Episode IV: Moving, Networking, and Learning as You Go

So now my ass is movin! I remember thinking that if I could just get a salon and one or two more sponsors to help me, I would be in good shape. I had already contacted Locks of Love, and all they needed was a time and date for the event to approve. I had to get a solon and a venue for that, and a photographer as well was necessary, so those were what I focused on. I live in Benson, so I drive by Paparazzi By Appointment all the time, seeing their cool sign on the building. Plus, I had heard some good things about them, so I gave them a call, and spoke with Laura, who was very gracious. She was into it immediately, and said yes. That was a big weight off my shoulders, because I definitely wanted a professional photographer there, and now I could concentrate on the hairstylist. Still no luck there.

I had a draft of the Big Brain Productions proposal, so I contacted them and dropped off a proposal at their shop for the owner, Smitty. To my surprise, when I called a couple days later, they put me through to Smitty, and he told me to come in right away. It was a surprise, because it is very hard to get an appointment with Smitty, he is so booked up. I went to his absolutely cool shop to meet with him. He was very cordial, and to the point. He told me that he gets a lot of proposals because he involves himself in a lot of events held in Omaha. When he saw mine, he said he was immediately taken by it because it was put together so well and looked professional. He was also drawn in by the charity aspect of the event, and the fact that it was about a world record. Smitty himself is a Guinness World Record holder for most piercings in one person.
Well, I can’t tell you how glad I am to have met Smitty early in the process. There were a lot of things up in the air, and a lot of doubts flying around in my head. Smitty is a very positive person, and having broken a record himself, he encouraged me to go through with it and go all out, because it was one of the most fun things he had done. So he agreed to become a sponsor, and generously donated to the cause.
One thing I regret about meeting with Big Brain, though, and this was a learning experience for me. After he had already agreed to sponsor me, I told him who else I had as sponsors. When he learned that HEBE GB Tattoo was also on the list, he told me it is usually not a good idea to put more than one of the same types of business as a sponsor, because they are competitors, and it may look like they are affiliated. One other tattoo shop told me this before and dropped out, but then I finally got the picture. However, Smitty decided that it would be ok, and went ahead with it. So there is a tip for any of you out there who might be looking for sponsors, don’t put two businesses in the same field on the banner. It’s obvious to me now, but for some reason I didn’t think that way at the beginning. I was thinking more like a television show with commercials, you may see two commercials from different companies selling a similar product in a television show, but that’s not the way to think in this type of event.
Now I was completely confident. I was running around town, dropping off proposals, networking, and getting people excited about my record attempt. According to my emails, on September 28th, 2008, I created my World’s Tallest Mohawk email and MySpace accounts. On October 01, I had decided to hold the event sometime between Election Day and Thanksgiving, during a slow news period. That way there was a better chance of my record attempt getting news coverage. On October 8th, I contacted Clarice Zomer at Capitol School of Hair Styling. She was very excited about the idea, and I sent her a proposal to look over. A couple days later, Scott Mccaig, who is on the Board of Directors at Capitol, called up Todd Murphy. Todd was kind enough to let me put him as a reference in my proposals. He gave them a kind of legitimacy, so it didn’t look like I was just some kid who wasn’t serious about this event, or looking to rip people off. He and Scott had a great conversation, and thanks to Todd, Capitol School of Hairstyling was now the primary sponsor of the record breaking event. We set an appointment for me to go into Capitol and talk about holding the press conference there, do some test runs, and meet everyone who was going to help out.
Now things were rolling! I was very excited, and when I went to Capitol, I knew I had the right place. It was perfect. The people were great, it was an excellent venue for the press conference, and they were willing to help out with whatever I needed.
I have some good photos from the test runs, and the wonderful people at Capitol, so come on back soon to meet them, as well as some new sponsors. And just so ya know, this blog is not just about the sponsors, this is only the beginning. There are many other adventures to come, like the first test run that came out sideways, almost having to pee in front of a surveillance camera, and a tongue lashing from the Reader!