Teach Soap

*Deep breath* Ok so i am doing my first craft show on the 25th. Up until now i have only had sales through word of mouth, so I can't help feeling that this craft show will either be a firm foothold for my business or prove to my unsupportive husband that my business is doomed for failure. I have pretty much all my stock boxed up and ready to go, taxes figured in to my price, all the bits and pieces like bags/business cards/credit card reader/change/etc, and even know (and photographed) my table set up. But I still feel so unprepared and a bit panicky. Eeeek Help!

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Amber D that'd be me!

You'll do fine! Good luck!

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

Thanks Irena! I know I am putting ridiculous pressure on myself. I have been to this craft show many times as a consumer so I even know the 2 other soaps there. It gets good traffic for such a small town. People come from all over to be vendors and as consumers so I figured it would be a good place to get my feet wet in the craft show world.

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Amber D that'd be me!

Take it slow. I'm quite familiar with unsupportive people and it's a lot of pressure to prove them wrong. Just smile, ask open ended questions, and don't look discouraged if people pass by without a second look or o the "that much for that?!" question. People can sense discouraged sellers and that's not a fun person to buy from.

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The Black Currant- Shipping within the US!

My shop: The Black Currant on Etsy!
My blog: http://www.theblackcurrantshop.wordpress.com
Also on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & YouTube!

Thanks for the encouragement Lhangen.

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Amber D that'd be me!

Don't worry, you will do fine! Have fun with it. I'm not a great sales person, don't like to pressure people to buy, so if they're shopping I chat with them about other things or explain the process of making soap if they are unfamiliar. I find that they usually buy something if it's good conversation.

Things that I found handy to have at craft fairs:

Wet wipes and paper towels
Snacks/lunch/drinks if I don't have someone to cover me to go eat
Trash bag
Sun screen
You may have these things ready to go but for me it was a learning curve, lol

Also, if you have soap to cut or clean up set up a small area to work on it during slower times. I found that if you are doing something with your product, people passing by tend to be curious as to what you are doing and stop in. I've seen people pass by vendors who sit and read or play on their phones. Good luck!

Relax, don't be like me and not sleep well before a show. Doesn't matter how many I've done, gone to, or helped someone else with. I never sleep well before hand. So get good rest the night before.

If you already have your setup destined and photographed. You are ahead of the game. I've done three shows and the areas are never the same size so I'm always reinventing my setups.

I agree with everyone else above, about what you will need. I'll add: pens, paper, tape, and take pictures of your setup when you get there. You may change your mind on how you want things situated after the show.

I have this little ziploc bag that I take with me to craft shows. It has pens, paper, scissors, muslin bags, tape, twine, and a couple of other things. I've found its better to have what you don't think you'll need and have it. Just a small bag so you don't overload yourself with too much stuff to carry.

Relax, don't be like me and not sleep well before a show. Doesn't matter how many I've done, gone to, or helped someone else with. I never sleep well before hand. So get good rest the night before.

If you already have your setup destined and photographed. You are ahead of the game. I've done three shows and the areas are never the same size so I'm always reinventing my setups.

I agree with everyone else above, about what you will need. I'll add: pens, paper, tape, and take pictures of your setup when you get there. You may change your mind on how you want things situated after the show.

I have this little ziploc bag that I take with me to craft shows. It has pens, paper, scissors, muslin bags, tape, twine, and a couple of other things. I've found its better to have what you don't think you'll need and have it. Just a small bag so you don't overload yourself with too much stuff to carry.

I took my bag this weekend and I needed severa things out of it. I thought on the way out of the house, "nah, I won't need it." But I did.

Take a canopy, chairs, and a paper for emails addresses if you ever decide to create a newsletter or just send out discount offers to people, or just info on your next show.

Hope this helps.

What bothered me about your post is of all the people who can be unsupportive, it had to be your hubby. Well, don't be so hard on yourself Amber, I'm positive that you will do great! Goodluck on your craft show! Please do update us on how it went.

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'To whoever says that cleanliness is next to godliness, did a group of angels came down from the sky upon finishing taking a bath?'

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Amber D that'd be me!

Amber. Was the same way here for my first. I stressed for a week prior worrying about all kinds of things. It went awesome and without a hitch. My only recommendation is to take a fair amount of change money. Mostly $1 bills.

Think you'll find that you love doing this much like all the rest of us. You'll also find yourself getting excited when people ask questions about your soap.

Oh yeah, and take a chair. You're going to have a blast!!!! Enjoy!!!

Amber,
you are going to sell your product so I am SURE you have made products you should be proud of! Keep that in your mind every time the doubt crumbles into your mind. Don't let anyone to discourage you! It is YOU who invested energy, time and knowledge to this business so if your hubby (or anyone else) wasn't there to support you just ignore him/them. I am sure a great deal of results in life comes out of our positive or negative thinking. So BE positive and positiveness will come to you (sorry for spelling, English is not my first language).

Good luck and let us know how was the show.
Claire

Thank you everyone for your kind words and encouragement! The show went quite well and I truly had a blast! My table was always busy and people really liked all the info I was able to give them on my ingredients and their purposes. Sold out of everything I had samples of!!! Paid for my table 4.5 times over! For my first fair, I would totally call it a success!

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Amber D that'd be me!

Awesome! Congrats on your success!

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

Have fun! Or as this post is a bit late......did you have fun?

My family are also very unsupportive of my hobby/business! So I know exactley how you feel.

My family think it's a real joke that I put so much effort into my soapmaking. Even though I regularly sell $800 per day!!! I think that's a nice payday.

I have had a lot of businesses wanting to buy my soap wholesale, which I have done, but due to really annoying bullies who want to buy, have stopped that now.

All I want to do is have fun and sell directly to my customers. I make about 25 different essential oils soaps and usually take 12 of each and 24 of my three best sellers to my market.