My First Market Experience
My first market went off without a hitch! I was full of nerves and excitement, having looked forward to this weekend for months. The last two weeks were an absolute whirlwind: staying up until at least midnight, getting up during the night with my seven-month-old son, and then rising again at 5 a.m. before he woke to work on getting everything organised. The thing is, no one truly understands how much work goes into preparing for a market, let alone launching a business.
I was so stressed that I decided to delay the opening of my website until after the weekend so I could fully immerse myself in the market and not worry about everything I hadn’t done yet. The Moonlight Market in Bendigo took me by surprise. I had definitely expected it to be busier, especially since it’s only two weeks until Christmas, but I still feel my stall did well. I brought in over $600 on the day, which was in addition to the $700 I earned earlier in the week from wholesale orders.
The evening was warm, and plenty of people came by to browse and see what I had to offer. My neighbouring stallholders were lovely, making the experience even more enjoyable. I had a scrunchie board set up, but one of my neighbours had a stall filled with hundreds of scrunchies, so I only sold one or two. The wheat packs were by far my most popular item. I had thought that, since it was summer, they might not sell well, but people did say they’d be more inclined to buy them in winter.
The crystal car charms were also surprisingly popular. I hadn’t expected that at all! In fact, they sold so quickly that I ended up bringing some supplies with me and making more to replenish stock during the market. On the other hand, the beauty bags didn’t sell as well as I had hoped. Many people admired the fabric but weren’t ready to commit to a purchase. I’m now working on improving the display, and I wonder if that will make a difference.
So many potential customers checked out the clothing from Poss and Soss, commenting on how cute and adorable the clothes were. Although sales were modest—just a shirt and a pair of overalls—the interest people showed was encouraging. I’m considering ways to better highlight these items and turn those compliments into more sales.
The market itself was well-organised but had very strict rules. We had to arrive by a specific time and have our cars out of the mall before setting up. The organisers needed to approve all products beforehand, and we weren’t allowed to start selling a minute before 3 p.m. or pack up a minute before 8 p.m. These rules made everything feel a bit rigid but ensured a smooth experience for everyone.
We ended up taking a trailer because not everything would fit in my husband’s car. The biggest issue was the 6ft tables that couldn’t be made smaller. Since taking a trailer to Ballarat this weekend isn’t feasible, I’ve now purchased folding tables that will make transporting everything much easier. Another lesson I learned was the importance of using plastic storage boxes. I was short on funds and used old moving boxes instead, but when a young girl accidentally spilt her drink, the cardboard boxes became wet and soggy. Thankfully, no product was damaged, but it was a close call.
Overall, it was such an amazing experience! So many friends came to support me and say hi, which meant the world. I can’t wait for my next market adventure and to keep improving and growing from everything I’ve learned.