Lights are dimmed. Sounds calm. The aerialist spins into the air. Sequins sparkle in the warm light of a followspot and my strange little brain wonders, “What does marketing look like for a traveling circus in which a completely new market is created every other week?”
When I set out to find the answer, I instead found one of the truly deepest and heartfelt conversations I’ve had in a long time.
And confirming my belief that sometimes the most important lessons for marketers don’t come from marketers at all.
Kevin Venardos
Owner/Founder/Circus Director of Venardos Circus
- Interesting fact: I’m sorry, what could be funnier than him owns his own circus?!
- Claim to Fame: Kevin set up his circus from a rented tent at a state fair two Touring shows delight audiences at 45 locations across the U.S. and over 200,000 visitors!
Lesson 1: Use your dream to help others achieve theirs.
“All I had was a significant amount of debt,” Venardos says of the birth of his circus. “It started with a desire to keep working. To not have to rely on someone else thinking I would be useful if I stayed around.”
But life had a lesson in store that would completely change his motivation.
“I found this little (carnival) in Snohomish, WA. And I said, ‘Hey, let me put my little circus at your event and don’t charge me a dime. And I’ll make the effort to put as many butts as I can in these hay bales.'”
It was actually just a smart business move, a way to stretch a tight budget, but something worked out for Venardos.
“The capacity we have to make an economic impact. Where we place the circus, there are shops nearby. And if we are successful, they benefit from it.”
From that little lesson grew the philosophy that underlies how Venardos thinks about his crew, his partnerships, and even his audience.
“How can you use your dream to help other people achieve their dream? If I don’t ask myself this question often enough, I’m usually on the wrong path.”
Lesson 2: Invest in emotional connections.
“Every (interaction) is an opportunity for us to steal their joy or give them a reason to smile. Take the burden off their shoulders or make our needs more important than theirs.”
This applies equally to customers, colleagues and employees. And it is this consideration to which Venardos attributes the show’s success. To illustrate, he tells me what her lowest point might have been.
“When 2020 came, it was this investment of love that carried us through the pandemic.“Social isolation could and did put an end to many live shows. Instead “People came and bought $25 tickets (to a live stream of the circus) when they could have watched YouTube for free.”
And Venardos is quick to point out that love isn’t just for customers. “It’s about the other businesses and other parts of your community that the heat your flame creates applies to.”
“Places where it’s just a transactional relationship are generally not the places where we’re most successful,” he says. “When you have an army of people whose success is in some way related to your own success, that’s when things really start to grow.”
Lesson 3: Share your unique struggle.
As our conversation came to a close, I asked Venardos what he would do differently if he could go back to 2014 and do it all over again.
“It could be a trap to agonize over such a question. Our identity as The Little Circus that Could was absolutely solidified only, because I made so many mistakes” he said, staring into the distance.
The first time I saw Venardos Circus, the show ended with the ringmaster himself coming out to thank the audience. His voice shook as he explained how close the show had come to not making it. How he bet everything on a rented tent and a circus dream. How each of us there supported an entire family of dreamers. I was addicted.
“I don’t wish pain on anyone, but pain is a spoon that makes room in your heart for gratitude. I think that’s something that connects people. There’s an emotional resonance.”
People come to the circus for the spectacle. But they are coming back because they find something deeper.
“That thing, you think Is your fault, if you’re willing to get comfortable with sharing, it’s actually your unique struggle. There is someone else out there – and you may not even know them – who needs to see what only you can offer because of the unique challenges you have overcome.”
Bonus Lesson 1: Happiness is about clear expectations.
“Creating a happy community means setting clear expectations for everyone and holding each other accountable.”
If you think culture is important in your workplace, imagine living with all your colleagues for months! I asked Venardos how his team deals with this dynamic.
He says the first step is “the amount of time and love spent finding and caring for the right people.” The second step is the promise you make to each other.
“Great people will feel disrespected if they are allowed to perform mediocrely or if they fail to deliver on what they promised” says Venardos. “I once thought this was a cold-hearted philosophy. I went through so many painful iterations before I figured out that I cause a lot more pain by not dealing with these things right away than by addressing them.”
Bonus Lesson 2: Hierarchy does not mean value.
“The person who greets us at the front door, our concessions team, they are all equally important to every artist,” he explains. “In fact, over the last few months, I’ve found that giving people titles that suggest some kind of superiority is detrimental to team dynamics.”
But that doesn’t mean that there are no levels of management.
“It’s true that there may be a sense of responsibility when someone looks after certain people and holds them accountable. But the idea that a boss should get respect just because that’s their title goes in the opposite direction of what I perceived as a successful team.”
In a car, the engine is no more important than the wheels. You need both if you want it to work.
Lingering questions
Today’s question
“How do you see your marketing evolving as the holiday season begins?” — Cristina Jerome, founder of Off Worque
Today’s answer
Venardos says: “We don’t really change our marketing for the holiday season as our formula is more based on whether we’re set in a new city or a returning city.”
Sometimes that’s just how it is!
The question next week
Venardos asks: “What is your most effective marketing tool in your arsenal?”
