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Thanks for reading Small Biz Survival!
- How small town businesses can market to remote workers and turn them into new customers - May 15, 2023
- Survey of Rural Challenges 2023 results - May 8, 2023
- Rural and small town ideas from the OU Placemaking Conference IQC 2023 - April 5, 2023
- Rural tourism trends say small towns are still cool - March 27, 2023
- Move Your Money and Bank Local - March 22, 2023
- Using a building as a warehouse or storage in a small town? Put up a sign - March 13, 2023
- How to get customers in the door of small town and rural retail stores - February 19, 2023
- Check your small business website for outdated pandemic changes, missing info - January 31, 2023
- Rural Tourism Trend: electric vehicle chargers can drive visitors - January 15, 2023
- 2023 trends for rural and small town businesses - December 26, 2022
I live in a small town and I would love to start a community Farmer’s Market that would be on the line of a “Flea Market”. Where do I start?
First you need to decide whether you want a Farmer’s Market or a Flea Market. They are not necessarily the same thing. Although, they may each have features of the other.
Try your County Extension Agent for ideas on the Farmer’s Market. The Agent may be willing to work with you and can run interference with local authorities. Then try to learn who in your area is actually growing more produce than needed or who is willing to. Maybe there is a garden club devoted to vegetable growers. On second thought, fresh flowers would be a very nice addition to a Farmer’s Market.
For a Flea Market, once again, you will need to find who is already doing this sort of thing. Maybe a geographic search for your town or county on one of the auction sites might tell you who has “stuff” they are wanting to sell in your area. They might be interested in a “show.”
For either type, you will need to ORGANIZE. Find a location; map out each site; decide how much rent to charge for each site; determine the local laws regarding your location; check your liability for accidents or incidents; get insurance if necessary; pick a date; advertise; advertise; advertise; if your location is outside, find a “rain” location (do everything again for the optional site); advertise; advertise; advertise; keep good records of which seller will be where and double check their understanding of the agreement between you and the seller; advertise; advertise; advertise. This is just a start.
Good luck.
Just started following you on Twitter via my friend Sarah Page.
Promise Pizza opened its doors barely 6 months ago and is a BIG success story thanks to social media tools. Most of our advertising is via social media, Twitter, FB, etc.. and our interactions with our customers is the key to our success.
http://www.promisepizza.com