Market Mastery: Steps to Starting Your Own Stall

You’ve had this idea of having a market stall to sell fresh locally produced food, possibly a recipe you had handed down from your granny, or the overwhelming desire to sell produce without all the packaging, preservatives and care for the consumer.

It doesn’t matter if you want to keep the business small and personal or if you have your sights set on being the next Morrisons or large scale distributor, knowing how to start and where to begin is part of the journey to being successful.

Find below completely free tips and lessons to get you started, or to refine what you are doing already.  There is no need for Guerilla Marketing, hard sell, or even manipulating the market. Your product and service will outsell all that hype.

Sure you need a sign, a table, and a little bit of chat to talk to your customers, but they are looking for your niche meal, your attention to fresh produce, and the expert service and knowledge you hold.

It’s a personal business and you are it. These starters will get you on the right road to success.

Farsley Farmers Market, Market Nosh, Butcher

Module 1: Asking the Tough Questions

Market History and why they are important to us is a key to understanding what your focus will be. There are many different marketplaces and they all won’t suit your style or your personality.

Learn How to Start a Market Stall, Module 1

Module 2: Know your stuff

Having chosen your marketplace and the types of products you are going to sell, let’s take a look at what you need to focus on while in the Marketplace. There is always a little red tape and being aware of it will go a long way to avoiding disappointment and lost sales opportunities later on.

Module 3: Business Planning

A ship with even the slightest idea of where it is headed will leave a harbour, but a boat without a captain will rarely leave those walls. A Business Plan is your dream made real and a roadmap of how you will achieve it. Learn how to get started in making one for success.

  • Lesson 9: What is Business Plan?
  • Lesson 10: Creating a Business Plan
  • Lesson 11: Using a Business Plan
  • Lesson 12: Improving a Business Plan

Module 4: Organising To Start

Getting the admin set up before you get selling will help you be organised on the day. It’s more than just having a pen and paper. Every day is an opportunity to see footfall, highs and lows and even manage the effort you require to prepare beforehand.

Module 5: Finances

We all have to keep account. It helps us know how much we are making, and how much our basic cost of goods is eating into our profits and allows us to plan. Staying on top of this means it isn’t something you need to hide away from. This is not financial advice, please find a qualified accountant for that, but to assist you in deciding what you need to get set up to run a successful business.

If any of this helps, I would love to hear about it, and perhaps you may even have something more to suggest. Find me on the socials at the top right or contact me page.