Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Panther Cordts. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Panther, thanks for joining us today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.

It all started with the pandemic. At that point in time the event had been around for 3 years and had a monthly residency at Las Rosas in Miami. It was gaining a name and traction. For me it was more of a side hustle that made me a little extra money and was a way for me to have my own party every month, so I had fun with it. I was still working full time as a server in a restaurant but then covid hit and everything stopped. During this time, I had a lot of time to reflect on my life and the direction it was taking. My personal life wasn’t in a good place. My drug and alcohol use were causing issues and my depression was at an all-time low. One day I woke up and had an epiphany. I was going to make the Black Market a success and put my all into it. I decided in order to accomplish this I needed to get my act together first. I stopped all the drugs and alcohol, late night partying, I left the toxic relationship I was in and started going to therapy. I was eating healthier and working out. Then I made a plan. I knew I had to do something big. It was almost 8 months since the last event I did so I wanted to make a statement. I was going to throw a festival. I started looking for a venue or event space, but it was really difficult since it was fall 2020 and things were still in limbo. I finally came across a property called base camp in Little Haiti. It was to be the future magic city innovation district but since covid hit construction never started so they were using it as an event space. It was perfect for what I needed. It was big and outside. Now was the hard part, getting money to fund this event. I luckily saved a bunch of unemployment from over the pandemic and used most of that for the initial expenses. I used vendor fees to help further any additional costs and lastly, I hit up my dad for 2k when I was tapped out. I put everything into this event, $13k, so failure was not an option because it was all on me. There was the risk that the city would shut down again and I’d lose a majority of my money. I decided to roll the dice and take a risk. It was my biggest event to date, but I had faith that It would succeed in order for that to happen I knew I had to increase promotions, so I implemented new strategies and techniques to boost my social media and overall promotions. I started using models in posts, printing posters and flyers, paying money for ads on social media and created more content. I put about two months of promotion into the event. The day came and the event went off without any major incidents. It wasn’t a financial success in fact I just broke even after I paid my dad back, but it was a fun event, and everyone enjoyed themselves so for me it was a success. It gave me the street cred and buzz I needed to jumpstart the event back to life. It gave me the confidence I needed to push forward and although I achieved what most said I wouldn’t, couldn’t, and shouldn’t my celebration was cut short. One week after my event I was informed that base camp was to be leased by club space and to turn into space park. My event was homeless… So now I needed to find another venue because I had to keep the momentum going. It’s all about consistency, the minute you stop they forget you. I had to find a venue that could hold the capacity needed, didn’t have any noise issues, and wouldn’t screw me. It’s harder than it seems, especially in Miami. I jumped around from venue to venue for the first half of 2021 cause of all previously mentioned reasons all the while building momentum and a reputation. At this point the event was starting to make a profit but instead of wasting that money on partying like I used to I reinvested it right back into the business. I still had a fulltime job to pay for all my personal expenses so this extra money gave me the opportunity to book bigger acts and spend more on promotions, equipment, and production. Things were looking good but the stress of not knowing if I’d have a venue to throw my event every month definitely gave me a lot of anxiety plus having a full time job and trying to expand my business just wasn’t working. I couldn’t put all the time and effort I knew I needed into the business so I decided to quit my full time job and go all in on my business. Summer was difficult, My relationship with the venue I was currently throwing my event deteriorated and ended. I was running out of options for a venue, the event had gotten too big and there was limited options, then an old high school friend reached out, he was now working at a gay bar called LIT in Wilton Manors. We met and his venue agreed to host the event which we ended up getting shutdown because of noise ordinance lol but that night Revolution Live was there, we talked and they expressed interest in the event. They are a legendary venue and a big part of the community in South Florida so having them interested was a big deal. It took a few months until I finally got a date, they were a long two months… we still didn’t have a home and I was just trying to stay afloat, luckily Las Rosas gave me a lifeline and let me use their venue until I finally got a confirmation and when I did I knew I had to pull all my resources to make it a success. Thankfully through out the year our following had doubled and the promoting techniques we implemented had proven to be successful. Through word of mouth I was getting a good reputation with bands and artists so I was able to book great talent. I went even harder with the promotions. Going to events and passing out flyers to people and cars. Doing more photo shoots and cross promoting with models, spending countless hours on social media creating content and posts, investing even more money into social media ads. It all paid off. The event was a success. We did a second event at Revolution Live and that party did even better than the first. We proved that we weren’t a fluke, that we can bring consistent events and great crowds. They offered me a residency at the venue and now the event is a permanent fixture of Revolution Live. The new partnership has given me even more resources to promote and produce the event to a new level. I have the ability to book national acts and host bigger events. In one year I went from 300 capacity venues to a 2k capacity venue. The journey wasn’t easy. It took resilience, patience, courage, and lots of hope.

Panther, 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?

I’m a creative with a background in the hospitality industry. My interests are in music, art, film, photography, and events. Originally from New Jersey I’ve lived in Miami for 15 years. I started My business back in 2017 which is an event called The Black Market. It is an alternative flea market featuring vendors, bands, djs, drag shows, burlesque and other entertainment. Since we encompass all these different components it sets us apart from the other flea markets in South Florida and has given us the reputation of one the biggest and best alternative events in the area. Although it is an alternative event it is inclusive for all to come and enjoy!

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Word of mouth. It’s helped us build our following more than anything. We cater to a niche crowd so it’s important that we make our presence known within that community and the best way to do that is by leaving our guests with a positive experience that they then will tell friends, family, coworkers, and other people about. It’s organic which makes it more meaningful also individuals are more apt to listen to another person vs some advertisement. A personal exchange is the most powerful promotional tool there is. Humans are social creatures by nature and the act of communicating face to face creates a connection and energy that you just can’t get from any other advertisement. The more people start talking it creates a buzz and that buzz garners you attention. It’s a snowball effect which as long as you keep them talking it will continue to grow. The best part is it’s free, unlike other promotions that can get pretty costly without a guaranteed result, word of mouth doesn’t cost anything directly and even if any potential guest doesn’t end up going to the event, they at least now know it exists. People love to talk, so give them something to talk about.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I wanted it to be an event that was always talked about and relevant because it was constant not only for being a recurring event but for always being consistent with programming and production. Always leaving them happy. That’s what I set out to do and now when someone comes back to the black market, they know exactly what they are going to get. Consistency. Give them a great experience every time and they’ll keep coming back. That has been crucial in building our name and reputation, but the most important thing is integrity. Keeping my word and staying true, whether it be personal or business. It builds trust and respect ultimately creating a good reputation. It’s Miami, sunny place, shady people. Being true can go a long way here.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.theblackmarketmiami.com
• Instagram: Theblackmarketmia

Image Credits
Jay Kantor Roberto Badillo