If you’re not the lead dog, the scenery never changes
Star notes:
Don’t want to miss this show.
Old School:
Disco shots from the 80’s.
If you’re not the lead dog, the scenery never changes
I saw that on the back of someone’s t-shirt, Monday morning. In a coffee shop. Trying to get the blood flowing after a long weekend. When I set up for the expo, my table was right next to a lady, claimed this was her first event, and she was selling astrology reports. She had a laptop, a laser printer, and sign that said, “Astrology + Tarot.”
If this had been the local promoter, I’d be upset, but as a west coast outfitter, I wasn’t too worried. Austin, home town crowd. First client, Saturday morning, she complained about the prices, and Saturday’s price was $30 plus $5 for the audio CD. This is a real, live reading, not a computer generated report. This is where the main elements can be picked out, instead of wandering through acres and acres of text. Looked like the reports were running about twenty pages. There were a few dollars cheaper than the reports that I sell (astrofish.net store).
Actually, the detailed year-long report by me is much less expensive. Of course, it’s about 100 pages of text, and I’d suggest a good portion of that is less useful, just minor, annoying little planet doings, minor hints from Venus & Mercury.
So that first client Saturday morning, besides having to bargain for the price, that client was amazed that I still had a chart on file with the precise birth data, from more than seven years ago. There was much of the “how you doing, what’s going on, long time no see” kind of chatter.
That poor little Scorpio lass next to me, heart all in the right place, and then, to have to be set up next to the only (other) real astrologer. I had my usual steady stream of clients, old and new. I might have been hearing this wrong, too, but I thought what she was saying was that the computer reports were better than a person who was just spouting off stuff he memorized. That easily could be my own take, I might be way off. Can’t count on me for an exact – or unbiased – quote.
A quick glance through the website, what I saw was no different from what’s available – for free – from a number of other astrology websites. What makes my material different is that I write my own material. And real reading with me, it includes a report to fill in the gaps that I intentionally leave blank, the boring stuff about each position while I endeavor to do what the computer can’t do.
While, by my nature, I’m a gregarious and outgoing person, I was hedging a little with the lady next to me. I didn’t want to explain, in depth and in detail, the mistakes I’ve made, and what I’ve learned. Search engine optimization, what sells, what doesn’t sell, what people are looking for? Some of this is trial and error. Some of this is costly mistakes I’ve made. Costly in terms of time, and money. Live and learn.
A potential reading, some random person, walked by, talked to me for several minutes and I made general remarks about signs and so forth. Then she stepped over to the lady next to me, and bought a report. Sort of chapped my backside. But not really. You get what you pay for. I’d be a little upset if I discovered that the same information was available for free.
At dinner, Saturday evening, I wasn’t talking much about this person next to me, I was working with friends on upcoming vacation plans, fishing plans, publishing notes, baits, personal stuff. We also talked prices. Sunday morning, I jacked my price to $40. Before the show even started, I was busy. That ten dollar price increase made up for the last hour when I wasn’t busy, other than with tire kickers.
While I didn’t really enjoy raising my prices, I noticed that the other readers were charging more than me, like, one was $50 per 15 minutes. I’m still a good deal, better than most.
I ate BBQ Sunday night, after the show. In true, typical Austin fashion, there was a reggae festival on the shore in front of the auditorium, the new age expo on one side of the events center, and the City-Wide Garage Sale on the other side of the place.
Transcendental pork ribs, what I expected, and then, a familiar Scorpio walked in, she was showing up for work. She had a blue T-shirt, new one, “Our Lady Of Green Mesquite” along with a figure – image – of the Virgen de Guadalupe on the front.
“God knows when you don’t tip.” In big, gothic text on the back.
View from the steps of the convention center
(cure for the common horoscope)