What I learned planning the first ever Yes, Ann festival
See my blog post for a full recap. Here’s 4 lessons, though, from Yes, Ann Fest, which just wrapped in Ann Arbor.
You just have to ask, but be okay with no.
Good things come to those who ask. One of the headliners I really wanted initially asked for well over six figures to come to Ann Arbor. That was not in the cards! However, as we met more people, big Yes responses came from Anna, Casey, Suzi, and Blaine Swen (of The Improvised Shakespeare Company).
Trade things with unequal value to each party.
A lot of our festival support was in-kind. Remember that not everything has to be a strict monetary transaction. We got tons of help with printing, room blocks, party support, and more by being creative. In some cases, premium show tickets were worth more to someone than face value. Marquee Arts gave us a massive discount on the space in exchange for hosting community discussions at our brewery.
Ask for help!
I would have burned out and failed trying to do this solo. Our extended fest team played a key role in making this all happen.
Take risks, have a safety net.
We were able to make pretty aggressive offers to our headliners given the reasonable cost of our venue and the capacity to sell up to 1,600 tickets. We had contractual pieces in place where if we had to cancel with more than 30 days notice, we could do so. This gave me the confidence to push forward, as we limited our downside risk.
https://www.heardotsay.com/blog/thats-a-wrap-on-yes-ann-year-one