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Hi there, it's Sue and thanks for joining me for Tips and Talk

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Day. These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions

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and things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small

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business. If you'd like to submit a topic,

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DM e over on Instagram at Gift Biz Unwrapped.

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Before I get into the show today, I have a message for you.

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If you're just now starting to think of starting a handmade

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product business, at this point,

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you may be thinking about your business name and logo.

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That's what would be natural and what most people would do,

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but hold on a second. It's not the best initial step.

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There are other important things to do first to make sure

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you're set up for success and ensure your product easily attracts

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buyers. Sometimes it's just a little tweak.

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That's the difference between a thriving and failing business.

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Before you spend a lot of time and money,

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make sure to validate your product and ensure it's positioned and

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priced so you'll see results right from the beginning.

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That way you can start your business with confidence.

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I can help you with that. Go to gift biz unwrap.com/start

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for all the details. We are so lucky in our industry of handmade to have

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what feels like endless options for face-to-face selling options that come

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in all styles and formats too.

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Craft shows, county fairs,

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church bazaars, local handmade creator markets,

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artisan exhibitions, upscale jury shows,

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special themed events, all different versions offering you so many choices.

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Coast to coast when considering which shows to do some decisions

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are easy because of your product, your snack mix is a natural fit for a farmer's market,

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or if you're a fine artist, our juried art show makes perfect sense and will attract the

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right customers. Even going outside of your obvious fit can prove fruitful.

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Many of my handmade coaching students have gone to shows that

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seem to have been a mismatch but have been highly successful

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perhaps because it seems so random and therefore attracts attention free

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of competitors. Testing is always the only way to know if a show

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will work for you, but there are things to consider to slant the odds in

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your favor. Today, I wanna talk about the size of a show and

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how that can affect your success. You may initially think that larger shows will bring greater results,

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but that's not always the case.

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Both large and small shows are worth considering.

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I recently got back from a show that over the years

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has dramatically shrunken size,

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but my sales were just as good if not better than

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some of the shows that were four times the size in

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the past. Let's talk about each of these types of shows to help

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you analyze and plan your show participation moving forward.

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Small shows first, if you're doing your very first show,

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small is definitely the way to go.

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It'll be less overwhelming and costly and will allow you to

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find and perfect your show style.

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A starter booth display will work just fine as you test

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and plan and then upgrade from there.

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Small shows also give you time to learn your most comfortable

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customer interaction style. I've done quite a few episodes now on how to manage

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communication at your booth, and I'll add those to the show notes page here for

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this episode. But smaller shows aren't just for newbies.

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There are lots of advantages that bode well for businesses of

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all sizes. If this show is in your local community,

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you don't have any travel time and can sleep in your

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own bed at night, which is a huge plus at local shows,

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you'll also most likely know a lot of the browsers,

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which brings ease to conversations and potentially new awareness of your

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business to some of your friends or distant acquaintances.

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The sense of community and supporting local will play in your

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favor too with sales and email signups.

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Smaller shows like farmer's markets usually have a regular schedule the

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first Saturday of each month, for example,

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or even weekly during the season. Being seen regularly at a setup like this builds trust,

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and of course the opportunity for repeat purchases,

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so even though it's smaller in terms of attendance and draw

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the quality of customers and weekly sales from the same people

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is high product dependent.

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Of course, another advantage is easy in and out parking,

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no long walks to the venue or dealing with parking garages.

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This accessibility prompts more last minute decisions on behalf of attendees

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who can pop in and out quickly. An ease of access can also prompt repeat visits on both

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Saturday and Sunday because it's a social setting to hang out

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in as well. I talk about this more in next week's tips and talk

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show. Smaller shows can attract large or small crowds.

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Relatively speaking. You can have a huge convention hall and no traffic as

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easily as you can. Have a craft show that's a couple of blocks long that's

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packed with people doesn't correlate.

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In other words, a small show can bring in a large crowd and vice

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versa. It depends on a lot of things including weather,

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but don't be dismayed if the number of people walking a

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show is low when there are fewer people.

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It gives you and your booth visitors more time to talk.

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It's less rushed and does have the potential to bring in

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just as many dollars as a busy show because you have

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more time to interact and that leads to bigger ticket orders.

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A smaller show may also mean you're the only one there

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selling the product in your particular category.

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Less lesser note competition can be a big plus for obvious

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reasons. Let's move on to the larger shows now.

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They're typically put on in a city or a county and

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have more structure to them by necessity.

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In my area, we have the one of a kind show in the Chicago

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Merchandise Mart that occurs twice a year,

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and by contrast, the Cain County Flea Market,

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which is a monthly event from March through December.

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One is more formal and the other is super casual.

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Both attract large crowds and need an organized parking system.

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It's definitely an investment of time and energy to attend one

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of these shows, which is part of the appeal.

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It's pretty much a full day of activity and entertainment at

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these shows. There's a lot of opportunity to get visibility you wouldn't have

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otherwise. People drive from all around pulling from as far as

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50 miles in any direction. Having new people find you and learn about your company is

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huge. Many times you're able to keep your booth location from

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show to show so people who wanna purchase again can easily

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find you. Even with so many vendors,

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there's also more competition at large shows,

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but this can be a good thing. Someone who's looking for new earrings won't necessarily buy just one

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pair. Having your products stand side by side with others can

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actually bring you in more sales with the superior product quality

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I know you have and a unique design style and display,

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you have the opportunity to stand out and since you've listened

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to this podcast, you know how to interact with people to make them feel

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special and enjoy their time with you.

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That all leads to sales with or without competition.

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People also spend more time at large shows.

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There's entertainment, sitting areas,

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bathrooms, because there's always that need when you spend a lot

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of time at a show, and this offers a couple of things.

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First, someone who's already visited your booth may pass by several

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times over the course of the day. While they may have liked but not purchased from you the

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first time, they might a second or the third.

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It also gives someone time to think about your products for

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a bit and still take action while they're at the show.

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They fell in love with your leather bags,

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but it's more than they wanted to spend,

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so they walked away and decided they were gonna think about

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it, but they can't get it out of their their mind

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and eventually decide it's now or never,

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and they return to purchase. The chances of them seeking you out after they leave a

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show are dramatically reduced even if they have a card with

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your website on it. Larger shows where people spend a lot more time allows this

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to happen. There are definite advantages and disadvantages to both large and small

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shows. How much publicity does a show get to attract people

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or even let them know it's happening?

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What is your cost to attend? How does it attract customers who would normally buy your items?

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These are all things to consider when making a show plan.

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Ideally, as I mentioned earlier, if you're starting out a small local show is the way

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to go. Once you have a couple of shows under your belt,

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expand out and try others. You'll find some smaller shows,

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produce better results than others, and the same with comparing one larger show against another experiment.

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Analyze afterwards and you're sure to land on the right mix

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for you. That's a wrap.

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I'm a get to the point kind of girl, and this is what you can expect from these quick midweek

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sessions. Now it's your turn.

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Go out and fulfill that dream of yours.

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Share your handmade products with us.