{"id":3618,"date":"2025-12-07T09:00:04","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T10:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/?p=3618"},"modified":"2025-12-08T11:33:51","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T11:33:51","slug":"circus-dreams-and-serious-struggles-lessons-on-leadership-from-a-literal-ringmaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/07\/circus-dreams-and-serious-struggles-lessons-on-leadership-from-a-literal-ringmaster\/","title":{"rendered":"Circus dreams and serious struggles: Lessons on leadership from a literal ringmaster"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Lights dim. Sounds hush. The aerialist spins into the air. Sequins sparkle in the warm light of a followspot, and my weird little brain wonders: \u201c<strong>What does marketing look like for a travelling circus where every other week brings a totally new market?<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When I went searching for the answer, I found, instead, one of the most genuinely profound and heartfelt conversations I\u2019ve had in a long time.<\/p>\n<p>And the reinforcement of my belief that, sometimes, the most important lessons for marketers\u2026 don\u2019t come from marketers at all.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"cta_button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/cs\/ci\/?pg=bcbe2652-03f9-49fe-b517-acedc47b6f27&amp;pid=53&amp;ecid=&amp;hseid=&amp;hsic=\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"hs-cta-img \" style=\"height: auto !important;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;border-width: 0px;margin: 0 auto;margin-top: 20px;margin-bottom: 20px\" alt=\"Click Here to Subscribe to Masters in Marketing\" height=\"58\" width=\"431\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/53\/bcbe2652-03f9-49fe-b517-acedc47b6f27.png\" align=\"middle\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" width=\"650\" height=\"650\" alt=\"Kevin Venardos, a smiling man in a bejeweled tophat and coat\" style=\"height: auto;max-width: 100%;width: 650px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kevin-venardos-mim-blog.jpg\"><\/h2>\n<h2>Kevin Venardos<\/h2>\n<h3>Owner\/Founder\/Ringmaster of <a href=\"https:\/\/venardoscircus.com\/\">Venardos Circus<\/a><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Fun fact: <\/strong>I\u2019m sorry, what could be a more fun fact than that he <em>owns his own circus?!<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Claim to fame: <\/strong>Kevin grew his circus from a rented tent at a state fair to <em>two <\/em>touring shows delighting 45 locations across the U.S. and over 200,000 attendees!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2>Lesson 1: Use your dream to help others achieve theirs.<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cAll I owned was a significant amount of debt,\u201d Venardos says, recounting the birth of his circus. \u201cIt started with a desire to keep working. To not have to rely on someone else thinking I was useful to keep around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But life had a lesson in store that would change his very motivation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found this little [carnival] in Snohomish, WA. And I said, \u2018Hey, let me put my little circus by your event, and don\u2019t charge me a dime. And I\u2019m gonna work my tail off putting as many butts into those hay bales as I possibly can.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was only meant to be a shrewd business move, a way to stretch their thin budget, but something clicked into place for Venardos.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<strong>The capacity we have to make an economic impact.<\/strong> Where we place the circus, there are businesses nearby. And when we\u2019re successful, they benefit from that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That little lesson grew into the philosophy that underpins how Venardos thinks about his crew, his partnerships, and even his audience.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cHow can you use your dream to help other people achieve theirs? <\/strong>When I\u2019m not asking myself that question enough, I\u2019m usually on the wrong track.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" style=\"height: auto;max-width: 100%;width: 650px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kevin-venardos-mim-dream.jpg\"><\/p>\n<h2>Lesson 2: Invest in emotional connection.<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cEvery [interaction] has the opportunity for us to rob them of their joy or offer a reason to smile. Lift a weight from them or make our needs more important than theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This holds true with customers, coworkers, and collaborators alike. And it\u2019s that consideration to which Venardos attributes the success of the show. To illustrate, he tells me about what could have been their lowest point.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<strong>When 2020 hit, that investment of love is what carried us through the pandemic.<\/strong>\u201d Social isolation could and did end a lot of live shows. Instead, <strong>\u201c<\/strong>people showed up and bought $25 tickets [to a livestream of the circus] when they could have watched YouTube for free.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And Venardos is quick to point out that love isn\u2019t just for customers. \u201cIt\u2019s about the other businesses and other parts of your community for whom the warmth that your flame generates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlaces where it\u2019s simply a transactional relationship are generally not the places where we\u2019re most successful,\u201d he says. \u201c<strong>When you have an army of people whose success is tied to yours in some way, that\u2019s when things really start to grow.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Lesson 3: Share your unique struggle.<\/h2>\n<p>As our conversation drew to a close, I asked Venardos what he would do differently if he could time-warp back to 2014 and do it all again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt might be a trap to torture oneself with such a question. <strong>Our identity as The Little Circus that Could was forged absolutely, and <\/strong><strong><em>only, <\/em><\/strong><strong>because I made so many mistakes<\/strong>,\u201d he said and stared into the middle distance.