Comedy Business
August flew by! I missed my August blog post for a number of reasons, but mainly because I was incredibly focused on one thing: ComedySportz.
If you’ve never heard of ComedySportz–great! If you have, you can skip to the next paragraph lol. ComedySportz is comedy AS a sport. There’s two teams competing for your laughs, a ref who keeps the games moving along and everything is completely improvised, meaning it’s entirely made up on the spot based on audience suggestions. It’s *Improv* (kind of like Whose Line Is It Anyway? But all ages-friendly, and the points do matter).
My partner and I became the new Co-Owners/Managers in August and we had a bit of a grand reopening, so there was a LOT to prepare.
You might be thinking–”Elton, GIRL! You already run one business, now you own and operate TWO small businesses?” And the answer is yes. Wild and bold life choices, but here we are!
Me with one of the retractable banners I designed using Canva. Obsessed with these banners and obsessed with Canva tbh
We’re officially three months into managing and here are some things I’m learning along the way:
I gotta get better at delegating
I understand more about business than I thought I did
Our support system is WOW, just the absolute best.
Momentum is hard and requires a lot of patience
I’m impatient (I knew that already, but dang this is really highlighting it)
My partner is so patient.
I have a lot to learn
I am obsessed with Canva (can’t believe it took me this long to use it)
Improv is magic
We can only control what we can control
One thing at a time
We can do hard things.
Me reffing at Westwood Town Hall. Photo by the stellar Valley Film Co.
Managing anything, but especially a small business, teaches you a lot about yourself and will bring your weak spots to light really quickly. It’s not easy, but it is fun (most of the time) and it is worth it. We’re working hard, really hard. We’re trying new things, tweaking old things and doing a lot of deep breathing. But it’s all worth it when we hear the audience laughing and our players are having a good time.
Our mission is joy. It’s a simple mission that requires a lot of moving parts to execute, but when the parts work they WORK. There is nothing like seeing improv in action and seeing the magic that it is. Improv is an art form, and I truly believe it makes us better humans, so bringing on 11 new Players In Training this week and seeing what they bring to the team was a highlight of my week.
Me reffing, still at Westwood Town Hall. Peep my parents in the lower left corner, my #1 fans. They make so much of this possible by helping wherever we need help. My mom is our ticket taker and my dad has been stage managing! It means the world to me and it’s so fun to see them involved.
Small business social media is exhausting. It feels like a lot to promote your thing over and over and over. But I will scream and shout for ComedySportz because I really believe it’s an asset to the community and an agent for joy. I’m so excited that we’ve put roots down at Madcap Education Center and within the Westwood community. I know there is a lot of good that can come from our organization and I’m looking forward to sharing and growing with the city.
If you haven’t been to at ComedySportz Cincinnati match, and I say you should check one out, I am not just saying it to promote my small business. I’m saying it because I truly believe you will leave feeling better than you felt when you arrived, and that’s day changing, week changing, maybe even life changing.
Life is short and we need more laughs. So when you want to laugh, you know where to find me.
Xoxo elton b
