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drwilson Inner circle Bar Harbor, ME 2191 Posts |
I've just read The Last Museum: A 21st Century Grind Show HOW-TO Manual by Doug Higley, which he is distributing as an email.
Doug has been free with his advice at the Café, and a number of people have posted reactions to putting Doug's ideas to work. A little poking around the Café will tell you whether you are going to be interested in this material or not. I found it very thought-provoking. As many of you know, the premise of my character is a sort of 1870s-to-1920 medicine show guy, with a little sideshow, magic, and fortune-telling thrown into the mix. Last year I rolled out a Feejee Mermaid show (not one of Doug's, but he has given me a lot of ideas for free despite that!). In a certain sense, it was a success. It attracted an educated crowd. I got booked at a museum for Living History Day because the museum director saw the show and flipped. A professor of museum preservation saw the show and dragged in another faculty member. A documentary film maker practically had a seizure. But in reading Doug's Grind Show notes, I was made to recall other people that walked by. In particular, I remember a father and son staring at my booth, with Dr. Wilson's Emporium, the Gypsy Fortune Teller Booth, an eight foot Feejee Mermaid banner based on Botticelli's Birth of Venus, and much other eye candy. They slowed down but didn't stop, and as the father's eyes swept the booth, stuffed with things that he didn't understand, his eyes locked on a roll of tickets, and he said to his son, "It's a raffle." If I had designed all this with Doug's notes in hand, there would have been no possibility of this mistake. Because it is a mistake! People didn't understand what they were looking at unless they were historians or scholars! Sure, I got a great crowd of overeducated people, and I found it very gratifying, but this isn't about pleasing yourself---you can do that easily enough in private! This is about GTFM! All of it! Doug's approach will let you swim into a low-rent market, where people don't have much more than spare change and didn't go looking for a show, and like a giant baleen whale feeding on plankton, suck sustenance from what others dismiss as plain sea water, fifty cents and a dollar at a time, by being efficient and not making mistakes. I have made the mistakes that Doug warns against. Probably Doug has also, or he wouldn't understand these things the way that he lays them out. You can't get their money if you don't understand their minds, their three-to-six-second attention spans, the things that they are familiar with. You can't get their money if you let them come up with reasons to reject your show by the way that you frame it. Doug goes over all of this very clearly. Thanks to Doug's notes and my own experiences, I'll be trying it "his way" to see if it works better in the right setting. If you have ever thought of running a grind show, even out of the trunk of your car, you really ought to get these notes and think carefully. You can get them here for $12. Is this a great country or what? Yours, Paul |
Cholly, by golly! Loyal user 251 Posts |
Doug Higley's newly-revised how-to manual is a must-read for anyone looking to get into the grind show game. It's a simple step-by-step plan for showing strange exhibits to modern audiences. Who knew it was this easy?
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Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts |
Thanks for the kind comments fellers...
I might mention that it is not an e Book but a (substantial) regular eMail and not a PDF file...no downloads needed. If you want the 2 small jpeg images these are not attached untill you ask for them so as to not load up your box or cause delay with modems. It was not written for the casual reader either...not filled with midway stories and tales...it's a How-To set of instructions for the seriously interested and the mistakes that can easily be avoided and WHY they are mistakes. There is a charge because it is valuable Original info that one can use to start a small business or hobby at Flea Markets and Small Fairs etc and it's only fair to those who bought from me to not have the info out there free to anyone with a 'puter. (You will get double back in credit should decide to buy a 'Zibit.) As to "Who knew it was this easy?" Let's just say the concepts are simple to absorb and a 'light' will most likely go on and it can be tremendous fun but it's still a bit of work and is dependent on the attitude and personality of the operator. As the plan say's "If your a grouch, stay home." It is also 'show specific' in that it is geared to a more 'family' audience...thus if you have a dead baby in a jar, this won't advance your outcome...though it may change your tune and advance your thinking about attempting to show a dead baby in a jar and expect results. My first little grind show was in 1971...this is the condenced concise version of what I observed and learned since then...not at all written in stone...but worth a shot. It's not for everybody...just those of us who are pocket PT Barnums, are not wealthy and have the urge to 'Show'. 'Psssst...you wanna see something really strange?..." Thanks again. Doug
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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poolos New user 34 Posts |
Doug’s info is brilliant. Simple easy to use ideas on how to run a grind show. Great follow up to. I highly recommend his notes to anyone that wants a practical and fun way to make money.
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Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts |
Just a note: Based on feedback and suggestions of buyers of this info...in order to disuade Casual readers and protect those who are actually using this plan, I bumped it to $25. Of course you get credit back if you buy a 'Zibit...I'm not in the info selling biz but this is the only way I can think of to discourage those who might abuse the information. Those who I know from this forum can email me and get a different deal...and of course anyone who orders a Zibit, gets the info sent automatically.
I'll test this for a day or two and see what's shakin'. Thanks all...MANY have ordered and the results and feedback is 100% Positive. Just don't expect them to post here and pump it...hahaha...protecting their territory so to speak...but I have all the glowing emails. Later Doug
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts |
OK...back to $12...after a detailed check...there were no just 'casual' readers so it sems the $12 works just fine to disuade...you'ld think after all these years the old dog would learn...'If it ain't broke...'
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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drwilson Inner circle Bar Harbor, ME 2191 Posts |
Just buy the darn notes. This works great. Doug is now sending out photos of the show that I put together with the benefit of his experience. It is a lot easier to haul around than the whole traditional sideshow presentation, and it plays in different venues. Maybe you can learn to operate closer to home with less effort.
Yours, Paul |
Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts |
Thanks Paul...you did a nice job on the front...and I like the tricky little addition you came up with for the 'inside'.
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts |
For whomever it was (there were 2) that had wanted the Grind Show notes JUST when my puter took a dump...thanks to a kind buyer of the Notes I got them back and ready to go again...but you'll have to re-eMail me...they were lost as well.
This time just go to the site and click on the PayPal link rather than ask if they are still available. They are. Thanks! Doug
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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Darius666 Veteran user London 368 Posts |
Dougs notes are excellent. It is something I plan to get in to next year. Winter here in the uk is gonna be really cold this year, so will wait till the spring/summer.
Cant wait to get a zibit, going by the quality of the dark museum, that will be something to look forward to. |
abigkahuna New user 37 Posts |
Mr Higleys "how to" definetely works. Take if from me. I used the "system" this summer and averaged good money everytime I had my zibit out. First time out was $1600.00 Last time out was nearly $2K...
I really can't say enough about Doug's manual. Very simple, easy and makes a lot of sense. THis was the first year out for me as a Grind Show operator--for the past dozen years I have been selling slum at fairs big and small out here on the west coast. Doug's system works--its as simple as that.... abigkahuna |
Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts |
Thanks Mr. Kahuna...uh Jeff...you did good...you didn't mention the hard work you put in though generating a tip...(your wife told me).
Now's a good time for those on the curious side of things to get the notes and prepare for the next season...(as you are.)
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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