<\/p>\n<p>The first time I saw the Venardos Circus, the show ended as the ringmaster himself came out to thank the audience. His voice quavered as he explained how close the show had come to not making it. How he bet everything on a rented tent and a circus dream. How each one of us there was supporting a whole family of dreamers. I was hooked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<strong>I don\u2019t wish pain on anyone, but pain is a spoon that carves out space in your heart for gratitude. <\/strong>I think that\u2019s something that connects with people. There\u2019s an emotional resonance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>People come to the circus for the spectacle. But they come <em>back <\/em>because they find something deeper.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat thing you <em>think <\/em>is your flaw, if you\u2019re willing to get comfortable sharing, is actually your unique struggle. <strong>Someone else is out there \u2014 and you might not even know them yet \u2014 who needs to see the thing that only you can offer because of the unique challenges you\u2019ve passed through.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" style=\"height: auto;max-width: 100%;width: 650px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kevin-venardos-mim-challenges.jpg\"><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2>Bonus Lesson 1: Happiness is clear expectations.<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cMaking a happy community means setting clear expectations for everybody and holding each other accountable to that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If you think culture is important at your job, imagine if you lived with all of your coworkers for months on end! I asked Venardos how his team navigates that dynamic.<\/p>\n<p>He says the first step is \u201cthe amount of time and love that is spent finding the right people and caring for them.\u201d The second step is the promise you make to each other.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<strong>Great people will feel disrespected if people are permitted to perform at a mediocre level or are not held to whatever they promised to do<\/strong>,\u201d Venardos says. \u201cI thought that this was a cold-hearted philosophy at one point. I went through so many painful iterations before I discovered that I create far more pain by not dealing with that stuff immediately than I do by [addressing it].\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Bonus Lesson 2: Heirarchy doesn\u2019t imply worth.<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cThe person who is greeting at the front door, our concessions team, they are all equally important to every artist,\u201d he explains. \u201cIn recent months, I\u2019ve even discovered that giving people titles that would seem to indicate some sort of superiority [is harmful to team dynamics].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Which isn\u2019t to say that there aren&#8217;t levels of leadership.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrue, someone may have responsibilities where they\u2019re looking after certain individuals and holding them accountable. But the idea that a boss should get respect simply because that\u2019s their title goes in the opposite direction of what I\u2019ve found to be a successful team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a car, the engine isn\u2019t more important than the wheels. You need both if it\u2019s going to work.<\/p>\n<h2>Lingering Questions<\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Today\u2019s question<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>\u201cHow do you see your marketing evolving as we&#8217;re entering the holiday season?\u201d<\/strong> \u2014 Cristina Jerome, Founder of Off Worque<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Today\u2019s answer<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Venardos says: <\/strong>\u201cWe don&#8217;t really change our marketing for the holiday season as our formula is more targeted to whether we&#8217;re playing a new city or a returning city.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes it\u2019s just like that!<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Next week\u2019s question<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Venardos asks:<strong> \u201cWhat is your single most effective marketing tool in your arsenal?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a class=\"cta_button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/cs\/ci\/?pg=e1f0958d-1b15-418e-b4db-45ee531f71af&amp;pid=53&amp;ecid=&amp;hseid=&amp;hsic=\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"hs-cta-img \" style=\"height: auto !important;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;border-width: 0px;margin: 0 auto;margin-top: 20px;margin-bottom: 20px\" alt=\"Click Here to Subscribe to Masters in Marketing\" height=\"613\" width=\"1920\" src=\"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/e1f0958d-1b15-418e-b4db-45ee531f71af.png\" align=\"middle\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" style=\"min-height:1px!important;width:1px!important;border-width:0!important;margin-top:0!important;margin-bottom:0!important;margin-right:0!important;margin-left:0!important;padding-top:0!important;padding-bottom:0!important;padding-right:0!important;padding-left:0!important\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/track.hubspot.com\/__ptq.gif?a=53&amp;k=14&amp;r=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.hubspot.com%2Fmarketing%2Fcircus-dreams-and-serious-struggles-lessons-on-leadership-from-a-literal-ringmaster&amp;bu=https%253A%252F%252Fblog.hubspot.com%252Fmarketing&amp;bvt=rss\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lights dim. Sounds hush. The aerialist spins into the air. Sequins sparkle in the warm light of a followspot, and my weird little brain wonders: \u201cWhat does marketing look like for a travelling circus where every other week brings a totally new market?\u201d When I went searching for the answer, I found, instead, one of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3618"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3618"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3624,"href":"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3618\/revisions\/3624"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buywyo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}