WEBVTT 00:00:00.600 --> 00:00:03.600 FAWN: How many of you actually are considering, 00:00:03.840 --> 00:00:06.840 going to a farmers market or who have sold at farmers markets. 00:00:06.840 --> 00:00:11.900 It'd be really fun to have a discussion of what's worked well for different people 00:00:11.900 --> 00:00:13.680 at farmers markets. 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:18.080 Before we get into that, a little bit about me. I, 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:20.400 grow in South Jordan. 00:00:20.400 --> 00:00:22.080 I have a my micro farm. 00:00:22.080 --> 00:00:25.600 I have two sites, one at a neighbor's property 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:28.600 and the other is just in my backyard. 00:00:28.760 --> 00:00:31.360 I'm going into my fifth season farming 00:00:31.360 --> 00:00:34.680 and it's our fourth season with markets and with subscriptions. 00:00:34.680 --> 00:00:37.800 My first year I just sold to neighbors off Facebook 00:00:37.800 --> 00:00:39.500 and things like that. 00:00:40.800 --> 00:00:43.950 I also teach the backyard cut flower garden course 00:00:43.950 --> 00:00:47.600 at Snuck farm. And, 00:00:48.720 --> 00:00:51.720 we do workshops and consultations. 00:00:51.720 --> 00:00:54.720 So that's a little bit about me. 00:00:56.520 --> 00:00:57.520 Farmers markets. 00:00:57.520 --> 00:00:59.760 So I love farmer's markets. 00:00:59.760 --> 00:01:02.760 I've always loved farmers 00:01:04.080 --> 00:01:04.800 markets. 00:01:04.800 --> 00:01:05.840 And looking at them. 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:10.700 And so when I moved here to Utah, I wanted to find flower farmers, 00:01:10.700 --> 00:01:15.320 at our local farmers markets, and there just weren't any. 00:01:15.470 --> 00:01:18.230 And so that's kind of how I got started, even, 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:22.200 with the business of flower farming. 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:25.320 So some of the business, or the benefits 00:01:25.320 --> 00:01:28.320 from selling at a farmer's market, 00:01:29.560 --> 00:01:32.680 every new grower wants to know how to be seen 00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:36.510 in their community, how to help people find them. 00:01:36.510 --> 00:01:37.835 And, 00:01:38.160 --> 00:01:41.880 selling at a farmer's market is so helpful. 00:01:42.360 --> 00:01:45.600 in being able to 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:50.040 be seen in your community and make those contacts. 00:01:50.360 --> 00:01:54.360 Networking at a farmer's market, talking with other vendors, 00:01:54.360 --> 00:01:57.400 you can find more opportunities to sell your flowers. 00:01:57.520 --> 00:01:59.280 Market managers. 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:01.750 Just this week, I had two emails 00:02:01.750 --> 00:02:05.080 from one of my market managers telling me about a different market. 00:02:06.160 --> 00:02:08.400 One in Payson, one in Herriman, 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:11.680 and then also an opportunity to sell my flowers online. 00:02:12.160 --> 00:02:16.661 So you expand your horizons a little bit 00:02:18.280 --> 00:02:21.280 beyond just selling at a market. 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:25.130 For me, it's been a stepping stone. 00:02:25.640 --> 00:02:30.560 A lot of my subscribers have come from being customers at the farmers market. 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:33.120 Maybe they weren't able to make it every week, 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:36.120 and they wanted flowers every week. And so, 00:02:36.760 --> 00:02:39.480 they'd sign up for subscriptions, 00:02:39.480 --> 00:02:41.640 a lot of them ask me growing questions, 00:02:41.640 --> 00:02:44.640 which leads to them coming to workshops. 00:02:45.500 --> 00:02:48.890 A lot of times they'll ask about weddings, and I've done a few for them. 00:02:49.640 --> 00:02:53.933 And a great way to make sure you get the most of that 00:02:53.933 --> 00:02:56.520 is by gathering, 00:02:57.600 --> 00:02:59.490 emails while you're at the market. 00:02:59.490 --> 00:03:01.288 It was a little tricky this last year. 00:03:01.288 --> 00:03:03.520 I did not gather any emails 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:07.440 for this year, but, hopefully once we, you know, 00:03:07.440 --> 00:03:10.440 maybe you can try a QR code or something like that. 00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:14.800 And then the other thing is it's a little bit less exacting than florist sales. 