The company began its initial shows in significantly smaller fairground settings where they were able to test the market and create a general buzz about the show. During this time only a handful of companies (Goodtimes Motorsports and Mainstream Productions' Import Showoff being the most notable competitors) were venturing into this area. Hot Import Nights understood that they had a product that could be sold, but how to market and to capture an audience was a whole different story and a different market than they were used to targeting.