Members Only: Show Time – Before you go!

Today is the last day before I head out on the road with a packed car destined for Reno, NV and the Knit and Crochet Show. Many of you sell your work at Craft Bazaars, Farmers Markets, Gift Shows and other venues, so I thought I might share some wisdom on how to prepare for these events.

Stress free set up means you have a lot of work to do before the event, but if you piece it up into categories you can’t but have a great start!

Time Line for Show Prep:

2 months before show: Check inventory – Are you running low on supplies? Do you need bags, impulse buys (buttons, hooks, small items for under $5)? Do you have display equipment. Make lists of what you need. Make lists of what you have.

After you make your lists – prioritize what you need to do.

Do you need to crochet more items for the show?
Do you need to get more patterns or books?
Do you need to order more small supplies or marketing materials?
Which things are the most important?

If you are crocheting an inventory then you need to be clear about what you are making and how much of each item. What is a realistic amount?

It could look like this:

Soap savers – 60 . 5 a day for 12 days.

Hat and Scarf sets – 20 – 5 a week for 4 weeks (crochet on Mondays-Wednesdays)

This will help you estimate the time it will take to make all of the items you want to make. You may have to decide to not make certain more time intensive items and focus on things you can make more quickly.

1 Month before the Show – Order Marketing Materials & Ensure you have payment gateways and paper work ready.

Business Cards, Rack Cards and Signs/Banners – You can order these through any number of on-line printers. Vista Print is a very affordable option.
Do you have a credit card swiper? Don’t lose out on sales, get a Square or Paypalcard swiper fr your smart phone or tablet. It costs a small percentage of sales, but you will lose out on sales entirely if you don’t take cards. If you don’t have one, order one at this point to make sure it arrives before the show.
Do you have a change fund? Start saving extra coins and $1 & $5 bills now to make sure you extra cash for the show.
Do you have your display items or do you need to get more? Table cloths, items to display hats, scarves, jewelry, shelving etc. Take a look around your house and in your storage areas, you can be creative!
Do you have receipt books? Pens? Pencils?

2 Weeks before the show – Take inventory again.

Make a spreadsheet with the number of each item and color if applicable. Once you have the item counted and listed put it in a storage container that you will use to carry things to the show.
Time to make a show kit! A good show kit includes: Scissors, safety pins, sticky Velcro, sewing kit, tape, tags, price tags, pens, receipt book, paper clips, markers, glue, measuring tape, buttons and hook and eyes, calculator. (You never know what you might need). These can go into a little box or bag that you keep for the car.

1 Week Before the Show – Self maintenance

What are you going to wear? Do you need a hair cut? How you look in your booth matters and matters a lot. What image are you projecting? People who look successful have better sales. Now, this doesn’t mean you wear a business suit, but it does mean that you need to look neat and polished. Whether that is artsy chic or hipster cool, you need to project the image of your products in your attire.

What shape is your car in? Do you need an oil change? How are your tires? I know this seems silly, but if you’re driving more than 5 miles to your show you want to ensure that you don’t have hiccups with your transportation!

Stay tuned for more articles about selling at shows. If you’re in Reno, catch the CLF Crew in Booth 820!