To Market to Market…..
Hello lovelies! Hope all of you have been doing well in month 2 of this year, seems like time is moving at an incredible pace – we’ve just had Valentines Day and Easter is a month away!
Ón my side, January was tough – tougher than I expected and yet again I was rescued financially by the grace of God and my very supportive friends because orders have just been super slow. I am not oblivious to the current situation in the country and the plight of many, so I understand fully why my business which provides “luxury” and not necessity is not doing well.
On a lighter note, 1 of my goals for this year was to create awareness about myself and my brand through various mechanisms including showing up more regularly on social media, sharing more about my journey and attending as many markets as possible. Not sure if I have mentioned this before, but the perception people have of me being straight forward and confident and an extrovert is somewhat skewed. I’ve suffered with anxiety all my life mostly triggered by being put on the spot. I am brilliant in English and I wrote very impressive speeches, but I hardly ever stood up to say them because of my fear. I was saying to my aunt yesterday that sometimes you wonder when in school why they make you do or learn all these unnecessary things that you will never use in real life later and this is a perfect example of where it failed because I didn’t participate.
Anyhoo, I think it boils down to a self-confidence issue, but you’d never say it if you met me in person. This year is all about finding myself in the narrative of a business owner and entrepreneur and I am trying my best to recognize my shortcomings and to work on overcoming them.
Attending markets gives me the opportunity to put myself out there, connect with different people from different backgrounds and promote my brand and products. I believe that doing this often will get me through my fear of being put on the spot – practice makes perfect right.
This past weekend I did 2 markets back-to-back; it was an amazing experience because one was in a mall situation and the other was in an open garden area. I had lots of learnings from both events, and I would like to share some of them here.
Lauren’s Learnings
1) Apply to various markets on your socials so that when new ones become available, your socials will target them to you for interest.
2) Pick markets that are well known or in the suburban areas where attending markets is a norm.
3) If you are a baker, try and make things that could last at least 2-4days so that you have a buffer for a plan B in case you don’t sell out.
4) Have a plan, write it down, tick it off as you go.
5) Try and differentiate yourself – you are more than likely going to find someone in your field of work at the market, so try and offer menu items that are not “regular” so there’s no distraction/ competition.
6) Make sure your set up is attractive – I have the bare minimum at the moment but just purchasing a bunch of specialty roses for my table attracted people to come see and smell them at my booth.
7) Ensure you have a card machine – a lot of people don’t carry cash anymore and today I had a client looking for cupcakes, when I tried to divert her to the other booth down my road, she said she had been there, and the lady was only taking cash so she’s at my booth to buy a cake slice instead. I got the sale because of poor convenience.
8) Connect with fellow vendors – I learnt so much from my fellow vendors this weekend, everyone is willing to share their stories, their tips, their knowledge, and their experience of success at various markets.
9) Greet everyone who walks pass – sometimes minds are preoccupied, and they will walk right by you but if you greet, it opens an opportunity for them to look your way and possibly start a conversation. Also, if they don’t buy anything, that’s perfectly fine – give them a card or let them scan your QR code.
10) Be disciplined – I love nice things, so I end up spending more money at the market stalls than I made.
I’m going to say that the most important thing I learnt about doing markets is to have a mindset adjustment. All us small business owners are desperate to promote our business and most of all make money to enable us to pay our bills and survive but this desperation mindset can really corrupt the enormous opportunity for progression and growth. As long as you are stuck in a desperation mindset, you will not be able to see the potential of markets and enjoy doing them. I made very little product this time because I specifically adjusted my mindset to doing markets for brand awareness and not making money. If I make money, then that’s great but I’m not going to let it cripple my ability to make the most of the opportunity of exposure.
Until next time……. remember to bake people happy!
