Do I really need to do events?

It’s that time of year when the summer and next autumn event booking emails start to land in my inbox and if I’m honest, I’m in a bit of a quandary about what to do.

Selling / promoting yourself at “event’s” is just the default “done thing” when it comes to creative small business, especially one in the jewellery industry, but is it really necessary or even the right thing to do for “my” business?

Some of the reasons I keep going back is the fact that I feel bad about letting the organisers down, which I know is a really crap business decision but hey, I’m a nice person and want to do my best to support other nice people.

Lots of events are run by other small businesses, who may exhibited at other events and think if they run their own, they’ll be more successful. But are they really thinking about what’s right for them, or are we all just following some kind of cycle of doing things the way they always have been without ever asking questions?

Having exhibited/sold at too many events to be bothered to count over the years, I now only do one or two a year, and I’m now questioning even that.

The thing is, if I add up how much time I put into getting ready vs what I actually get out of it, is it really worth it? Financially, I think it “probably” is but only just. Mentally and physically, its just a massive old pain, and if I did just decide to not do any outside events, would those one or two extra clients I pick up have found me anyway, especially if I spend the time and money spent on advertising instead?

My other issue is that now I only make to order from my clients old jewellery, I don’t have any physical stock that represents my best work. I have a few pieces left that have been kicking around for years and have never been sold, but they certainly don’t show off what I’m really about.

So…it’s decision time and I’m still very much on the fence whether or not to rebook. Do I break that mould and just say no? Any advice, opinions, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!