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:19.440 And I don't necessarily mean quality, but you can take what you grow. 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:23.484 So if you only have red zinnias that year, someone will buy them. 00:03:23.484 --> 00:03:26.240 Or that week, someone will buy them. 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:29.960 Whereas it might be hard to find, an event florist 00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:33.200 that wants, you know, a mishmash of things. 00:03:34.640 --> 00:03:36.720 Okay, so I think a big question. 00:03:36.720 --> 00:03:40.640 I have lots of friends that have tried selling at the market, 00:03:41.040 --> 00:03:45.480 and I think a good thing to do before you start is to 00:03:46.480 --> 00:03:50.280 find out whether it's really suited for you, before you take the time 00:03:50.280 --> 00:03:54.380 and the energy to invest in tents and market fees 00:03:54.380 --> 00:03:56.670 and all those things. 00:03:57.920 --> 00:04:01.220 Do you have the time? Most markets, most successful markets 00:04:01.220 --> 00:04:04.600 are on weekends and, or weeknights. 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:08.520 And if your kids are all in sports and that's important to you, 00:04:08.520 --> 00:04:12.360 it might be really hard to take the time out of your busy family's 00:04:12.360 --> 00:04:15.290 life to go to the market. 00:04:15.290 --> 00:04:16.280 Do you have support? 00:04:16.280 --> 00:04:18.720 Do you have childcare? 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:20.640 It is a really hard thing 00:04:20.640 --> 00:04:24.480 to take a small child to the farmer's market and try to sell. 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:27.680 Resources. 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:30.160 Do you have a car? 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:35.640 Can you produce flowers over a season? Or are you worried that you will have them 00:04:35.640 --> 00:04:40.400 for July and August, but maybe none of the rest of the year? 00:04:41.880 --> 00:04:43.680 And then personality. 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:48.240 I really don't think that you need to be an extrovert to sell at a farmer's market. 00:04:49.080 --> 00:04:50.840 But you do need to be friendly. 00:04:50.840 --> 00:04:53.840 You need to be able to 00:04:53.840 --> 00:04:57.800 talk to people and be able to approach people. 00:04:57.800 --> 00:04:59.600 If that's really hard for you, 00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:02.833 you might find the farmer's market really overwhelming. 00:05:04.120 --> 00:05:08.760 And then you might be like my 14 year old if it's a real slow, slow market. 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:11.760 He gets really bored and drives me crazy. 00:05:11.760 --> 00:05:16.440 So if you get bored easy, maybe that's not well suited either. 00:05:17.960 --> 00:05:19.560 Okay, 00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:24.480 so, I did want to mention this was my first farmer's market. 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:28.600 This picture, and obviously I did not have a lot of product, 00:05:28.600 --> 00:05:31.760 so I'm going to refer back to that later. 00:05:33.520 --> 00:05:34.800 Choosing a market. 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:38.280 If you go to a market and talk to vendors, a lot of these vendors 00:05:38.280 --> 00:05:42.400 sell at different markets and they can tell you which markets 00:05:42.400 --> 00:05:45.800 are the busiest or the most profitable in our state. 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:49.560 Find out things like foot traffic. 00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:50.520 Are they busy? 00:05:50.520 --> 00:05:54.560 If you go and visit them, you know, in the market before you plan on selling, 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:58.970 then you have an idea of what kind of foot traffic. 00:06:00.680 --> 00:06:02.200 Location. 00:06:02.200 --> 00:06:06.040 Some areas are just a little more affluent and we sell a luxury item. 00:06:06.040 --> 00:06:08.960 So looking for those areas is pretty good. 00:06:08.960 --> 00:06:09.840 Pretty important. 00:06:12.440 --> 00:06:16.360 Whether it's a producers only or a resale market. 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:19.800 Resale markets will typically have lots of crafts. 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:23.800 Whereas producers are more focused on farmers. 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:26.640 There are pros and cons to both. 00:06:26.640 --> 00:06:29.330 I sell at the South Jordan market, 00:06:29.330 --> 00:06:32.680 and that's a producers only and I sell at the Daybreak Farmers Market. 