Tomorrow's Entrepreneurs

Yesterday at the market a group of kids who I would estimate to be around 10 years old approached my table tentatively with clipboards. It isn't every day that you see tweens carrying clipboards, so I asked if they were doing a scavenger hunt, which is not uncommon in the market. "No, we are from Bellevue Christian School and we're doing an economics project. We're going to create a market so we came here for ideas."

"That sounds like fun!"

"Is this your business?" the girl asked, gesturing to the soaps.

"Yes, it is," I replied.

At this point, the chaperone said to the girl in a stage whisper, "Ask if she has time to answer some questions for you."

"Yeah, um," looking down at her shoes, "do you have time to answer some questions?"

I made a big point of looking around to see if I was busy, and since I wasn't, volunteered myself as an interview subject.

"Okay," the girl started. Even though there were two boys with her, she seemed to be the designated spokeskid. "How did you start making soap?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story, so I'll tell you and you can write down whatever parts of it you like," I began. "My husband, who is an artist" I gestured to his artwork for sale on the adjacent table, "and I used to make things for people for Christmas gifts.  One year we made candles.  Another time we made pasta.  We gave people homemade barbecue sauce once.  We decided we wanted to make soap, but thought it was too hard, so I took a soapmaking class and really enjoyed it.  I realized you can be very creative with it, and it's a lot like cooking, which I really love to do."

At this point, a woman approached the table and began looking at my wares.  My little group of students stepped politely to the side, sniffed some soaps, browsed Scott's work, and talked amongst themselves while she picked out gifts for her family.  When she left, the girl posed the next question: "Who are your customers?"

"Well, did you see that lady?  She is pretty typical.  Mostly women buy from me because they're typically the ones who like good-smelling stuff.  And a lot of people come to me when they are buying gifts."

"How did you decide what price your soaps would be?"  Boy, these kids are astute!

"That is a very good question!  I took two main points into consideration: how much they cost me to make and the price of other soaps."

"Thank you for taking time to answer our questions.  I really like this soap, can I buy a bar?"

"Sure thing!  Good luck on your project."

I was here the other day looking for you. Where were you?

When thinking about questions I get a lot from customers at Pike Place Market, at the top of the list is certainly a variation of "I was here the other day looking for you.  Where were you?"

There are a few possible answers:

1) I was not here; I was at home making product, shipping mail orders, doing bookkeeping, updating my website, blogging, packaging product, ordering supplies, or any number of other tasks necessary to keep my little one-woman show working.

2) I was not here; I took a day off to relax, spend quality time with my husband and cats, visit with friends, go out to eat, go hiking, see a movie, take a vacation, write my personal blog, or any number of other activities necessary to keep me working!

3) I was here, but not in this spot.

How does that work, you ask.   Welllll, it's a little complicated.  You see, when one becomes a daystall vendor (or "permit holder" as we are properly called) at Pike Place Market, you are handed a 50+ page document full of rules, regulations, and procedures that govern the operation of the daystalls, which are host to craftspeople as well as farmers.

But wait, I should go back a step - how does one become a craftsperson at the market?  First of all, you must be just that - an artist or craftsperson producing 100% of your work by yourself, by hand.  (There are a small number of "grandfathered" vendors who are allowed to sell imported goods as they have been in the market since prior to the handmade rule.)  The market master reviews applications, and you must stand before a screening committee for approval.  Once that hurdle is passed, the market master will come pay a visit to your studio/workspace to view and document your process.  Then you are given a seniority number.

Your seniority number is very important.  Casual conversation between vendors often includes the question, "What number are you?"  It is a way of sizing you up, a method of vetting you for old-timer or new-timer status, and an indicator of how good your choice of spots on any given day is likely to be.  I am number 157. I started 5 years ago at 209.  Movement up the list is faster toward the end of it; more attrition.  The fewer people are ahead of you, the more slowly you move up.

The beauty of being a daystall vendor at the market is that we don't have to be there every day (thus the term "daystall" since we rent the stalls by the day).  This allows for activities 1 and 2, above.  There are attendance requirements that seem to comprise 30 pages of the aforementioned rules, but I shan't bother you with them.  Because our schedules are mostly at our own whim, the craftspeople attend roll call in the morning to choose spaces before setting up.  We sign in on a sheet that lists everybody by name in seniority order.  If you are signed in when the market master comes to you, s/he calls your name and you choose an open space.  If you've ever been in the market before we set up and noticed a large group of people gathered in the north end of the arcade, this is what is going on.

