merchantsofdirt.libsyn.com Race Promotion Thinking: Reckoner.com Merchants of Dirt is a Gagglepod production. Learn more at gagglepod.com.

Build a Community

Merchants of Dirt Episode #53 Kyle explores The Lockdown AR-style virtual activity challenge designed by Rootstock Racing and what you can learn from this experimental four-day event. Race Invention is the Mother of Necessity Rootstock Racing, based in Philadelphia, PA, is hosting The Lockdown: an AR-style virtual activity challenge designed to bring what they are calling "a little bit of normalcy" to an Adventure Racer's life between Mon April 13 - Sun May 31, 2020. The idea behind The Lockdown is to have participants complete a personal eight-stage, four-day (96-hour) event within a 21-hour window of activity. The Lockdown stages include: Stage 1: Run/Trek Stage 2: Bushwhack Stage 3: Road Ride Stage 4: Trail Ride Stage 5: Multisport Stage 6: Non-Bike/Run Discipline Stage 7: Strength Building Stage 8: Navigation challenge What's the catch? The Lockdown challenge must be completed by May 31, 2020. This means you can start The Lockdown any time between April 13 to May 28, 2020. But once you start it, you have 96-hours (4-days) to complete all eight stages. Those that sign-up (anywhere in the world - $35) and become official finishers receive a t-shirt in the mail and enter to win prizes. Rules, details, and participant information is sent by email within 24 hours of registration. All proceeds (minus administration costs) go to charity. Learn more on Facebook Event Page or Register now of The Lockdown! NOTE: Kyle M. Bondo, Merchants of Dirt Podcast, or Reckoneer is not connected to this event nor affiliated with Rootstock Racing in any way. I'm just a really big fan and hopefully one of the finishers. As of Tuesday, April 14th, The Lockdown had 147 registrants representing 35 states and 3 countries -- so they are off to a great start! About Rootstock Racing Rootstock Racing, founded by Abby Perkiss and Brent Freedland, is a non-profit organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Rootstock seeks to add adventure into the daily lives of its racers, regardless of age or experience. Serving the greater community of Philadelphia but also reaching well beyond the city limits, Rootstock encourages individuals, friends, and families to explore the natural world around them while also challenging themselves physically and mentally. In addition to fostering sports and adventure, Rootstock Racing seeks to give back to local environmental and conservation efforts while advocating for responsible use of the amazing outdoor spaces participants will visit. Learn more on their Facebook Page or at Rootstockracing.org. Thank You for Listening Email Us: MerchantsofDirt AT GMAIL DOT com All our Show Notes: merchantsofdirt.com All our Episodes: merchantsofdirt.libsyn.com More Race Promotion Thinking: Reckoner.com Merchants of Dirt is a Gagglepod production. Learn more at gagglepod.com.

Race Invention is the Mother of Necessity

Merchants of Dirt Episode #52 Kyle explores how a virtual event can be organized and ideas for creating your own membership club to survive the shutdown. Does a Virtual Race in the Woods Make a Sound The pandemic is not going away anytime soon. So what is a racing company to do? Virtual Events! Explore a virtual event being produced by the Central Virginia Orienteering Club (CVOC) and take a deep dive into what it might mean for your business. This includes creating your own online membership club where you can host monthly challenges, provide members with exclusive courses, and work out the details of your tracking and timing issues. Thank You for Listening Email Us: MerchantsofDirt AT GMAIL DOT com All our Show Notes: merchantsofdirt.com All our Episodes: merchantsofdirt.libsyn.com More Race Promotion Thinking: Reckoner.com Merchants of Dirt is a Gagglepod production. Learn more at gagglepod.com.

Does a Virtual Race in the Woods Make a Sound

Merchants of Dirt Episode #51 Kyle challenges race promoters to pivot quickly towards asynchronous competition and virtual events if their business is to survive this pandemic. Keep Racing with Asynchronous Virtual Events The world has been turned on its head with the pandemic of COVID-19. What is a race promoter to do when every event you direct requires people to be in close proximity to each other? The hard truth is that an events business that stops having events is out of business. However, if you pivot RIGHT NOW and incorporate Asynchronous Competition Events and virtual activities into your portfolio, you have a chance to capture an audience that is looking — albeit HUNGRY — for safe and creative ways to exercise in isolation. Thank You for Listening Email Us: MerchantsofDirt AT GMAIL DOT com All our Show Notes: merchantsofdirt.com All our Episodes: merchantsofdirt.libsyn.com More Race Promotion Thinking: Reckoner.com Merchants of Dirt is a Gagglepod production. Learn more at gagglepod.com.