00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:34.560 And that is a resale market. 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:36.210 And so, 00:06:37.200 --> 00:06:39.440 you get a very different clientele at each. 00:06:39.440 --> 00:06:44.040 And there's, I love them both, but it's important to think about. 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:48.760 What their fees are can be an issue. 00:06:48.760 --> 00:06:52.960 Just make sure that when you are applying for a farmer's market 00:06:52.960 --> 00:06:58.280 that they know that you're not a crafter, you should be paying farmers fees. 00:06:58.280 --> 00:07:01.280 They're typically lower. And, 00:07:02.320 --> 00:07:05.760 but a lot of market managers won't understand that at first. 00:07:05.760 --> 00:07:08.880 So it's somewhere that we have to do a little bit of education 00:07:09.320 --> 00:07:10.306 in our community. 00:07:11.096 --> 00:07:12.560 And then season length. 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:14.440 I have a market that starts in June. 00:07:14.440 --> 00:07:17.640 I love it, and then my next market starts in August. 00:07:17.640 --> 00:07:23.200 And that kind of helps me with the glut of flowers that we end up 00:07:23.200 --> 00:07:27.280 at that time in the season, and so it's nice to have them staggered that way. 00:07:28.180 --> 00:07:29.550 And then weather. 00:07:29.550 --> 00:07:30.760 Some of these markets, 00:07:30.760 --> 00:07:35.360 if it's on a Wednesday afternoon and it's super hot and there's no shade, 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:39.840 it might not be a good fit just because it could damage your product. 00:07:39.840 --> 00:07:42.860 And so you want to think about that as you choose a market. 00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:45.120 Okay. 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:49.320 So I think one of the biggest worries that we have 00:07:49.320 --> 00:07:55.440 when we go to a farmer's market is what if there are other farmers? 00:07:56.400 --> 00:07:59.400 And like Heather was saying that it's 00:08:00.400 --> 00:08:02.400 not a bad thing to have competition. 00:08:02.400 --> 00:08:04.320 It makes you a better farmer. 00:08:04.320 --> 00:08:06.480 But you can also distinguish yourself. 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:09.480 And there can be multiple farmers at the same market. 00:08:10.320 --> 00:08:13.530 Just like when you're shopping for a pair of blue jeans or something 00:08:13.530 --> 00:08:17.162 and you go to the mall and you want to have lots of options to try on. 00:08:17.162 --> 00:08:20.240 You'll go to somewhere where there's lots of stores 00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:23.840 and that's, you know, a market that has lots of flower farmers. 00:08:23.840 --> 00:08:26.280 They can become become known for that. 00:08:26.280 --> 00:08:30.080 And the people who want lots of options and lots of varieties 00:08:30.080 --> 00:08:33.200 for flowers will go to that market. 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:35.000 It'll become a draw. 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:39.360 You can also look at different ways to sell your flowers. 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:40.824 If the lady down the row 00:08:40.824 --> 00:08:44.040 is selling bouquets, you can think about selling single stems. 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:48.280 I remember someone talking about selling at the Salt Lake Farmers Market, 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:52.960 and they didn't sell sweet peas, and the farmer down the row from them did. 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:56.810 And so they would send people looking for sweet peas down there, and vice versa. 00:08:57.640 --> 00:09:01.680 So, the most important thing is not to be 00:09:02.400 --> 00:09:06.950 so worried about not selling your flowers because there's other farmers there 00:09:06.950 --> 00:09:09.960 selling flowers that you lower your prices. 00:09:10.440 --> 00:09:13.000 You really need to base your prices 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:16.040 on what you need to make to be a sustainable business. 00:09:16.680 --> 00:09:21.120 And if you get scared, you don't want to to have a race 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:24.680 to the bottom where you lower your prices and become the cheapest. 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:28.700 Cheap isn't best. 00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:31.920 Okay, so 00:09:31.920 --> 00:09:34.920 some things about really killing it at the farmers market. 