We recently connected with Dorian Harris and have shared our conversation below.
Dorian, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
My experiences as an event curator has been always been from an invitation from my peers. With Ratchet Bingo, one of my supporters encouraged me to create a bingo party for my hometown, Augusta, GA. And with any event I develop I start small and build it out from there. Test the concept with a certain demographic of people and see how does everyone respond. And for this event the response was overwhelming. The first 6 months of this event went from monthly to bi monthly to 2 shows per day. From that momentum and social media marketing, it became a national tour within the first year. My focus for events is to give the attendees an outlet or escape from day to day stresses. Think about what people enjoy, what makes them feel good, and create a space for that to happen. Ratchet Bingo gives the benefits of what the current nightlife is missing for a mature audience.
Dorian, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My initial career choice was a freelance graphic designer. From that I got involved in event promotion, and some clients invited me to host events with them. And each event continued to become from people recognizing the work and product I was producing. The events varied from R&B parties to Poetry Nights to Adult Prom but all of them catered to similar demographics. I enjoy being able to provide options for people to getaway from reality and enjoy themselves. One of the events is called The Mahogany Lounge which is a spoken word poetry event, but it was hosted on Sundays. The experience was a smooth way to start your week in a relaxed environment with some great entertainment.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Consistency and quality was the foundation for my brand identity. People expect a certain quality with these events because of our consistency built over the years. People will always support you if you deliver what you say you will.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Word of mouth and social media marketing have been my greatest tools for growing clientele. My early days of marketing was a lot of street team promotion. Pinpointing what audience we’re looking to reach and advertise in those spaces. I apply the same focus but through social media platforms as well.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @artdealerinc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theartdealerinc