Keep Racing with Asynchronous Virtual Events

Merchants of Dirt Episode #50 These 50 race direction lessons learned can help you build your roadmap, refine your checklists, or just help you find a place to start. 50 Lessons Learned - The RD Roadmap Welcome to an information-packed 50th episode of Merchants of Dirt and thank you for listening! Listen along as I help you take the mystery out of outdoor race direction with 50 lessons learned from being a race director. After it's all said and done, you'll find out that it's more like 250 lessons learned -- certainly an episode you're going to want to listen to more than once. Follow along with this episode's handy-dandy checklist: 01. Vision 02. Ideas 03. Research 04. Market 05. Mission 06. Principles 07. Budget 08. Business Plan 09. Model 10. Strategies 11. Offerings 12. Organize 13. Branding 14. Planning 15. Risks 16. Rules 17. Venue 18. Schedule 19. Proposal 20. Presentation 21. Permit 22. Build 23. People 24. Marketing 25. Outreach 26. Pre-Registration 27. Timing 28. Courses 29. Promote 30. Sales 31. Trail Work 32. Safety 33. Volunteers 34. Race 35. Direct 36. Setup 37. Registration 38. Starts 39. Monitor 40. Results 41. Podium 42. Clean Up 43. Close Out 44. Analyze 45. Learn 46. Observe 47. Review 48. Revise 49. Measure 50. Decide And Now You Know! 50th Episode Bonus Content Thank you for listening and being a part of the Merchants of Dirt 50th episode! As a special bonus just for listeners, please visit http://reckoneer.com/roadmap and receive a FREE Race Promotion Roadmap. With this roadmap, you can follow along with the episode or plot your own path to race success!  The new roadmap is coming out this Fall, but you can still get a chance to claim the original Race Promotion Roadmap before it becomes a collector's item!   Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

50 Lessons Learned from Being a Race Director

Merchants of Dirt Episode #49 Racing Support Services is an entire industry that exists to make your racing business easier to manage, provide you professional services that you do not have to do yourself, and can free you up to build your business and think up new racing experiences. Racing Support Services Look like a professional without any staff by hiring a crew or renting one for a race day. How do you do that? By outsourcing many of the services and processes you are currently doing yourself. I this weeks episode, I talk about seven (7) industries that you could outsource your business and race direction services to. #1 - Marketing Ad Campaigns Websites Signage #2 - Online registration Web-based payments Extra sales On Day Licenses #3 - Venue Equipment Power and Cables Tents and Tables Start and Finish line arches #4 - Onsite Chip Timing Precision Timing Quick Results Staff Run Finish Line #5 - Onsite Media Photographer Drone Video Video Interviews #6 - Event Data Collection Post Race Surveys Participation Analysis Accounting #7 - Race Management Contract Race Planning Race Day Direction and Orchestration Outsourced Races And Now You Know! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Racing support services you can outsource