00:09:36.160 --> 00:09:39.600 If you want to really have a consistent business 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:44.340 where people are coming back to you every week because they know 00:09:44.340 --> 00:09:47.440 your flowers are the prettiest and the longest lasting, 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:50.440 then you need to bring the best product you have. 00:09:50.640 --> 00:09:52.080 If there's something that's 00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:55.080 kind of wilty, I don't like to take it to the farmer's market. 00:09:55.840 --> 00:09:58.080 Because that first time you sell a bouquet, 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:01.080 that's like one of your your only chances, right? 00:10:01.470 --> 00:10:02.600 And if they don't have 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:06.240 the best experience with it, they might not buy from you again. 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:10.710 So you want to be knowledgeable in the varieties you grow, 00:10:10.710 --> 00:10:14.160 know your harvest stage, hydrate them well, 00:10:16.070 --> 00:10:17.480 and they'll keep coming back. 00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:21.240 And what's great is when they come back, they'll tell other people. 00:10:21.640 --> 00:10:24.680 It's pretty common for people to walk by, 00:10:25.800 --> 00:10:29.040 customers that returning customers will walk by with someone else. 00:10:29.040 --> 00:10:32.040 Someone new is buying a flower and say, hey, 00:10:32.630 --> 00:10:34.630 those flowers are going to last two weeks. 00:10:34.630 --> 00:10:36.408 They're the best. You should buy it. 00:10:36.408 --> 00:10:38.090 And I don't have to do the selling. 00:10:38.090 --> 00:10:40.080 It's my customers doing it for me. 00:10:40.080 --> 00:10:42.920 So it's kind of awesome. 00:10:42.920 --> 00:10:47.040 If it's a really hot day, I like taking frozen water bottles 00:10:47.040 --> 00:10:50.040 and sticking them in the buckets, I always keep my tent. 00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:53.200 My flowers are in the shade. 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:56.120 And then another big thing is when people are walking around, 00:10:56.120 --> 00:10:59.640 they don't think about it, but the flowers will wilt pretty quickly. 00:10:59.640 --> 00:11:03.760 And so I like to offer to hold them while they shop 00:11:03.760 --> 00:11:06.840 so that they're not walking around with their stems out of water, 00:11:06.840 --> 00:11:09.089 if they're going to be shopping for a while. 00:11:11.040 --> 00:11:13.680 Let's see. So, 00:11:13.680 --> 00:11:16.680 when you are setting up your display, 00:11:17.320 --> 00:11:19.770 there is a 00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:23.925 catch phrase that says stack them high and watch them fly 00:11:23.925 --> 00:11:26.450 that vegetable farmers use. 00:11:26.450 --> 00:11:32.576 And I think the same thing applies to our displays at the farmers market for flowers 00:11:32.576 --> 00:11:35.040 We want to show abundance. 00:11:35.040 --> 00:11:38.040 People like to have lots of choices. 00:11:38.920 --> 00:11:40.280 It looks good. 00:11:40.280 --> 00:11:41.240 It's appealing. 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:44.040 It stops people in their track. 00:11:44.040 --> 00:11:48.710 So bring everything you have. Pack it in so it looks lush. 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:54.160 And I think it's, it's always those last two bouquets 00:11:54.160 --> 00:11:57.360 that are sitting on a mostly empty table 00:11:57.360 --> 00:12:00.360 that are the hardest to sell. So, 00:12:00.760 --> 00:12:02.280 clearly mark your prices. 00:12:02.280 --> 00:12:05.280 People are shy. They don't want to ask you. 00:12:05.880 --> 00:12:09.360 It also makes it clear that everybody's getting the same price. 00:12:10.120 --> 00:12:13.160 I have three price points, I have three. 00:12:13.320 --> 00:12:17.840 I have my petite bouquets, my regular bouquets, and my mason jars. 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:21.240 And sometimes I'll do a premium bouquet that's a little bit larger 00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:24.600 and a little bit more money, but I don't go beyond that. 00:12:25.320 --> 00:12:28.920 Simple is easy for you and it's easy for your customer. 00:12:30.040 --> 00:12:32.400 I also really like long tablecloths. 00:12:32.400 --> 00:12:36.240 I don't want my junk hanging out on the bottom. 