Teach Soap

I'll be starting in June and have no idea what to expect as far as how quickly I'll be able to make back some of the capitol I've invested. I know this will vary greatly depending on the market/street fair, the weather affecting attendance, etc., but I've invested a lot and am starting to run a bit dry... I was hoping anyone out there might be willing to share what they make in a day, on average, so I could roughly plan ahead on buying new materials?

There's no real way to know, like you said, weather/location/attendance/# of other soap makers there, these all factor in. I've made as little as $50 and as much as $1,000 at the same market (different times of year) but the one thing I always do is; whatever money I make, I take half of it and put it into an envelope, I use that money for supplies. Sometimes, when sales are down, I just keep adding to the envelope from other sales (website orders ect) and with the rest of the cash, I pay myself, my helpers ect. But by taking that 50% and dedicating it to supplies, I find that I always have money for supplies and I don't over spend (which can be very easy to do)

I wish I could tell you how much you can make at a fair, but there's really no way of knowing. Just get out there and do it! Be polite, answer all the questions you can (even the silly ones), smile a lot, and have fun. People will buy more from a happy person than a surly one (even when sales are bad, keep smiling) Oh, and never be afraid to say "I don't know" I've been in situations where I didn't have an answer, and the question was asked by someone that did know the answer. She asked just to see what I would say

Have fun! Enjoy! Go meet some new people!

Brandy

Thanks, Brandy! I really like the idea of keeping half available for supplies!

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Some people say they can smell through my current "regular" shrink wrap, but I find that the stronger smells, like lavenderor spearmint, come through easily, while the more subtle ones don't.

Whenever I make a new batch of soap - I pour a small "sniffie" of mp, or cut a sliver of cp, and put it in a tiny ziplock bag and label it. I put those out with the display. so people can smell the soaps easier.

Opening and closing the little baggie is a bit of a hassle, so next show I am using a bunch of "polycons" - those little plastic hinge top containers. I have a lot of those for my travel size 1/2 ounce lotion bars, but I also have a nice assortment that one company sent me as samples - all different sizes and colors. They are easy to pop open, and look a lot more professional than my former plastic baggies