Merchants of Dirt Episode #48 If you invest your time in teaching and encouraging women to become better riders today, you can create an environment that promotes women to try racing for the first time and encourages more women to attend your events. #1 — Make your sport more appealing to women This seems like a no-brainer until you sit down to do it. Then you start to struggle with what exactly does “more appealing to women” mean. Does adding something to attract one type of customer to your race ALSO attract another type of customer? Or a better way to think of this is -- if I make these changes, does it actually move the needle in respect to bring more of A to my race? Mountain biker marketing is very male-based in that the edgy, dangerous world of single-track riding is featured at all times. This is not to say that women do not like edgy and dangerous trails, it is to say that not ALL women like it. As a race director, you need to focus on the fun atmosphere that is created during a race as a selling point. #2 — Develop better outreach towards women Women riders are already focused on the fitness part of cycling. Racing is just fitness at a faster pace. Plus it can help some gauge where they are -- their fitness level -- when they compare themselves to other women with comparative fitness levels. Your job to show them that racing is just an extension of that same fitness. This can be done with group rides of the race course or practice clinics where only women get to experience the venue with other women (i.e. No dudes). When you remove the unknown part of a race, it can begin to show the fun side of racing. If you invest your time in teaching and encouraging women to become better riders, your races will become, over time, imbued with the same reputation. Build the future of women racing by giving your time away now. #3 — Ride without cars Tap into the Women Road Biking crowd with what mountain biking offers: NO CARS! Mountain biking can be a lot safer than road biking. You could try to interest women riders by offering a bike-share program that connects your local bike shop with a demo day at your venue. The bike shop wants to sell bikes, and you want more racers. Why don’t you team up with a women-only demo day for women road bikers? Winning over roadies will be a tough sell, but if you can do it without requiring them to buy a bike right away, it could be the introduction they need to switch to mountain biking. Better oxygen from being out in nature away from cars is not a bad selling point either! #4 — Being Outdoors is the new Indoors Speaking of nature, nature is another selling point that can take the edge off of male-dominated race marketing. Getting out in nature on a trail has very powerful imagery. If you connect that to riding with friends, then your race marketing starts to take the shape of social riding with friends for fun and fitness. Lose the gnarl and shred you find in most hardcore racing marketing. Change it out for the social connection of ride groups that explore different locations as a build up to your event. Sometimes, the trees and fresh air can be a stronger selling point then the copywriting on your website. #5 — Produce women-only event A women-only event is just like it sounds — NO DUDES! You can have men promoters and volunteers, but there are no men allowed to participate in the actual racing. The goal is to make an event for women that removed the intimidating nature of competition created by some men. Is it not foolproof, but that’s why it’s an experiment. Some women love these kinds of events. Surprisingly, other women hate these kinds of events because they see them as even more competitive then Co-Ed events. Thus, it’s experimental. Your turnout will tell you if it works or not. #6 — Bonus Strategy For those that are not fond of women-only events, you can begin introducing better categories and classes in your existing races. This means less open classes and expanding the range of women race classes. This could include breaking up categories like Single-Speed into both a men’s and women’s class. It could also include adding in the same age categories. Instead of only having a Women’s 35+ class, you would create both a 35+ and a 45+ class. The risk is in dividing your small turnout even further, but marketing is a double-edged sword. By focusing your marketing efforts towards women, using expanded women’s categories and classes as an incentive, you make increase turnout due directly to that expansion. It might not, but the answer cannot be known until you work out the problem. You can make a race day decision to allow classes to become combined if there is no turnout. Or you can just make an overall decision to eat the extra cost of awards and medals for the few women riders that show up, in hopes they will tell their friends. And they tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on! So make it easy to try out racing. Reduce the cost of entry to incentives taking a chance on an experiment. Once they’ve had a taste of racing, then all the worry about what the experience might have been like is washed away. They get to be in the mix, with all the yelling spectators with cowbells as they cross the finish. They get to see that nobody really cares what place you come in. The social environment is why some come to race in the first place -- the race is just the shared experience that connects everyone together. If you build it, will women race? There is a paradox to overcome when developing strategies designed to increase the turnout of women in your races. You cannot expect large numbers of women to turn out to your race if the environment is focused mostly on men. But if you create an environment that promotes a women-friendly environment, you need to tap into your local community and find those women that may want to challenge themselves to a race, but never knew they could or would like it. Only after having women-friendly thinking built-in can you honestly market to them. Do not go into any of these strategies thinking that you can increase your women turnout with half-measures. These are long-term solutions that take multiple seasons before they start to work. And Now You Know! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Are you a women-friendly race director? - MOD048

Merchants of Dirt Episode #47 The reason bad crews have worse leaders has everything to do with a race director that hires their friends, allows them to say and do anything they want, and approves of their bad behavior by doing nothing to stop them from ruining their business. Observation #1 Problem - Deserted Finish Line Your crew wants to leave early? Tough! All of your crew needs to stay until the end, even if it's all packed up. Because if your crew is not still cheering the last ones to finish, why are they your crew? Solution - If You Stay Your Crew Stays Too  The solution is not to hire any of your friends that do not believe in your racing mission. Crew members that cannot be bothered to stick around until all racers are off the course need to go find other work. And if you as a race director cannot enforce that principle, then you should consider another type of business. Observation #2 Problem - Mocking Last Place Racers The way your crew treats those who are last matters. Doom on the race director that joins in and does not think their last place racers are important. Solution - Fire Your Bad Staff or Close Your Business If your crew is caught mocking the last place racers, they should be fired! If you don't, it will not be long before your reputation makes your racing company a distance memory. Observation #3 Problem - Crew Social Hour while Volunteers Work Is your crew taking a break while your volunteers are still working? Then you don't deserve volunteers. Your crew reflects you, your company, and what you think of racers. Taking a break with your crew while volunteers continue to work speaks volumes about who you are. If you think that's ok behavior, you don't deserve volunteers. Solution - Treat Volunteers With Respect or Don't Have Them Volunteers are special helpers that demand your gratitude and respect. And they are ALWAYS watching you and your staff! If you treat them poorly or allow your staff to treat them poorly, then you shouldn't ever run a race with volunteers. Earn the right to have volunteers help your race by treating them well. And Now You Know! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Bad Crews have Worse Leaders - MOD047

