The Vendor Waitlist Problem No One Talks About
Picture this: the vendor of your dreams applies to your market. It just so happens to be your busiest season yet, so they get added to your waitlist. As a market manager, having a waitlist should feel like an indicator of success. A long waitlist signals demand, and that should be a good thing. Here’s […]
What a Market Season Looks Like When You’re Not Doing Everything by Hand
Picture this… it’s Saturday morning and your market opens in a few hours. You got here early, but you still feel a sense of impending doom. You down a few energy drinks because you barely got a wink of sleep last night and you have nothing but your anxious thoughts to thank for that. By […]
The Farmers Market Manager’s Friday Night Spiral (And how to Break the Cycle)
It’s 11 pm on a Friday. Tomorrow is market day. You’re lying awake in bed, unable to sleep, running through a mental checklist regarding tomorrow’s market day. Did Luisa confirm her booth change? Are your vendors aware of what time they’re supposed to arrive at the market tomorrow? Did you actually remember to tell Sam […]
Hot Take: Farmers Markets aren’t just Retail. They’re Infrastructure.
When most people think about farmers markets, their minds go straight to the products they can purchase there. They may associate their neighborhood market with fresh produce right from the source, homemade baked goods, or hand-poured candles. There is nothing wrong with that association. After all, a farmers market is genuinely one of the best […]
What It Actually Costs to Run a Weekly Market
Every Saturday morning, members of your community wake up with a specific goal in mind: a visit to their local farmers market. No one can blame them… it’s the perfect start to a relaxing weekend after a long week of work. Fresh produce, handmade jewelry, baked goods, and bright bouquets of flowers draw a wide […]
How to Optimize Your Farmers Market Booth Layout for Better Foot Traffic (Whatever Shape You’re Working With)
It’s 7:45 on a Saturday morning. Your vendors are set up, the coffee is hot, and shoppers are already trickling through the gate. Everything looks great, until you notice what always happens: they walk straight through, buy from the two or three booths they already know, and leave in under 20 minutes. It doesn’t matter […]
Hot Take: Market Managers Are Brand Builders, Not Just Business Owners
Picture a busy Saturday morning at your local farmers market. The smell of fresh bread, the towers of strawberries, the easy feeling of a community doing what communities do best. It looks effortless. It isn’t. Someone built that — and they were up at 5am to make it happen. Market managers don’t just run events. […]