What is a Farmers’ Market anyway? At its core, a farmers’ market is a group of farmers (and often other producers) who gather together regularly to offer their wares for sale to the public. In this sense a farmers’ market is itself a business, one whose make up consists of a part of the business […]
Advice and perspective for new market applicants
February 13, 2013 CategoriesThis was written by Janet Weaver and Tom Roberts in the Winter of 2013 as an introduction to the world of farmers’ markets to be given to new market applicants. Why are you joining a market? Is hauling your wares to a farmers’ market going to be your only income source? Is the Market a […]
Why it is important to read your customers
October 24, 2012 Categories…so they’ll enjoy their shopping experience and want to come back. Why do some market members do very well on days when others seem to do poorly? Most likely the reason is that those who are doing well are those who are paying proper attention to the passing shoppers. It is vital to remember that […]
The no-show rule
June 12, 2012 CategoriesWhen someone joins a farmers’ market, we normally would expect them to show up at least for several market days. Unfortunately, not everyone does. There could be a variety of reasons for this. Sometimes their expectations are higher than reality, and they find that they aren’t going home with the pocketfuls of money they had […]
Good market practices
June 11, 2012 CategoriesThe difference between struggling and success can be good market practices. What makes for a good farmers’ market? Certainly a strong and supportive base of shoppers is an essential ingredient. Yet demand for products is simply the fuel. How well the market is organized is the engine. Some engines waste fuel whereas others are efficient […]