Merchants of Dirt Episode #46 Consider how creating spectator friendly events could create new customers while the untapped benefits of having an excited crowd could help your bottom line. Three Formats to Consider This episode of Merchants of Dirt is about spectators. Or more specifically, three types of events that make spectating fun: The Relay The Short Track The Intergalactic Pond Crossing In an age where every dollar counts, race directors owe it to themselves to consider including spectator friendly onto their race calendar. These short courses, quick turnaround times, and spectator friendly formats provide all the ingredients needed for a festival-like atmosphere. Which is exactly what you’re is looking for in your next event. Spectators might only come to your race to cheer their racer, but who knows? It’s possible that the speed of a shorter, easy to follow event might get them to stay to cheer on the other racers too. Additionally, think about all the spectators that DO come to your events. If you could entertain them along with your racers, could you just imagine how much more customer loyalty you could create? Spectators could become that new revenue source that you have been overlooking all this time. Of course, the catch to spectator events is that you will need to be as dedicated to your spectators as you are to your racers. But, if you can provide enjoyment AND entertainment to both groups, you could possibly create a very new and potentially profitable experience that keeps both racers AND spectators coming back again and again. And experience might even make the whole family want to come to your next race too. And Now You Know!   Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Spectator Friendly Race Formats - MOD046

Merchants of Dirt Episode #45 Your accountability to your customers begins when they arrive at your venue, and only ends when you are certain they have left your venue safely. Head Counts Matter This episode of Merchants of Dirt is about race director accountability. More importantly, your accountability when it comes to a simple thing like head counts. And if you’re not sure what a head count is, this is the process of knowing how many racers you have on the course at any given time. Or is it? To get you in the right frame of mind about how important I think headcounts are, I play you a news report from Louise Donnelly of 7 News out of Brisbane, Australia about the disappearance of American's Tom and Eileen Lonergan. These two Americans tourists that were left behind during a diving expedition of Cairns, Australia, over 20 years ago because of a bad headcount. Listen to the full clip here: https://www.facebook.com/7NewsBrisbane/videos/1803272579685586/ Of course, a diving trip is very different to a race. You don’t need to be THAT accountable to your racers, do you? Besides, no one's ever been left behind on one of your courses, right? If you’re like me, that example of a bad headcount should make you take notice. Remember from what we’ve learned about Mr. Murphy over the past 45 episodes? And that is that it’s not IF something will go wrong, but WHEN. Is your accountability an accident waiting to happen? Is your next race going to be THE RACE that leaves two divers behind in shark-infested waters to die horrible deaths? I hope not. So let’s get our understanding of accountability straight. Taking Responsibility Reason #1 -- Your permit and insurance are not for just the course -- it is for the ENTIRE VENUE! Reason #2 -- What your racers do after the race could come back to haunt you. Reason #3 -- What your racers do in the parking lot has a direct impact on how OTHER RACES see you as a race director. Venue Control Strategies Strategy #1 - Full Accounting -- Improve how you count people that come into and out of your venue. Strategy #2 - Quick Identification -- Another strategy is to know who is part of your race and who is not. Strategy #3 - Controlled Environments -- Keep your customers located in only the spaces you want them to be in, and out of the spaces you don’t want them to be in. Why Accountability is Important to your Business You have to know where everyone is at all times -- period. To not know, or to have to guess, leaves you wide open for disaster. So take control of your headcount, make full accountability your number one safety goal. You have all the tools you need to keep an accurate count of everyone involved with your race. And if you don’t you certainly need to improve your accountability process before your next race. If this means adding barriers, choke points, or even wristbands, then do it! Don’t make the only metric you care about be how many people are on the course. You need to know more about your venue then you currently do. Make your head counts always matter. And Now You Know!   Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Head Counts Matter - MOD045