As number 157, I am right on the cusp of having a "good" number.  On most weekdays, it is not difficult for me to get a "good" spot as there aren't many vendors (the definition of "good" varies; we all like different spaces for different reasons - more traffic, less traffic, the neighbors, etc.).  You might imagine, on Saturdays, when business is generally better, more vendors choose to come to the market.  There might be 100+ crafters picking spaces ahead of me.  If the weather is nice and many of them want to go outside, there will be plenty of spaces for me to choose from inside, but perhaps not in an ideal location.  If the weather is poor, there may not be a table available inside by the time the market master gets to me.

Why do I endure this uncertainty, not knowing where or even whether I will be selling each day?  Because I love what I do.  I had  no idea that I would enjoy being a small business owner as much as I do.  For me, self-employment is challenging, rewarding, and exciting (and not nearly as frightening as I expected before venturing out on my own).  I can work as much or as little as I want.  Being in the market gives me the opportunity to bring my products directly to customers from all around the world, as well as allowing me to be part of a community of other artists and craftspeople.

I love using my creativity and skills to build a product line that truly comes from me and delivers to my customers in a way that betters their lives.  I love to hear that my lip smoothies "make smooching my wife like ten times better" and that my soaps are "the best I have ever used."  It makes me giddy to know that someone thinks that my skin smoothies are "just the thing for my dry feet."  THAT is why I do this.

P.S. You can always check my website for my schedule of days at the market.

Market Etiquette 101

With Pike Place Market’s ten million visitors a year, the vendors on its crafts line have jobs that are simultaneously some of the most rewarding and difficult out there.  I recognize that the market is not a traditional retail environment and some of our shoppers may not be familiar with a few simple points of etiquette that can help make everybody’s day more enjoyable.  It all boils down to one golden rule: respect handmade items and their creators.  Here are a few things to keep in mind when visiting the day stalls at the market:

• Come early in the day.  Arriving late may mean you’ve missed that special one-of-a-kind item.  On that note, please understand that items cannot be held for you without payment.  Our stock is limited.
• Please bring your children to the market.  It is a fantastic opportunity to teach them about handcrafted items and art.  It is also a fantastic opportunity for them to practice “looking with their eyes and not with their hands” and good market etiquette.
• Be aware of what is on your hands when touching – food, lotions, and natural oils can damage items.  By the same token, ask before you set your drink, handbag, shopping bags, etc. on my table while you browse.
• Please ask permission before taking pictures of vendors or their works.  It is courteous to tip buskers who you photograph (at least a dollar or two).
• Acknowledge that our display space is extremely limited, so do your best not to block my booth while standing in the aisle or shopping at a neighboring stall.
• Don’t be alarmed when vendors try to engage you in friendly conversation. That’s the beauty of shopping at a craft market – you have the opportunity to meet the artist.  Also, don’t be surprised when the conversation turns to the item you are looking at.  We are very proud of our work and want each piece to go home with someone!
• Ask questions if you are genuinely curious, but please do not interrogate the maker or dissect the item.  Some of our methods are trade secrets!  ;-)
• Please understand that we are VERY small businesses, and may not have the capacity (or desire) to do all the things that seem like good ideas, like expanding our line, sending our product to Oprah, or even building a website in some cases.  Chances are we have already considered it.
• If you aren’t buying, be honest.  “I’m just browsing today” or “It’s not in my budget” are acceptable. Three of the most dreaded words on the craft line are “I’ll be back.”  (Even if you mean it, folks often get distracted, lost, or change their minds later and never return, letting us down.)  The same goes for “Do you have a website?” as an exit strategy.
• While we appreciate honesty, diplomacy is also nice.  Realize that you may hurt someone’s feelings by telling them their product is “ugly” or “overpriced.”  If you don’t have anything nice to say…
• A simple “Thank you” after looking at items is appropriate.
• Please accept that I may not be able to offer a better price than quoted or pay your sales tax on a purchase.  Handcrafted items are labor intensive to make, our supplies are expensive, and we are required to pay tax on our income just as you are.
• Most of all, have fun!  Enjoy looking at all of the unique items and meeting their creators.  Hopefully you will find just the right thing to buy as a reminder of your visit.

Next week I'll give you a behind-the-scenes glimpse into life as a crafter at Pike Place.

If you enjoyed reading these suggestions and would like to hear about my own struggle not to use a dreaded phrase, visit my personal blog, Spork Out Loud.