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:38.760 Underneath my tablecloth. 00:12:38.760 --> 00:12:40.760 That's kind of nitpicky, but 00:12:40.760 --> 00:12:44.080 it's just one of those things I think makes you look so professional 00:12:44.640 --> 00:12:47.520 and then think about whether they can find you again. 00:12:47.520 --> 00:12:49.240 Do you have business cards? 00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:50.560 Do you have a banner up? 00:12:50.560 --> 00:12:53.760 Do they know if if they can order from you again? 00:12:55.800 --> 00:12:58.800 It helps with repeat business. 00:13:00.280 --> 00:13:01.080 Okay. 00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:05.280 So pricing. Pricing came up a lot in Heather's talk. 00:13:06.120 --> 00:13:08.080 Pricing is hard. 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:10.840 I think it's a really hard thing when you're starting out. 00:13:10.840 --> 00:13:15.720 And one of the most important things you can do is start tracking 00:13:15.720 --> 00:13:19.790 your expenses and your labor. 00:13:19.790 --> 00:13:23.000 The costs of really producing those stems. 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:26.320 Labor is our biggest cost. 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:30.440 And I think that it's the thing that we like to discount the most. 00:13:30.880 --> 00:13:33.320 We don't think about it because it's just our time. 00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:36.200 But our time is valuable. So, 00:13:37.680 --> 00:13:39.480 really knowing your true costs, 00:13:39.480 --> 00:13:42.800 looking to break even, track your hours, 00:13:43.680 --> 00:13:49.088 all of your hours, even if it's time, posting on social media, or 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:54.240 time stripping the bouquet, you know, stripping your stems 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:57.960 and making bouquets and weeding all those things add up. 00:13:57.960 --> 00:14:01.620 And, you probably work more than you think you do. 00:14:02.920 --> 00:14:05.920 So and then, 00:14:05.920 --> 00:14:07.160 watch your stem counts. 00:14:07.160 --> 00:14:11.400 It's one thing to say my bouquets are $20, but what does that mean? 00:14:11.400 --> 00:14:14.720 Is it a ten stem bouquet or is it a 25 stem bouquet? 00:14:15.130 --> 00:14:19.130 You know, one of those going to be much more profitable than the other. 00:14:19.130 --> 00:14:22.252 And then I have this picture here, 00:14:22.252 --> 00:14:24.880 and these are some David Austin Garden roses. 00:14:24.880 --> 00:14:27.880 And I don't take them to the farmer's market. 00:14:28.440 --> 00:14:30.640 This was, a customer 00:14:30.640 --> 00:14:34.200 had ordered, an expensive birthday, 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:39.040 bouquet and surprised his wife 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:42.720 with it at the farmer's market. 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:46.900 And so I wouldn't put tons of high value flowers 00:14:46.900 --> 00:14:49.640 into a market bouquet 00:14:49.920 --> 00:14:52.680 unless I was charging appropriately for it. 00:14:52.680 --> 00:14:55.280 So just pay attention to those things 00:14:55.280 --> 00:14:58.280 like ranunculus or garden roses or dahlias and 00:14:59.160 --> 00:15:02.160 use them judiciously. 00:15:04.680 --> 00:15:07.680 Talking too much. 00:15:08.200 --> 00:15:11.360 One of the other things that people do is 00:15:12.400 --> 00:15:15.400 at the end of the market, sorry. 00:15:17.400 --> 00:15:20.120 They will, 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:23.120 ask for discount sometimes if you have flowers left over. 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:26.120 And when you give discounts at the end of the market, 00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:29.960 you train your customers to know, hey, if she's got flowers left over, 00:15:29.960 --> 00:15:32.040 I can go get them cheap. 00:15:32.040 --> 00:15:35.040 And that must be what they're really worth. 00:15:37.160 --> 00:15:38.560 Sorry. 00:15:39.960 --> 00:15:42.840 So I never discount my flowers at the end of the market. 00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:46.840 I would rather take them to a friend or to my mother in law. 00:15:47.800 --> 00:15:50.800 Take them somewhere, give them away. 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:54.000 You can think of it as PR. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:58.920 People enjoy getting flowers, and then you're not devaluing the flowers at all. 00:15:58.920 --> 00:16:03.010 It becomes a gift instead of a discount. 