Step 5: Cover your costs before you open the doors
My friend Jim Kettner taught me this valuable lesson. He’s ran the ECWA (East Coast Wrestling Association) since 1967 and has survived the ups-and-downs of life and wrestling to be regarded as one of the most respected promoters in the industry. Because of his reputation as a great promoter, Kettner was used by the WWE in promoting shows on the East Coast and in his home state of Delaware.
I worked for Jim for three years and he always tried to cover all of his costs before the first dollar of walk-up ticket money would come in the door. He covers his expenses with sponsorships and presold tickets. Once doors open, Jim is relaxed and can deal with any issues with his long-time fans, schmooze sponsors and run his business, rather than his business running him.
Also, Jim Kettner knew ahead of time how much he could count on for a given show in a given month because he kept great records of the ECWA’s performance at the gate. He would then budget his shows accordingly or heavily pursue sponsors if he had unforeseen costs along the way. That goes back again to part of Step 1 of writing everything down.
If you want to run a successful business, you can follow these steps or not. But this is what I would do if I wanted to run a successful wrestling company. Is it easy? Hell no! It’s hard work! If it was easy, everybody would be doing it already.
And one final note, if you go into business with your friends… either your business or the friendship will survive but not both.
*****
I dedicate this article to my many teachers whose lessons I learned from along the way.
PS – follow me on Twitter @rohkkelly.
Tune into ROH’s next I-PPV “Death Before Dishonor 8” on Saturday June 19th live from the Ted Reeve Arena in Toronto and on gofightlive.tv.
Kevinfsu90@yahoo.com for suggestions, complaints or returns.