Merchants of Dirt Episode #44 Insurance is the minimum financial protection a race director needs to protect themselves, their staff, their volunteers, their business, and their family from other people’s injuries. What is Insurance Insurance is a contract, represented by a policy, in which an individual or entity receives financial protection or reimbursement against losses from an insurance company. Insurance policies are used to hedge against the risk of financial losses, both big and small, that may result from damage to the insured or her property, or from liability for damage or injury caused to a third party. There are a multitude of different types of insurance policies available, but when it comes to outdoor events, there are some specific insurance policies you need to consider: #1 - Protection of you, your staff, and your business: When you start a business, this becomes the first insurance policy you consider outside of yourself or your family. #2 - Protection of volunteers, property, and day-of actions: Event insurance to protect you, your volunteers, your sponsors, and the property owner. #3 - Protection of your customers: Additional insurance that covers the racers if they are injured above and beyond their own coverage. Event Coverage To get a good rate, your insurance agency will require that you show them: Your Liability Waiver Your Risk Management Plan (i.e. Emergency Response Plan) In MOD Episode #28 -- Mr. Murphy Loves Your Cut-and-Paste Waiver I told you why waivers are your first line of defense against personal injury lawsuits. Additionally, in MOD Episode #14 -- Mr. Murphy Just Took Out a Racer I told you why you need to take emergency response planning very seriously when — not if — you need to save a racer’s life.   Business Insurance This is where General Liability Insurance comes in. Every business, even if home-based, needs to have liability insurance. The policy provides both defense and damages if you, your employees or your events (which could be called a product or service) cause or are alleged to have caused Bodily Injury or Property Damage to a third party. This is the insurance that covers what most business owners refer to as “slip-and-fall” lawsuits. When it comes to endurance sports and outdoor events, slip-and-fall is a part of doing business. Not everyone sues if they do happen to hurt themselves. I often find that racers are a more hardy bunch and tend to think of injuries as a badge of honor. But you never know when you are going to get that one person that thinks suing everyone for their own mistakes is perfectly acceptable behavior.   Sanctioning Insurance Sanctioning is a special kind of general liability insurance that covers association events for which a permit has been issued. If you want to be an official event based on the rules and regulations governed by a national organization, then you have to play by their rules. This means an official permit and a requirement to use their general liability insurance to cover your event. Often, the insurance that comes with sanctioning is not super expensive. However, it does require you to abide by their rules in course design, officiating, organization, and administration.   Additional Coverage One of the biggest points of confusion that race directors have with insurance is how their racers will be protected during the race. Most races are what is called “at your own risk” kind of events. This means you -- as a racer -- understand that what you are about to do is dangerous (hopefully detailed in the waiver you have to sign) and that you -- the racer -- are responsible for yourself if you get hurt. Each participant is then expected to have their own insurance coverage that kicks in if they hurt themselves during the race. But the race director can provide additional insurance that covers the racers if they are injured above and beyond their own coverage. This is almost always elective -- the racer has to ask for it and pay for it -- and can be part of your own insurance or the insurance provided through sanctioning. Many national organizations provide general liability coverage for accidental medical coverage as part of their sanctioning package.   Get Covered When you decide to host live events, you invite risk. Mr. Murphy is the master of catching you without any kind of financial protection, and always at the worst time too. Be aware of the different levels of insurance that you will need to navigate before you can safely produce an event. Go talk to an insurance agent. Heck, go talk to six insurance agents. Get a ton of quotes, shop around, and find a policy that works for you. Never, never, never direct an event without insurance -- ever! And Now You Know!   Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Yesterday Is Too Late For Insurance - MOD044

Merchants of Dirt Episode #43 Collegiate sports clubs can give college kids a platform for racing while serving as your personal laboratory for testing your race direction ideas. The Collegiate Club Laboratory College Club Sports are their own animals. They can be hard to form and even harder to control. But once you get one off the ground, they can become your very own race direction laboratory. That is if your experiments don’t try to eat you first. Start a Club #1 - Find a school that doesn’t have a sport you want to direct and talk to them about serving #2 - Fill out an MOU and make being on campus legitimate #3 - Start volunteering and recruiting new riders #4 - Create club officers and have the club become an official USA Cycling Club #5 - Get your riders racing in USA Cycling conference events Build a Reputation #1 - Think about promote local event idea and start planning #2 - Direct your first small event and give the club some money to work with #3 - Pay attention to how other schools produce their events (good and bad) #4 - Get big enough to host one of the USA Cycling events on the conference calendar #5 - Direct an even bigger event and establish the club within the conference Conduct your Experiments Once you have a foot hold, promote your annual event until you can no longer support it. How to know when the experiments have worked: #1 - You learned enough to know race direction is not for you #2 - The club has outgrown your involvement #3 - Your events can stand on their own In the end... you could start a club, end up with a launching an outdoor events business All done for a good cause, in a safe environment, and for a fraction of the cost. And Now You Know!   Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!