00:16:03.880 --> 00:16:06.840 And then 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:08.440 with pricing. 00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:11.000 I love this quote from Seth Godin. 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:13.760 Cheap as another way to say scared. 00:16:13.760 --> 00:16:16.280 And I think 00:16:16.280 --> 00:16:20.200 lowering our price should be our last thing. 00:16:20.200 --> 00:16:22.560 I think we need to think about, 00:16:22.560 --> 00:16:23.920 do my flowers look good? 00:16:23.920 --> 00:16:26.200 If they're not selling, do they look good? 00:16:26.200 --> 00:16:27.480 Am I getting the word out? 00:16:27.480 --> 00:16:29.480 Do people know I'm here? 00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:30.560 Am I being friendly? 00:16:30.560 --> 00:16:33.320 Am I being engaging? Doing all those things? 00:16:33.320 --> 00:16:36.320 Before we think about discounting our prices or, 00:16:37.680 --> 00:16:40.680 not charging enough. 00:16:42.880 --> 00:16:45.490 Okay, so here are my boys. 00:16:45.490 --> 00:16:49.360 They helped me sell at the market because we do two markets on saturday mornings 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:51.440 and I can't be in two places at once. 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:54.280 And so these are a few things that I've, 00:16:55.560 --> 00:16:57.040 and they're not allowed to sit 00:16:57.040 --> 00:17:00.440 while we're selling at the farmer's market until 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:02.510 all the flowers are sold. 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:05.560 They really love that. 00:17:05.560 --> 00:17:07.000 It's good to be friendly. 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:10.000 I usually just say, hi, how are you doing to people? 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:13.880 You can be friendly 00:17:13.880 --> 00:17:16.880 and talk to everybody without being pushy. 00:17:17.120 --> 00:17:18.200 I also find it. 00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:21.880 It's great to accept as many forms of payment as possible. 00:17:21.880 --> 00:17:24.520 So credit cards, cash, 00:17:24.520 --> 00:17:27.360 Apple pay, Google pay, all of those things. 00:17:27.360 --> 00:17:31.233 The easier you make it for people to pay, the 00:17:31.800 --> 00:17:35.520 less obstacles there are to them buying your flowers. 00:17:36.920 --> 00:17:39.920 Once we sell a bouquet, we usually, 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:43.840 you know, if half a bucket is empty and another half a bucket is empty, 00:17:43.840 --> 00:17:47.000 we combine the buckets, we keep our displays looking good. 00:17:48.460 --> 00:17:52.280 It gives us something to do while we're sitting there. 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:55.720 And helps our display look good. 00:17:56.240 --> 00:18:00.400 And, another collect your email addresses. 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:03.879 This is a great thing because when you want to contact them later 00:18:03.879 --> 00:18:06.320 to tell them when the market starts next year, 00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:09.760 or to tell them when, 00:18:09.760 --> 00:18:13.040 you're selling your subscriptions or that you're starting weddings. 00:18:13.040 --> 00:18:15.960 This is how you can contact these people later. 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:19.880 And then I think this is most important as you come back and you do it again, 00:18:20.600 --> 00:18:22.680 and then you come back and you do it again. 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:25.000 If someone comes and they buy your flowers, 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:28.000 and they think they were the most amazing flowers in the world, 00:18:28.280 --> 00:18:31.920 and they come back and you're not there the next week, you've lost a sale. 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:35.191 So I think the farmers market 00:18:35.191 --> 00:18:39.760 is the most successful when you commit to it, when you go back 00:18:39.760 --> 00:18:44.080 year after year or even week after week, if you're just trying it for a season. 00:18:45.050 --> 00:18:47.400 There's nothing wrong with trying it for a season 00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:50.120 and seeing if it works with your lifestyle. 00:18:50.520 --> 00:18:53.640 But I do think if you're going to really have the benefits 00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:55.200 and the rewards of 00:18:55.200 --> 00:19:00.080 selling at a farmer's market, then you've got to have some commitment there. 