Market Developments

It is that time of year where we have to decide whether or not we want to do the farmer’s market. The deadline for the Hanover market is either coming up or past due, and the local market is coming up. We just go the email. One of the new complications with the local market is that they are requiring that every food vendor comply with state regulations and have a hand-washing station at their booth. This would require a hot and cold water dispenser that runs anywhere from $300-$500 a pop, not to mention transporting the beast.

Now I think we could easily make up that cost in sales, but it got me to thinking that maybe we’d be better off doing just one market, the big city market. After all, last year we were overwhelmed with making the dumplings, so one less market would decrease our workload. Plus, it’s hard to sell to your good friends and neighbors, and they tend to buy your product as a goodwill gesture, even if they don’t want it. It makes the interaction very awkward. In the big city, it’s all business, which is much simpler.

We don’t have my Mentor’s Explorer, either, so our carrying capacity has been seriously compromised. Perhaps the most telling thing is that when I ponder the idea of only doing one market, it makes me much happier. You need to listen to these signs. We’ll see where this goes.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Svilen Milev for the pic.