On Sunday, July 28, I went to the Outer Sunset Farmer’s Market & Mercantile for the second time to sell our Nature Glow Candles. I felt nervous because it was only my second time there, and I’m kind of shy around large crowds. At first, I was uncomfortable talking to strangers, but as I talked more and more, I got more comfortable. By the end of the day, I felt good about talking with strangers.
Even though I was nervous, the large crowd excited me. It meant I had a chance to sell a lot of our candles, and that’s exactly what happened! We sell different sizes of
candles, from 4 oz up to 16 oz, with various scents. Another exciting thing was that my friend came to sell with me. My friend sells crochet items, and we shared a booth.
The scent that sold the most was jasmine. It smelled like a flower, which made it our most popular scent to buy. I think it was also because it’s a great summertime scent.
We learned some things we could do better next time. We should bring more of our popular scents, like jasmine, because it was the only one that sold out. We also need a better canopy because ours ripped and fell on us. Maybe we could make a better set-up for displaying the candles too. Our competition had a set-up with three to four candles on a shelf, which looked nice.
For our next market on Sunday, August 11, we’ll improve our candles, canopy, and candle placement. We’re not going to buy a cheap canopy again because it ripped and fell on me. I was safe and didn’t get hurt, but we’ll get an expensive but good one instead of a cheap but bad one.
I’m looking forward to selling lots more candles and seeing my friend at the farmers market so we can sell again. I hope my other friends come by too. I also hope I sell enough candles to have money for the next batch.
I’m a little worried about the competition, but I’m also interested in what other sellers have to say. I’m interested in what kinds of candle smells they sell and how they show them off.
We are beginning a recycling program at our company, which is something new and exciting. We’ll clean up used candle tins and jars and then use the recovered materials to make new candles. We’ll sell these again as a recycled brand. We can do good for the world and give our customers something unique at the same time.
I learned a lot and had a good time at the farmers market, even though I was scared at first. My customer service skills and ability to think of ways to make our business better are both getting better. I can’t wait for the next market day! I hope to see you at the Outer Sunset Farmer’s Market & Mercantile this Sunday, August 11, if you’re in the area. Feel free to look at our Nature Glow Candles and maybe even bring us some old candle jars to recycle.