Tales from the Collegiate Sports Laboratory - MOD043

Merchants of Dirt Episode #42 There are certain levels of outreach where the marketing of each endeavor depends on how much time you have or what kind of impact you want. Three Kings of Outreach Today I answer listener emails regarding three very unique outreach strategies: Paul wants to know if 4-weeks is enough time to effectively market an event that is experiencing low pre-registration online. Brian was curious about what my platform would have been if I had been elected to the Board of Directors of the Adventure Racing Cooperative. Sam is starting his own trail running event and is interested in how to time his marketing efforts.  And Now You Know! A Gift for You If you found the questions that Paul, Brian, and Sam had sounded a lot to your own situation, here are is a selected list of a few articles that give you additional strategies on each topic: How not to suffer pre-registration woes Principles of a profitable race Put away the shotgun and start messaging with precision How contact lists can impact racer turn out Why blurring the line between sports is good for business Merry Christmas and Happy New Years! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon! Turn Coffee into Outdoor Recreation Ricks Roasters Coffee Company owned by Sean and Keely Ricks is a veteran and family-owned coffee roaster and coffee wholesaler in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that is "all about the bean". Ricks Roasters is passionate about mountain bike racing, veteran-owned businesses, and coffee! Give Ricks Roasters a Try before December 31st, 2018 When you place your first order of Ricks Roasters coffee from ricksroasters.com, use my exclusive Promo Code: Wolf Bouncer -- and receive 13-percent off your first order! Ricks Roasters Coffee Company 1304 Interstate Business Park Fredericksburg, Virginia 22405 (540) 318-6850 Ricks Roasters on Facebookinfo@RicksRoasters.com

Outreach and the Art of Recreational Engineering - MOD042

Merchants of Dirt Episode #41 Jennifer "Jelly" Crawford from The JellyVision Show walks me through the strategies and struggles of directing a conference from the ground up. Enter the Jellysode Jennifer "Jelly" Crawford from The JellyVision Show is the founder and event director of DC Podfest, a small but scrappy podcasting conference held once a year in Washington, DC. Jennifer started DC Podfest in 2015 with a vision of seeing it as a community for like-minded podcasters to come together and learn from in each other. Now in its third year, DC Podfest has grown its audience to over 130 attendees. But getting to this point was not easy. In this interview, Jennifer lays out seven keys points that all event managers need to consider when building an event: #1 - It has to benefit your community #2 - Be successful enough to pay people #3 - Size matters if you want to make a profit AND deliver value #4 - Sponsorship money will not come until you prove your committed #5 - Building a community takes time #6 - Venues will always change so don't be married to your venue #7 - You cannot start anything without a date and a venue And now you know! Continue Reading: Strategies for picking your race dates Are your competitors fighters or nappers? It's Time to Build Your Outdoor Life Turn Coffee into Outdoor Recreation Ricks Roasters Coffee Company owned by Sean and Keely Ricks is a veteran and family-owned coffee roaster and coffee wholesaler in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that is "all about the bean". Ricks Roasters is passionate about mountain bike racing, veteran-owned businesses, and coffee! Give Ricks Roasters a Try before December 31st, 2018 When you place your first order of Ricks Roasters coffee from ricksroasters.com, use my exclusive Promo Code: Wolf Bouncer -- and receive 13-percent off your first order! Ricks Roasters Coffee Company 1304 Interstate Business Park Fredericksburg, Virginia 22405 (540) 318-6850 Ricks Roasters on Facebookinfo@RicksRoasters.com And Now You Know! Thank You for Listening Thank you so much for listening to Merchants of Dirt Podcast. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me @MerchantsofDirt on Twitter, by Email, or my Contact Form. Join the Conversation If there is a topic you would like me to cover, please join my Facebook group: Race Promoters' Hangout. Support the Podcast Become my patron at Patreon!  

Make event management jelly with Jennifer Crawford - MOD041

Welcome to the Merchants of Dirt Podcast, hosted by Reckoneer.com founder Kyle M. Bondo. This is your insider’s guide to practical recreational engineering where I teach you the art and science of building, promoting, and directing off-road races.

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Merchants of Dirt

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