I packed up and went down to the Sunset Stroll to sell my products before the cancer walk last Wednesday. Sadly I made only one sale at $6.00. I’m going to call it a learning experience to keep from getting down about it. It’s hard not to be though lol. Apparently a lot of the attendees were unaware that there would be vendors, so they didn’t bring money with them and the “I do custom orders” isn’t clear enough *cheeky grin* I was asked multiple times if I’d have a booth at the church craft fair there in Overbrook next month, so I need to get on the ball and get signed up for that.
Another learning experience to it is to somehow make “replaces soap” a little clearer. I lost track of how many people stuck their fingers in the bath whip and rubbed it into their hands/arms. The label says it and I kept repeating that you use it instead of a bar of soap, like shower gel is used, but this is more luxurious and creamy. Then that finger creeps into the jar and as I repeat myself I watch it get rubbed in. I didn’t foresee this happening, so I didn’t have wet wipes or anything for rinsing product off. Honestly, I only had a few testers which were up front, clearly marked, and were lotions. That creamy bit of heaven was too much temptation though. The first time all I could think was “dang it, now I have to write off $6 of bath whip, because it’s contaminated”. The second and third was dumbfounded blinking because I had made sure to stress the soap aspect a lot more. After that I just gave up worrying about it and left the thing open for smelling (which, I admit, is my total fav whip at the moment – pumpkin buttercream). My mom runs a store in the town, so I told her about it and my concern about people saying that they might have had a reaction after “trying that stuff out”. I explained what had occurred and that if they told her about it, to clarify if it was the whip (soap) that reacted since it sat on the skin throughout the walk. *sigh* I tried to think of cautions and even put “do not eat” on it, which tends to be an issue since the scents are so rich, but never would I have thought of this. Next month I will have some removal station prepared, that’s for sure!
Another lesson…I have too much stuff! *grin* I have so many different products, each with a variety of scent options, and tried to have a diverse premade variety on hand for the event. My heavy duty table that I had originally bought for a marketing event as a billing consultant just doesn’t have enough room. lol In the next couple of weeks I will get another table, especially since I’m going to start cranking out a lot of holiday stuff. Also, put only one of each thing out. Apparently I’m an odd shopper, because I prefer to see my options, smell them, etc. Others get intimidated if there is a variety, which should improve with more space, so it’s not close together.
I need a name badge or custom shirt with my info. As I absolutely hate name tags I think I’ll get my information embroidered or iron transferred onto a few shirts. I all ready was working on getting a banner made, but hadn’t thought of a shirt.
The honor system can seriously cost me. I was going over my inventory spreadsheet (to those of you that know me well – stop laughing right now *grin*) and discovered that there was a healthy amount of products stolen from the booth at the craft mall. I knew there was a risk, but really hoped it wouldn’t happen.
People want to test my knowledge. lol Thankfully I always knew the answers for this event, but next time I’ll do some cramming right before, so I’m on top of my game. Also, greet them with my card in hand. Most will probably end up in the trash, but hopefully a few will check my site out. People were hesitant to get a card on their own. They’d even ask about my site, look at the card, but would not take it out of the holder. Yet another aspect that I definitely didn’t foresee being an issue.
One thing I did very well was having stuff packed in the baskets that I wanted them displayed in. Open a box and put the basket right on the table, straighten up any items that got a little wild during the ride, and we’re ready! That will be the way I always do events now. Having them in the baskets also helped make the table look very organized and professional.
While standing there and realizing that the one customer was it, I suddenly had Eric Idle’s “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” playing in my head. lol I thought about all of the fun research and learning I’d be doing for the new products I want to learn to make for the holidays, the shopping I’ll do, and stuff like that. “…always look on the bright side of death…” The worst that can happen is that friends and family get a whole lot of bath stuff for gifts. Plus, I’ll just be stuck with some of my favorite products. *whistling the refrain of the song* Bummer *wink*
Georgia's Pampering 