EDUCATION IS NOT A FOUR LETTER WORD!

By Rich Strelak R&J Productions

Name one thing that successful industries have in common…. Give up? All successful industries seek continued education! You don’t believe me? Then try and name ANY job you or anyone you know has had that did not require a class or seminar. Sales seminars, safety classes, human resource retreats, conventions…the list goes on and on. In fact there is a whole industry developed just to educate other industries!

We all know about education in the Haunted Attraction Industry, right? We especially hear about education around March during the Transworld Halloween Show. Their emphasis on education includes the Thursday Haunt Seminar and the Early Bird Seminars. There are also vendors that will sell you How-To tapes, books and magazines. Unfortunately there seems to be a common belief that once you get your haunt up and running, you no longer have a need for further education. Many Haunters will only attend a Transworld Seminar Series…once! Then they seem to feel that they are now totally enlightened and have no further use of knowledge!! Education and seminars is just for the first year people! Nothing could be further from the truth.

Talk to Haunt Owners who have been in business for more than five years. Since statistics state most small businesses fail within five years, let’s talk to people who must have done something right! One thing I can guarantee each will say is that their attraction in year one was nothing like their attraction in year five! Why? Because they have become more educated and they put that education to work! The successful operators tend to seek out as much information and knowledge as possible.

In our industry, education comes to us through a few standard avenues. Books-Tapes-Seminars. With the advent of the computer, internet, and other media advances there are now a few upgrades and cross-overs. Tapes are now DVD’s. Some books are now on-line or on a CD. Seminars can be live, recorded or even on-line. Being a writer and seminar instructor, I am always asking people about Haunt education. Those that choose NOT to continue their education all have an excuse or reason. Let’s look at a few of those popular “reasons”:

The Big Excuses

“$25 for a DVD (or insert book, magazine subscription, etc.)? That’s just way too expensive!” Cost always seems to be the number one excuse for not obtaining education. So how much would you pay for just ONE good idea? If I had one idea that could save you $1,000, how much would it be worth? Obviously any amount right up to $999.99!! If you only get one idea from a tape or book, that was a $25 idea! That is pretty cheap by any standard. More on value later!

“People don’t pay for ideas.” Just stay up late any night and see all the infomercials on TV. After exercise equipment and kitchen gadgets most infomercials sell nothing more than ideas. Mr. Successful will sell you a set of tapes or book that includes everything he knows for 4 easy payments of $49.95!! Those people make more money selling the idea than they ever did applying the idea. We think nothing of dropping a couple hundred bucks on a “get rich quick” scheme that we know we will never even implement. It is like the ad in a newspaper: “How to make a million dollars! Send one dollar and a stamped envelope”! You send away and get that envelope. It contains one sheet of paper with the simple instruction, “How to make a million dollars. Just take out an ad like I did and get one million people to send you a dollar!” Think how many ideas you might get from just one magazine subscription?

“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”-Derek Bok

“I’ve already seen all the tapes, read all the books!” This one is my favorite! So you remember every word in every book and tape you have ever seen? Just because you saw a tape or read a book two years ago does not meet you were ready then for the information it contains. We all absorb information in relationship to our current situation. As our needs change, so do the ideas necessary to accomplish those needs. Here’s an idea and I know it works because I personally do it. I have a TV/VCR set up in my shop. I play the Hauntworld tapes like most people would have a radio on in the background. Sometimes I don’t even think I am paying attention, then something catches my eye or I hear something. Many times a tape I have already viewed 4 or 5 times will yield a new idea or be the spark that creates a new idea.

“I went to the Seminars my first year. I’ve heard it all.” This one ranks right up there with having seen all the tapes! Understand this. No one is an all-knowing expert! I write articles and teach seminars. Does that make me an expert in every aspect of the Haunt business? Absolutely not! In fact the more I learn, the more I need to learn. Our business is always changing. Things we did five years ago may be completely taboo by today’s standards. A seminar topic two years ago can have a whole new meaning in today’s market. Like books and tapes, I may finally be ready now for seminar topics from two years ago.

“What can he/she teach me? I’ve been in the business longer than them!” Different people bring different perspectives to the same topic. Just because a person is new in the Haunt business does not mean they can not provide pertinent information. What is that person’s background? What other experiences do they bring to the table? I started teaching seminars after only being in the business a couple years. The first topics I covered were based on things I had done for years prior to being in the business. A good example is the book “So You Want To Be a Haunt Entrepreneur” by Kelly Allen. (see side bar review) Kelly wrote the book after his first year in the Haunt Business. Did Kelly try and teach people how to build scares or design an attraction? No. Kelly covered starting the haunt business in relationship to his prior experience. Kelly already owns and operates a successful business. He took what he learned there and applied it to the haunt scenario. The result was a book that presents ideas that can be used by someone getting into the business as well as a “seasoned” Haunt Entrepreneur.

