Friday, September 20, 2013

I Love It When a Plan Comes Together!

The designers of our new look!
There is no substitute for experience.  For several years, Jim and I have had booths at various festivals, craft fairs, and art fairs.  While we've had some fun days (and some not-so-fun days), up until this year, it's just been a hobby.
The new look!

Our old display










This year, we've gotten serious about the business in several ways:

Create a new look.

I told you about the new tent; well, take a look at the new "store"! It is bright, airy, custom-made display boards.  It is mobile, expandable, and displays stock at eye level.  Unlike our old set-up, it is not sensitive to moderate wind which protects our wares.

We had several people stop and take pictures of our display area!

Streamline point-of-sale.                                                                                                     

The Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 served
as our POS terminal.
We've used Square for several years for charges and really like it, but, had problems with connectivity at our last big show during the "rush" hour.  We surveyed fellow artists who had one wireless provider in common, which was not ours.  Reluctantly, after 13 years with AT&T, we migrated the business phone to Verizon.  Our "cash register" was a Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (Wi-Fi only) with a Samsung Galaxy 3 used as the Wi-Fi hotspot (the phone lived in a crate under the table).  Connectivity was solid all day, despite crowds of nearly 100,000 people.  It was marvelous.

Move up a tier in shows.


It was this way ALL DAY!
We've been quite frugal when it comes to booth fees, sticking to shows in the $40-$60 range.  It took us a while to realize that while some were good shows for us, most just did not have the numbers or the demographics to support the sales level we'd like to see.  We've begun attending some of the more expensive craft/art festivals with good success.  It's scary to write that big check for booth fee, but it feels really good when you make it back within an hour of opening.

The artist (left), and sales manager!

Have fun!

Okay, this really is related to all three of the others.  It's fun when you like your booth setup.  It's fun when sales are easy to keep track of.  It's fun when the crowds are big and buying your product.  I think we're turning the corner from rank amateur to experienced amateur.  And it's fun.

What about you?  How are you living your Savory life?

Nancy
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

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