Protospiel South

As I mentioned to several people at the convention, I practice full transperency and disclosure when it comes to Protospiel South's expenses and revenue. This year was an interesting experiment, with the "pay what you will" entry fee. Very few people pre-registered, so I had no idea who would show or not show. Also, a number of people who said they would show (Not "maybes" but "farily definite" people.) did not. Even so, it all worked out fairly well. Here's how it broke down...

Expenses – There were four basic expenses for Protospeil South: The room, the supplies for the craft table, the snacks, and the pizza lunch on Saturday. Here's what each cost:

* Room: $477.
* Supplies: $55
* Snacks: $60
* Pizza: $35

Total: $627

Note that I screwed up on room negotiations. I should have totally pushed to have the price for Friday's room rate be $50, as we used it for a very short period of time that was very likely not a time that would be rented. Had I negotiated properly, that price would have been $100 lower.

Revenues – $511 total, rougly $335 of which was at the door on Saturday and Sunday. Judging from the number of laser-cut nametags I had left at the end of the convention, we had about 40 attendees, but never all at once. I think at the fullest the room had about 30 people in it (Can someone confirm or deny this?).

Note for next year: I did a lousy job of tracking attendence. I didn't get a true head count, and I didn't capture information on who attended, like names or email addresses. Next year, I'll likely have a check-in form.

Also: I *need* pre-registrations. I like the flexibility of "pay what you will," but I need to get that payment solution working correctly. Also, I need to get pre-registrations. Right now, the best answer I have to promote pre-registration is to say that if you pay at the door (as a designer), it's a minimum of $30, but if you pre-register, you can pay what you wish to. Also, if you pre-register, you'll get your name etched in the Protospeil South name badge, and it'll be made out of something special, like wood or acrylic or somesuch.

And there you have it! See y'all next year!