How This Art Fair Producer Pulls Off Huge Live Events

Max Fishko puts on art shows all across the country. He's learned a lot about getting large events off the ground, despite the dizzying number of moving parts involved.

learn more about Catherine Clifford

By Catherine Clifford

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

An art fair is a warehouse-size temporary show where artists and consumers meet and mingle. Putting up, managing and breaking down an art market requires sophisticated event management expertise.

"Art fairs are sort of a cross between a rock concert and a trade show," says Max Fishko, co-founder of Brooklyn-based Art Market Productions, a company that launches and coordinates art fairs all around the country. "It is very much like operating a traveling circus."

Related: 5 Essential Questions to Ask to Get the Most Out of Your Live Event

For anyone who is planning to produce a large, live event, organization is everything, Fishko says. "You can't really plan to staff an event unless you know what needs to be done. If you think you can do all of this in your head or on the back of an envelope, you are out of your mind."

Launched six years ago from Fishko's spare bedroom in his New York apartment, Art Market Productions now has 12 full-time employees, is running a seven-figure sales revenue and is profitable.

Related: 10 Must-Have Tech Tools for Producing Better Live Events

In addition to mapping out everyone's responsibilities, Fishko says he is a big believer in trying to get his employes off the floor when they aren't mission-critical. Exhausted employees aren't productive, he says.

For more insights into launching a live event with many moving parts, check out the video above.

Catherine Clifford

Senior Entrepreneurship Writer at CNBC

Catherine Clifford is senior entrepreneurship writer at CNBC. She was formerly a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com, the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN. Clifford attended Columbia University where she earned a bachelor's degree. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can follow her on Twitter at @CatClifford.

Related Topics

Editor's Pick

This 61-Year-Old Grandma Who Made $35,000 in the Medical Field Now Earns 7 Figures in Retirement
A 'Quiet Promotion' Will Cost You a Lot — Use This Expert's 4-Step Strategy to Avoid It
3 Red Flags on Your LinkedIn Profile That Scare Clients Away
'Everyone Is Freaking Out.' What's Going On With Silicon Valley Bank? Federal Government Takes Control.
Leadership

How to Detect a Liar in Seconds Using Nonverbal Communication

There are many ways to understand if someone is not honest with you. The following signs do not even require words and are all nonverbal queues.

Celebrity Entrepreneurs

'I Dreaded Falling in Love.' Rupert Murdoch Is Getting Hitched for the Fifth Time.

The 92-year-old media tycoon announces he will wed former San Francisco police chaplain Ann Lesley Smith.

Business Ideas

55 Small Business Ideas To Start Right Now

To start one of these home-based businesses, you don't need a lot of funding -- just energy, passion and the drive to succeed.

Leadership

How Great Entrepreneurs Find Ways to Win During Economic Downturns

Recessions are an opportunity to recalibrate and make great strides in your business while others are unprepared to brave the challenges. Here's how great entrepreneurs can set themselves up for success despite economic uncertainty.

Starting a Business

Selling Your Business? Do These 6 Things Right Now.

If you want the maximum price you need to make these moves before you do anything else.

Business News

'Invest In That Future Now Before It's Too Late': Bill Gates Calls For Global Pandemic Response Team In Op-Ed

In the same month that the World Health Organization called the coronavirus a pandemic three years ago, billionaire Bill Gates reiterated his call for a "fire department for pandemics."