Page 134 - The $100 Startup_ Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love

ADVERTISING IS LIKE SEX:
ONLY LOSERS PAY FOR IT.

“Good things happen to those who hustle.”

—ANAÏS NIN

One hundred and twenty miles from Boston in rural New Hampshire, hundreds

of artists and art lovers gather twice a year for a communal experience. Before
coming to the area, many of them connect online, arranging car-share services
and planning meetups. After settling into lakeside cottages, they learn from
professionals and spend time with one another, old friends and new friends alike.

It all started five years ago when Elizabeth MacCrellish was feeling isolated
from other artists and wanted to create more of a sense of community in her rural
area. “I invited my friends to join me for a weekend gathering centered on the
arts,” she explained. She planned for a few dozen people, but 135 showed up—
mostly from the West Coast, far from the small New England group she had
expected.

Thus was born Squam Art Workshops, named after a lake in central New
Hampshire. After that initial gathering, Elizabeth repeated the experience, first
on an annual basis and then twice a year. The audience is one-third professional
artists and two-thirds “regular people” with day jobs who enjoy arts and crafts as
a hobby. Hundreds of people now come to each sold-out gathering.

As the workshops grew, Elizabeth pulled back to regroup. She did no
traditional advertising of any kind, but more people kept signing up, strictly
through word of mouth. In the third year of Squam, Elizabeth added an extra