I Started An Outdoor Market

In a time when people are looking to sell their passions, we have really become disconnected. Everyone wants to sell without talking to the customer and exchanging the vibration of trust. Sure you can shop online. but why not connect to your potential buyers with conversation and relatability?

Last Fall, I was consistently participating in a market hosted by the city I live in. It was my second vendor event since I started selling Affirmation Tea. The details are in another story, so I will not go deep into the happenings. At one of the events, we were told that the market would no longer exsit after the New Year. I thought they would move it to a new location, but that wasn't the case. It ended without a new location.

This was a blow to all the local vendors attending and I wanted to do something about it. I started calling businesses with parking lots and asking if I could set up a vendor market. All of them said that they did not want to share the parking lot spaces for a once-a-month market. I knew the market I wanted to start would help the people in the area sell their goods, so I had to continue searching for a willing site.

During the process of finding a site to host the outdoor market I was reminded of a business owner I had contacted previously. That business owner had not responded to my inquiry so I dismissed the idea that they were willing to partner with me at that time. It just so happened that the same day I had the thought to contact them, they contacted me about a totally different matter. We had a meeting the next day and agreed to become partners in starting the HonestChats Outdoor Market at the business site.

THE TRUST FACTOR

After the agreement to start the market, I was in "go mode" to get vendors signed up for the market. Markets these days are not like those of old where the vendor would meet the coordinator the day of the market and hand them the money for their booth's rent before or after the market ended. For this there is a level of distrust associated with social media posts asking if vendors would like to pay for a booth at their NEW MARKET. I had doubters and scammers testing my initiation of my first market.

Scammers were posting my flyers and asking for the booth rent to be paid to their cash accepting mediums. I had to go to the page and post their efforts to scam, so that the vendors would not fall prey to their scamming. Because I had a new market, doubters where questioning me about the site and where I had come from. I had to make a video showing the site and assuring the vendors that I was a real coordinator.

I would receive correspondence early in the morning and late at night, I answered them all in a timely fashion. I gave my number so that the vendors could speak with me. I emailed them back with every question. This took a lot of energy, but I wanted to let them know that this is my business and I want to build a level of trust.

Market Day

I set a goal for 15 vendors to sign up and pay for their booths. I received 12 paid vendors, but only 8 showed up. We had organic foot traffic of about 150 people with waves here and there. I will go over the specifics in another post. The day went amazingly, and I know that I learned more about the coordinating side of events and feel I have much to share with those that are looking to start one.

I did it! The best part about all this was seeing the vendors speak with the buyers and engage them with their products and services. This is important in this time, because so many have taken advantage of faceless contact. There is an energetic exchange that happens when you are face-to-face speaking about products and services. You don't have to sell the product with empty promises, but just talk honestly about what is being offered. People can feel honesty in conversation and are most likely to buy your product when they feel this value.

It is my aim to produce markets where I live and in other cities. I love to see people win in their businesses and I think I have created a way to showcase the vendors that work with HonestChats Market. Here is a video of me interviewing the vendors. You can find this and other interviews @honestchatsteam on YouTube.

LaTany is an active SAHM that loves to spend time with her children and help people love themseleves to life by profiting from their passion. Writing, coloring, podcasting, and physical activity is her pasion. You can email her : [email protected] for questions on her products and services.