AFTER THE SUCCESSFUL NETWORK PARTY, the IDPromotions.com website was loaded up with an event photo gallery, a spotlight section on Carol’s Soul Food Restaurant, pop-up floaters on where else to eat, where else to drink, where else to party, what else was hot in San Diego, an event calendar page, and floating announcement banners.

Ivan went online to check out his new website three times a day, morning, afternoon, and night, just to admire it.

“I don’t know how they do it, but I’m loving it,” he commented. Jeff and Paul had designed the website’s energy and sizzle. The vivid pop-ups made sure that you never got bored. And with Ida being so open to advertising, it gave Ivan plenty of confidence that others would follow suit. Jeff and Paul were sure of it. So they plugged in an “Advertise Here” pop-up on the site.

But instead of taking advertisement money immediately, Ivan wanted to create a waiting list so they could adjust the prices. By making them all wait, he could see who had the longest money and serious intentions. As with most advertising vehicles, long-term deals and up-front money would receive the best rates.

With no time to waste, Ivan planned a second meet-and-greet event with another friend and business associate of Thomas Jones. A Filipino owner of Raymond’s Hot Spot Lounge, a large new bar on San Diego’s southeast side, was willing to allow Ivan to keep a cover charge, as well as receive 25 percent of the bar.

Thomas said, “That’s an offer you can’t refuse, Ivan. Or else I wouldn’t have bothered you with it. Most of these owners want you to pay a bar guarantee after they charge you a rental fee to keep the door. But all he wants to do is let folks know that he’s there,” Thomas explained.

Ivan was skeptical of such a great deal so early in the promotions game. What glitters ain’t always gold. So he checked the place out, believing it was a hole-in-the-wall establishment in a dead location. But when he saw the place, he loved it. It was much larger than he expected, and the place was easy to find, with plenty of parking available.

“So, you just want me to turn this place out with a drinking crowd, is that it?” Ivan asked the owner.

Raymond was a short, handsome Filipino man with slick, combed-back hair who had married a black woman and liked to mingle in different crowds.

“If you can do it, let’s make it happen,” he challenged Ivan.

Ivan looked around at the place again and thought about it. Since his spot is new and he doesn’t have a crowd yet, he’ll use me to create one, and then he’ll act like the rest of the owners. So I may as well take advantage of this while I got it, he reasoned.