00:19:02.080 --> 00:19:03.360 Okay. 00:19:03.360 --> 00:19:06.120 So I wanted to talk a little bit about 00:19:06.120 --> 00:19:09.120 is sold out the real goal? 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:13.920 So on this picture on the, 00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:18.240 the picture with less flowers, I sold out that day. 00:19:19.050 --> 00:19:22.600 Which is always awesome to be able to say I took everything and I sold it. 00:19:23.560 --> 00:19:25.200 The one above, 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:27.240 I did not sell out that day. 00:19:27.240 --> 00:19:31.480 I think I had two bouquets left over, but it was my highest grossing market, 00:19:32.760 --> 00:19:33.680 that I've ever had. 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:36.680 It was just our last market of this last season. 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:40.760 And a lot of times, we think it's great to sell out, 00:19:40.760 --> 00:19:44.040 but if you're selling out super early in the day and, 00:19:44.320 --> 00:19:47.560 your market starts at nine and you're sold out by 11 or 12 00:19:48.560 --> 00:19:53.200 and you've got another hour to go, think about what's going on. 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:54.960 Are you, 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:57.600 selling your flowers cheaply? 00:19:57.600 --> 00:19:59.520 Are you not bringing enough product? 00:19:59.520 --> 00:20:02.520 Can you work on that for the next season? 00:20:03.280 --> 00:20:06.880 We are trying to double our production again this year because 00:20:08.320 --> 00:20:09.600 we can probably sell it. 00:20:09.600 --> 00:20:14.000 And so, those are just some things to think about when you're selling out. 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:17.960 Really, what you want to do is 00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:19.960 sell the most flowers, right? 00:20:19.960 --> 00:20:23.400 And so it's okay if you have a couple bouquets left over, 00:20:23.760 --> 00:20:25.360 if that means that every person 00:20:25.360 --> 00:20:28.220 that wanted a bouquet that came to the market got one. 00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:31.080 I always felt terrible when I'd sell out early, 00:20:31.080 --> 00:20:34.080 and then people would come up to me and go, oh. 00:20:35.520 --> 00:20:38.160 I was, you know, I'm here just for flowers or something. 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:41.840 And I knew I missed a sale because I didn't have enough flowers that week. 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:45.160 So something to think about. 00:20:46.520 --> 00:20:48.480 And then, 00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:53.000 subscriptions, like I said earlier, a lot of my subscriptions come from 00:20:53.520 --> 00:20:56.760 referrals from the farmers market and some selling 00:20:57.240 --> 00:21:00.240 after you get those email addresses. 00:21:00.360 --> 00:21:02.960 Some selling points for when you approach people 00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:06.360 about subscriptions, they already know your quality. 00:21:06.620 --> 00:21:08.190 They know you have great variety. 00:21:08.190 --> 00:21:12.120 That's one of the things my subscribers say when I, 00:21:13.170 --> 00:21:15.920 ask them in surveys, what do they enjoy about our flowers? 00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:18.920 It's the varieties that they get, that they're different. 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:24.120 It's more convenient to have flowers delivered to you 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:26.320 or to pick them up once a week, 00:21:26.320 --> 00:21:29.490 than have to go to the farmers market and see if there's any there. 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:32.640 We also do a spring subscription, 00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:36.520 and that starts before there are any farmer's markets open. 00:21:36.520 --> 00:21:39.600 And so that's an opportunity to extend your, 00:21:40.280 --> 00:21:43.280 selling period. And, 00:21:43.630 --> 00:21:46.100 and then the assurance of being able to get flowers 00:21:46.100 --> 00:21:47.770 if you're selling out all the time. 00:21:47.770 --> 00:21:50.720 And people might just want to make sure they have your flowers. 00:21:51.600 --> 00:21:54.600 So that's kind of 00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:57.240 what I've got for you. 00:21:57.240 --> 00:22:00.240 It looks like there's some 00:22:00.600 --> 00:22:01.480 questions.