Holly cow, Ashley. You just gave me a million dollar idea! Seriously, I live across the country from you and we have quite few wineries within 50 miles from us. And we visit them a lot. I wonder why😂😂😂. But none of them carry candles. I mean, none. They could be carrying mine.
I get comments on how my booth looks at every event. It's eye catching and I pride myself on being different than everyone else. It's a complete representation of myself and my brand. You've really nailed it there 👏 👌
Pros: bringing friends/family who have experiences that have changed my business! My husband is an extrovert and has refined our "community partnership" (people we do business with/people who are regularly downtown knowing us as the brand) and finding out my friend works in e commerce and has a love for business numbers so he has shown me a lot of how to price myself and so much more! The only con is saying yes to too many foreign markets ahead of time; one of the most prominent craft show hosts here are friends with select vendors and allow MLM so it was rough when I had paid well in advance for 3 or 4 shows without realizing that could be problematic (my first show I was put outside a bathroom which felt personal but strangely helped my sales)
I’m here for the felt personal but helped my sales! It always feels so personal (and sometimes it is). I love this and hope this year is off to a great start for you!
Spot on about markets. I feel the same way when I decline to do a market for specific reasons/values, but then I see my peers posting at the event I wonder if I made the right decision. Often I did! They are only showing the highlights. I’ve learned to stay out of the socials on those days so I miss a lot of it. Also standing firm on saying no when being invited to pop up at wholesale clients stores etc. if I do. I’ll pick a very small window and lean into my current customer list telling them to stop by and treating it like a local pickup (I’m home based)
Thank you for your continued efforts in providing helpful content to other makers! :) I feel like I always come away with a new perspective or idea after listening to you. Your set up and displays are amazing! Markets have been a key to the growth of my business & finding out which ones are the right fit can take some time. I’ve had to say no to ones I was not feeling this year. Private label is something that I haven’t ventured into. I feel like an artist would not paint a picture and then allow someone else to take credit for it and what we do is an art. I guess it comes down to money & what you are willing to sacrifice to see growth. I have started creating specialty candles for small businesses with my logo and their business name on the label and that has been a fun collaboration. It seems to benefit both parties. Pros- strategically scheduled markets and consistently showing up to new places and trying new things. Cons- For the markets I honestly can’t think of any other than back-to-back markets are exhausting and not something I will do often. Thanks again for sharing your experiences and best of luck to you in 2024!