“Why bother, I already have enough scares in my Haunt?” Although that statement is probably false, realize education is more than just scares. The Haunt Business is a BUSINESS! Too many people forget this. They only figure they need to get information on cool scares to make them more successful. I fear this is the biggest fallacy we have in our industry. Seminars about scares are always standing room only. Seminars on marketing, promotions and industry safety sometimes have the presenters out numbering the participants!!! You may have the most uniquely terrifying scare that has never been seen before (Actually another fallacy! Everything has been done one way or another!), but if your attraction is not marketed correctly who will ever SEE it??? A business has to make a profit or it will no longer function as a business. That leads us to the next statement.

“We just do this for fun! No need to get carried away with it!” This has been one of the biggest excuses for not improving a show. It is also probably one of the biggest “killer” of Haunts. It becomes the reason we don’t bother buying a new tape, reading a new book, buying a new prop or looking for a new idea. But if YOU don’t even have enough interest in your own Haunt to improve it, why would anyone else have any interest? Most non-profit or charity based Haunts do not endure because of this premise. No one wants to do any of the “non-fun” things like marketing, dealing with licenses and permits, bookkeeping, you know that “stuff” that actually allows the Haunt to operate! When it is no longer “fun” it becomes a job and who wants another one of those?

“I already operate a successful Haunt, why do I need to spend money on stuff I already know?” So just how successful will you be next year? In two years? In five years? If your business is solely based on what you know today, how long before it becomes outdated? Ten years ago haunted houses had actors grabbing their patrons. No one had any animations except Disney. A “special effect” might consist of a bowl of wet spaghetti to simulate worms thrown over an audience. While it might have been acceptable ten years ago, it is unacceptable and in some cases illegal by today’s standards. You have probably seen examples in your own market. Look at Haunts that closed and Haunts that remain open and successful. Those that change and improve stay open, those that refuse to change, close! It really is just that simple.

If you are not moving forward, then you are falling behind!

Excuses for not seeking additional information and education are just that…excuses! You should seek out education and information every chance you get! Do not limit yourself by waiting for the next book or tape. While every Haunt related piece of information is important, so is a well rounded education. First and foremost we own a BUSINESS. Our education should include all aspects of our business. How about taking a community college course on small business? How successful could you be if you learned how to write an effective business plan or sponsorship program or even a killer press release? Could a course on public speaking make you more effective when talking to a potential sponsor or a reporter? Could a course in Photoshop add that level of professionalism your current brochure lacks? How about a class on Web design? We are just scraping the surface!

What does your personal library look like? I am looking up at mine right now. Does yours include books on psychology? I have books on the theory of fear! Books on the amusement park business? Do you know how many other businesses have studied how Disney moves people? Books on script writing? I consider my attraction a “walk through movie”. Theories on how to build up tension in a film can translate directly to our attractions. Books on the trades? Our attractions follow many construction techniques from electrical to woodworking. Books on the theatrical arts? You build props. You apply make-up. You build scenes. Magic books? How many of our scares are designed or based on illusions? Aren’t we masters of misdirection?

What does your personal DVD-VHS library look like? Besides some of the great How-to Haunt videos, and of course the Hauntworld DVD series, how is your movie collection? Do you only have the complete set of Halloween movies? How about a set of the classic Horror movies? Adventure flicks? Thrillers? Sci-fi movies? You may know of the DVD series by Haunted Media, but how about the video magazine Movie fx? (www.moviefxmag.com ) Ideas can come from a myriad of sources.

Do you have a personal media collection? How many TV shows could be fodder for new ideas? Besides the obvious choices like “Buffy”, “Ghost Whisperer”, “Medium” and the like, what about the History Channel, The Discovery Channel or the Travel Channel? These channels broadcast a wealth of information if you just keep an eye out for unusual topics. The Travel Channel has an entire series on Haunted places. Tonight alone, while I was rereading this article, there were two documentaries, “Circus Freaks and Sideshows” and “Bloodline-The Dracula Family Tree”. For the cost of a couple VHS tapes you can add many of these programs to your personal library to study later.

Books-Tapes-Seminars, they should be the corner stone of our industry. You should use every means available to continue your Haunt Education. You must always realize that your insights change as your needs change. Re-read books and articles you have previously read. Watch tapes and DVD over and over. Ideas can only present themselves if you are ready for them. Don’t just look at the initial cost of an item. Look at its potential. How expensive is a $280 Seminar if that seminar increases your attendance 10 percent? Do the math. If you had 5,000 patrons last year and increased 10 percent, that is an additional 500 people. At a $10 ticket price that is an additional $5,000!!! A pretty good return on your investment! If a DVD costing $25 yields only one idea, isn’t that still worth the investment?

“So if I buy all the tapes and books and go to the seminars I will be successful?” Sure…and everyone that went to college became a successful entrepreneur! Obtaining education is only part of the formula. The key is to implement that education! I have a credo framed on the wall of my office. Over an inspirational picture it states: “It’s not how many ideas you have… its how many ideas you make happen!” A Haunt Owner can simply stay competitive by staying current, running with the rest of the pack. But a Haunt Owner really becomes successful by leading the pack! You only lead by knowing more, you only know more by being educated. Remember unless you are the lead dog, the scenery always stays the same!

It has been said, “Your Education is worth what YOU are worth.” So I ask…what ARE you worth?