"We ask each other everything from 'How much was your insurance quote?' to 'Where do you get your hot-dog buns?'" Povich says. "For instance, when I contracted insurance brokers, I got the quotes and sent them around to the other vendors in case they needed them or were interested. It's such a wonderful community."
Povich got one great idea from one of the Lobster Pound's neighboring vendors, AsiaDog, a business that sells inventive Asian-topping-decked hot dogs. AsiaDog initially grew its business by setting up weeknight pop-up shops in Brooklyn and Manhattan bars. Povich seized on the idea and started branching out to alternative pop-up locations for selling her bisque and fresh lobster.
For vendors who make crafts and handmade goods, the sense of community is equally strong. "You just start up and have no idea what you're doing at the beginning," Georgiou says. "But all the people are very helpful. I would find out how to talk to customers, how to grow my business, where to get supplies." She also found other designers whose products she loved; these connections grew, and she eventually identified suppliers whose goods she featured alongside her children's clothes once she opened her own boutique.
Dig Deeper: Running a Business
Flea Market Start-ups: Building a Loyal Customer Base
At a time when many customers are changing their buying habits, building loyalty is critical. That's especially true for sellers of handmade goods who either run – or aspire to open – a retail space.
Fortunately, flea markets, especially weekly ones, can be ideal vehicles for creating loyal customers. That's because there's an emphasis on one-on-one interaction – and customers know that the designer, artisan, baker, etc., is usually the one doing their own sales.
Abrams, who founded the Artists & Fleas market, says she's seen hundreds of vendors grow their customer base solely through showing up with their creative wares each weekend. Some years ago, a musician named Gabe Molnar showed up at Artists & Fleas with a bag of t-shirts he'd created – he hadn't registered for a vendor space, but Abrams gave him a break. Molnar became a regular vendor and, within months had such success selling at the market and on Etsy that he needed to spend all day screen-printing to keep up with demand. He couldn't even spare a Saturday to sell more at his booth.
A start-up's efforts shouldn't begin and end at the market, however. Most vendors have websites on which they sell their goods or promote them, Abrams says. And Twitter has become an important tool by which companies can alert their best customers to special deals and where one-day sales can be found.
"All of my employees are trained in the product, and they can all give you essentially Lobster 101 – and that's what's required at the Brooklyn Flea," Povich says. "No one wants to just be tossed a product at the Flea. They want to talk to you; they want to meet the owner. And then they will come back."
Dig Deeper: Learning New Consumer Values
Flea Market Start-ups: Stepping Away from the Folding Table
Despite the flea market's ability to help educate new businesses owners and help them develop a loyal customer base, there are some parts of the pop-up shop lifestyle that aren't so great. If flea-market table-surfing isn't your dream job, first figure out what is. If it's opening up a store or running a website, use your time at the market to work toward that goal.
How do you know when it's time to quit your day job and focus full time on your passion? "My big thing is, I don't think you should quit your day job until you have money in the bank," Abrams tells her vendors. "It's really a question of when you have enough momentum and you have revenue from more than one source, and you know that you can cover your living expenses plus a cushion."
Abrams also suggests artists early on develop an awareness of seasonal fluctuations in sales, and learn to husband cash. You might feel great when you have a surplus after a great holiday season, but you need to remember that the cash will go to stock up on supplies for next year.
For Perch, the lighting business run by Amy Adams, the big moment came after seven years of flea market sales. By day, Adams worked at a lighting design firm; at night, she designed merchandise on the side. At the point when more than 40 retail stores were selling her goods, she finally decided it was time to fly solo.
Her advice for designers starting out? "Stepping away from the day job probably takes longer than most people would want. Because then you are paying for a lot more stuff, including health insurance, you'll need to have a lot saved or a really reliable income."
Dig Deeper: The Four Pillars of Organic Growth
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