My husband is such a sweetie! And he's very encouraging about my jewelry business, especially about taking it in the direction of marketing to brides. Doing craft shows has been good but we get a lot of feedback from people indicating that my style is really perfect for weddings. Keith has researched a bit and found a number of Bridal Shows coming up in our area and figures we should attend a couple of them to see how they're run, what kinds of setups vendors are using, what kind of traffic there is, etc.
I've already done a bit of research myself to find out booth sizes and fees -- needed to start somewhere. Found that "bigger" shows are pricey .. at least, compared to what I've been paying for craft shows. Most of my craft shows fall between $50-100 for a booth of 10x10 to 12x12. The bridal shows I've found run closer to $800 for an 8x10 or 10x10 space. I'll be continuing to look! And I'm developing a checklist of things I think need to be done before I dive headlong into doing Bridal Shows:
1- continue show research to find out which shows are the best attended, as well as requirements, space available, booth fees, contacts, set up and take down arrangements
2- focus new product development on bride's accessory needs (bracelets, hair and veil accessories)
3- develop a catalog/brochure
4- develop a procedure for taking orders, including a policy for quantity discounts, special requests, and financial arrangements (deposits, cancellations, returns, payment terms)
5- develop displays, pricing and policies for consignment sales through bridal shops (shows will put me in contact with bridal shops as well as with brides and there may be consignment opportunities)
6- packaging -- right now, it's simple tags and bags -- may need to spruce that up
7- upgrade my booth display
There's a lot involved with this ... we'll save it for the next post.
With Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday coming up, I'm not sure how far I'll get with my list but this should be an interesting journey! From time to time, I may need to ask for input too. Wanna ride?
Friday, November 20, 2009
Wanna Ride?
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3 comments:
May God bless the work of your hands.
That's wonderful! I pray that the Lord leads and guides!
You are so blessed to have such a supportive husband. I pray you have much success. You are doing great so far getting yourself organized and working through research and planning. May God bless your endeavors!
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