| Blog series by Monte Pittman | updated 81 days ago | 14 parts | 11516 reads | 161 comments total |
Part 1: Stock Show day -2
As I mentioned in blogs before I do two 10 day shows each year. Friday is arguably the most important of the two. Yes it’s a Stock Show & Rodeo. However, for this particular show, the vendor area is truly one of the main attractions. An estimated 200,000 people will pass through in 10 days. Of course it’s been total chaos try to have enough products on hand to sell or show. Of course on top of this, i am in the process of becoming single again. Never easy, but something tha...
Part 2: Day 1, Who put me in charge?
So you plan everything, check to make sure it’s all loaded. Then you get to the site and Murphy’s Law kicks in. First you get there to set up only to find they put me in a single booth instead of a double. Now they seemed surprised that I wanted a double booth. Well, I paid for a double booth so silly me thought that’s what I would get. No chance of a bigger one, so now just deal with it. Then the realization that the person that loaded the truck (me) didn’t load...
Part 3: start day 3
Two days in and I am hoarse. Although part of it I believe is the air handling system and how low humility is in building. Others have complained about that also. Of course I have been known to talk a lot also :-) Sales are decent, certainly not record setting. I have gone through probably 150 business cards. A couple other noteworthy offers from a couple store owners to buy bulk to resale. We’ll be negotiating as the week goes on. As you can see I have one of Andy’s bo...
Part 4: Day 4 - a little slow
“Will the person that left their prescriptions in the food court please come to the main office to claim them”. Really, some peop[le amaze me. Including the lady with the lime green hair. I thought it would be rude to go up and take her picture. Overall it was a good weekend. Suppossedly the second weekend is the biggest. Should be interesting. Not much to report today, not much happening.
Part 5: Day 5
Although today actually brought a couple really good sales, you can feel cabin fever starting to creep in on many of the vendors. Sales pitches and promo speaches are starting to sound tiring. I am stuck in town tonight because there was no travel advised between here and home due to blizzard conditions. This isn’t good as I need to keep trying to add a few things. But if I don’t I guess I will know to be better prepared next time. This is my first time at this show. They say t...
Part 6: Beginning Day 7
Yesterday was an excersize in futility. Decent crowd. Spend the day sketching numerous items for people without a single order being taken. That doesn’t mean that there is no chance of any of th sketch ups coming through, it just didn’t happen yesterday. From here on, large crowds are expected. Things should be good for the remainder of the week. I was stuck here in town again last night due to weather at my house. 30 mph winds, 1-3 inches of snow and a wonderful -1 (F) for tem...
Part 7: Day 8
Is the anticipation from hoping there are big crowds or because it’s almost over? Although we haven’t had banner crowds, I am perfectly satisfied with how my week has gone. I will leave with a comfortable profit and will have learned even more about how to do this. Had to rearrange this morning due to shelf units leaving booth. A guy that does reclaimed lumber work shows with in the summer. He brought in stuff to fill the void. I haven’t talked him into joining LJ’s y...
Part 8: Big day
Big day for 2 reasons, it’s supposed to be the biggest crowd of the week and at 7:30 tonight it’s over. The crowd is already in hallway. Yesterday was decent. I have a couple orders that will be real fun builds. Have a great day to all!
Part 9: Stock Show 2013 wrap up
For my first run at this show, I would consider it a success. I have already signed up for next year. Of course there’s a learning curve, but that’s to be expected. She assured me I would get a larger booth next year. I made a decent profit on the show. Most of that will be spent on new tools and upgrades in the shop :-) 66 of 72 mugs sold, 11 of 12 boxes, a dozen dog food holders and assorted other small stuff. The small items pay for the booth. The big items are still w...
Part 10: a blemish in the ending
I went to pick up the items I had on display at the other building. It seems someone picked them up for me! Unfortunately no one knows who or where. .Got a lot of deer-in-the-headlights looks when I asked the staff there. Of course my insurance only covers me if someone sues me, not against theft. So today I get to go talk to bosses and see if they can do anything It was the coffee table and end tables I posted recently. I assumed that the area was watched and was safe. Once again assuming...
Part 11: Resolution, sort of
So the Stock Show has talked to their staff and searched the facility, no furniture found. They called me tonight to tell me that they will just pay me for it and write it off. I guess I am getting paid and should be happy. It still bothers me that somebody gets away with it with no penalty and system doesn’t seem to care.
Part 12: Spearfish day 1 of 2
As I sit in eager anticipation of the crowds flooding in. I have been anticipating it for about an hour now. This is my first go at a home show. However to push the furniture more, I think this is a better venue than Arts and crafts shows. Time will tell. For us, the weather is beautiful for this time of year. Hoping that helps bring folks out. Hope you are all enjoying your time this weekend.
Part 13: Spearfish Home Show day 2of2
I’m not saying it was slow yesterday, but there were a LOT of people somewhere other than here. On the other hand, I did do a couple quotes. Either of which would make it worth while. I will throw out a question, I am working on a drawing for a custom bar. How tall is the average whiskey/wine bottle?
Part 14: Spearfish Home Show wrap up
Well there’s 2 days of my life I can never get back. Vendors that have been there before said it was the slowest they had ever seen it. I guess I should be relieved that they didn’t consider it a big weekend. You never can predict how a show will go. I have had a few good ones in a row. So I probably was due a dud. I have plenty of work so I wasn’t desperate for more orders. But it’s preferred that the booth pays for itself. Live and learn.
