Launching Your Side Gig
At Home, Mall & Craft Shows, Flea Markets, Brick & Mortar Stores
Once you have the goal in mind of quitting your “day job” and working for yourself, there arise the questions of Why, What, When, and Where.
Why
You are currently working full time at a job that no longer challenges you. Your supervisors are corporate dweebs who are more focused on achieving the upper rungs of their ladder without considering your advancement. The job is slowly killing you through physical and mental stress. Or, maybe you just need some passive income. You have a product or service that people seem to want.
What
For the sake of this discussion, let’s assume you already have a product or service that you love doing and you think others will like and buy or hire you. It is a fantastic item that you can make or service from home.
When
Unless you have a whack of money available to you, you are going to have to devise a plan to grow your business. For most of us, we need some sort of steady income as our home-based empire expands. We need to set reasonable goals and timelines. Your own circumstances concerning family and debt will dictate how you achieve these goals. There can be no set formula.
When I first started testing the waters online with my resurrected craft (from the 80s), I was working full time at a paper mill. From 2008 to 2011, I kept that job while my keychain sales grew at home.
In 2011, I cut cord with the mill and became a part-time tool monger at Sears. The income drop was supplanted by my home-based sales.
By 2013, my hourly worth was greater when I stayed home to concentrate on my Keychains. So, I leapt from the sinking ship that Sears had become, due to corporate raiders. Maybe more of that in a future blog…
So, for us, DustyNewt was an approximate five year span from inception to a fully self-supporting business. Patience and persistence being the operative words.
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Where
The decision of where to sell your works is as diverse as the country you live in. Since 1982, we have had experience with a number of venues to sell in.
Flea Markets - Depending on where you live, a lively flea market may be the perfect launching pad for your business. Markets in major cities thrive, but a booth in one may be next to impossible to obtain, without promises of soul and firstborn. Stay determined, get on their waiting lists. It seems that many of these spots are practically willed to successors. If you do this, remember…
Expect long market days. Most vendors start arriving at 5:00 am to set up and don’t pack up until 4 or 5 o’clock. This doesn’t include travel time.
Enlist a partner. It is always better to do the market with a friend. Meal and bathroom breaks are also much easier to manage with two.
Many markets are seasonal, even if they are open year-round, so you will have to plan for the off and/or slow months.
While most markets are only open 2 days a week (sometimes 3 or 1), they usually require days beforehand to build up stock and days afterwards to build your inventory back up. Don’t be thinking that you will only be working two days a week. Others will do that for you.
Be prepared for bad weather and other natural elements, like the lady with the plastic palmetto bug on her hat, who believes she is the reincarnation of Calamity Jane and roams the market singing “You are My Sunshine” all day long.
Be prepared for a time warp to the 80s with cash sales. At flea markets, cash is still king. The day before the market, you must remember to stop by the bank to get plenty of ones and fives to make change. Other vendors will forget, so don’t let them know you have that wad or they will dwindle it getting change from you.
Don’t take checks from anyone you don't know. These days, there are a number of phone apps that will safely do digital transfers with the customer’s credit/debit cards with a minimum number of clicks. Do some research to find what works for you.
Beware of slick-talkers. Flea markets are the training grounds for carnival hucksters and politicians. Mind your business and know that you can’t compete verbally with the clique that has been there for 20 years. Why try? Do it with sales.
Craft Shows - Organized by promoters, mall and indoor shows can be an upgrade from the flea market scene.
Your product and booth must be approved by the promoter and meet the venue’s rules. This used to take weeks of correspondence and picture taking. Probably days or even hours now.
You will need to carry liability insurance, to satisfy the requirements of the venue. Also you will likely need business licenses and/or sales tax certificates to sell.
Nice displays, appropriate attire and a friendly attitude are required for a successful show. After your first show, you will be known to the promoter and asked back without all the “sign-up” fuss.
After setting up at your first show, take LOTS of photos of your freshly stocked new kiosk. These photos will be used for future promoters and can be included in your online presence and social sites. Keep them current as your booth evolves.
Although cash is always nice, these days it is best to have a trusted phone app to handle credit/debit card sales. Use whichever is most compatible and comfortable with you (i.e., PayPal, Venmo, Stripe, etc.). Your local bank may have suggestions for you.
Although vendors tend to look out after each other, it is best to do mall shows with a partner. If you are a singleton, try to work out a deal with another seller to watch your booth for bathroom and food runs. Our promoters could usually suggest someone to cover for your brief times away from your kiosk.
Displays and portable workbenches have to be designed with aesthetics, efficiency, safety, portability and versatility in mind. Each “spot” will be different, so you have to be somewhat modular, with an attractive gestalt.
When we did shows in the 80s and 90s, things were not as regulated and people not so easily offended. Our booth made dust (that we did attempt to control) and exuded fumes from my clear spray finish. We ran electrical cords underneath duct tape, from our kiosk to the nearest wall outlet. Julie’s wax vats took 12 hours to heat up and 12 to cool down for travel. A solid third of the population smoked cigarettes. Yet, we survived.
Theme Parks - Like mall shows, your attire will need to be what they consider to be appropriate, perhaps even uniform-like. They will set your hours of operation. The park will likely want your sales to go through their system (a learning curve) and cut you a check, less their portion, after a number of days. It is more expensive with lots more rules to follow, but the foot traffic and increased sales may more than make up for it.
Brick & Mortar Storefronts - Opening your own storefront is a huge gamble. With rent, utilities, insurance, inspections and fixtures, your monthly “nut” (outlay before you start making money) can be hard to crack. Foot traffic would have to be consistently fantastic in order to survive. Sharing a store with other artists is an option, but unless it is well managed, it can fail when egos, work-share issues and money comes into play. Alternatively, you may be able to rent square footage inside (or outside) of a busy store. I have had deals with Walmart and the now-defunct Sears and Zayre stores.
Home - (Public) - Unless you are a gregarious, people person, opening your home to customers is not something I would recommend. Having done this in the early 90s, we quickly found that personal time gets interrupted when it is least convenient. Even good (otherwise reasonable) customers will think that since you work from home, they can always stop in “after hours”. Opening up your home to business may also open it up for city/county/fire inspectors, zoning officials and taxing authorities. So, be forewarned.
Home - (Private) - Our current choice! We work at what we want, when we want and for whom we want. Payment for our works come from around the world and finished products are mailed daily, right from our home mailbox. We keep the noise and foot-traffic to an unnoticeable minimum. Discussions with customers via the internet can be well thought out before sending and documented to settle any discrepancies. No unwanted travel or commuting. The risk of face-to-face confrontation is negligible. No bosses watching over you, unless you have a slave-driver like Chuck keeping an eye on things. Peace.
NOTE: If you choose one of the first three, demonstrating your craft at your location is a huge boon to success. Noise and/or activity are a major draw for an audience that is interested in your work. They want to see it done before their eyes, or at least partially.
So, carve those decoys, glaze that bisque-ware, paint that cypress swamp scene, tool that leather. Whatever soothes your soul to create. I will be making my chopsticks in my shed.
DustyNewt World ~ A map of where I have shipped my woodstuffs. See if your town is represented.
If you are enjoying what you see… I like it hot and black. 😉
Hey man, I just got the NAME chopsticks I ordered from you last week! They're fantastic! Beautiful and well-crafted, and I love the extra touch of the nice bags they come in. Very cool, thank you so much!