Today we’re sharing our ideas for a small business’ first time hosting a booth at a shopping event. Whether you’re a crafter, baker, or small boutique, you’ll find some helpful ideas in this post!
Last weekend was my first time having a booth at a shopping event! The weeks leading up to the event, I read several posts about booth ideas and tips that were helpful in my preparation.
When it comes to ideas for a small business booth, there are a few different things to consider before going for the big glitz and glam that attract people to your booth. So let’s start with the biggest thing to consider as you’re prepping to host your first booth: expectations.
Expectations for your First Booth:
- Set Realistic Goals: Before you even sign up for an event, take time to set realistic goals for your business. Ask yourself questions like:
- Is the vendor fee worth it?
- Do I have time to prepare products for this event?
- Does my small business fit into the “niche” for this event?
- Are there other opportunities with this event that can help my business?
- What does my budget allow for this event?
The answer to these questions (and questions like them), vary depending on your business, and the event.
For me, I knew that my products are mostly custom and personalized. This makes it difficult to produce mass products for a shopping event or craft show.
Because of this, I made these realistic goals for myself:
Get my name out there– We are new to the area, so my local reach is still small. I wanted to use this shopping event as a way to meet people in the community and draw customers to my shop.
Grow my subscriber list – This is always a goal for my blog, so I wanted to focus on this. For some people, this may be another social account, but my email list is what’s most important to me at this phase!
(I’ll share more details about how I did this below!)
Sell a few items/gain orders– I knew the nature of my products would not bring in a lot of sales, but I did want to sell a 1-2 items. (And I did!)
That’s it! Simple, realistic goals to define what “success” at this first shopping event looked like for my small business!
2. Know that a “good day” at an event like this, might not be about the money you make!
Of course you want to sell your products. And selling most of your products is a great sign that this event is a good fit for your business.
Just make sure you remember that your business is new, and part of this process is getting yourself out there!
Ideas for a Small Business Booth:
Practice at Home!
I set up my booth at home to get a good idea of the layout and avoid any major hiccups on the day of the event. This helped me lay everything out how I wanted, make sure my table was the right size, and notice if something was missing.
Take a picture/video of your booth so you can replicate it at the event!
Main/Center Table
Choose a focal point for your booth, and make sure it catches people’s eye! This most likely will be one large table at the center of your booth.
Variety of Heights
I made sure to have a variety of heights at my booth for people to look at besides my main table. For my display, I used items like a cake stand, and a 3-tiered stand to display products, freebies, and photos.
Business Cards
If you own a small business and you have not purchased business cards, go ahead and do that right now. (I waited a little too close to the event and almost missed my shipping window).
Having business cards is probably my number 1 recommendation for a small business booth. With the majority of my products being personalized and custom, I knew customers would be interested in taking my card for future orders.
And now I can keep a business card in my purse for when someone asks about the shirt I am wearing!
Drawing for 1 Free Product
One of many ideas for a small business booth, is to get your name out there. A main goal of mine for this event was to gain more subscribers for my email list. (For you, it may be Instagram followers, join a FB group, etc.)
Customers love the chance to win a free product! So I did a drawing for one free product from my shop. Shoppers simply left their name, and email address in a glass jar!
Printed QR Codes
Oh the beauty of technology! I printed large QR codes for my shop website as well as my Venmo account, and hung them at the front of my booth. (I also have my shop QR code on the back of my business cards!)
Physical Order Forms
Even with advanced technology, service is not always dependable. I printed out physical order forms so customers could skip past any slow internet issues, and move on to other booths.
Framed Photos
Again, with the nature of what I sell, I couldn’t display a lot of physical shirts or hoops due to customization. Because of this, I printed nice photos of my work so people could see what I do!
Decor
Dress up your table! For my first event, it was Halloween/fall theme, so I included pumpkins, fall colors, and a bag of candy for kiddos!
Swag Bag Freebies
Sometimes, events hand out “swag bags” or other freebies to the first so-many customers. At my first shopping event, the host gave swag bags to the first 30 shoppers in line, and gave vendors the option to put a freebie product in the bag.
I jumped at this opportunity! That’s 30 opportunities to get your name out there!
My freebie item was one of my fall-themed bookmarks with my business card attached.
A Few Helpful Hints:
Keep Busy
I highly recommend bringing something to work on! I brought sewing materials to work on during lulls in the day.
And here’s the thing: not every shopper wants to chat, and not every shopper will like your work. This isn’t a dig at you, it’s just not their style.
Keeping busy and working on something during a shopping event or craft show will ease any awkwardness, and take away any pressure to chat. You can simply say “hello!” and keep working!
Pack Food (or prepare to buy from other vendor!)
It’s a long day, so pack a lunch or some high-protein snacks so you have energy to socialize and sell!
Comfy Shoes
You will be on your feet most of the day, so wear comfortable shoes! You also spend a lot of time behind a table, so don’t stress too much about style. Focus on comfort.
Cash
Just a friendly reminder that you will want to have cash on hand! Not all shoppers want to use electronic forms to pay (and most are prepared with cash for events like these!)
Arrive Early
Give yourself plenty of time to set up, and run to the store/home if there is a major hiccup.
Arriving early also allows you to view other vendor booths!
Learn from Others – Network!
Go view other booths! See what other vendors did well. Was there something at their booth that stood out? What made you, as a shopper, interested?
Get to know the other vendors, and have conversations. Veteran vendors may have some ideas for a small business booth you did not think about, or opportunities to collaborate in the future.
What I Wish I would have done:
Less Stress!
I was a little anxious leading up to the event. My entire family had been sick the weeks prior, and I felt I did not have enough product to display.
But it all turned out just fine! I had plenty of product, and a great time at the event.
More Tables
In the future, I plan to add a few more tables to my booth setup. I believe taking up more space would create more of a “storefront” where customers can shop around.
So there you have it! Simple ideas for a small business booth at a shopping event or craft show.
I hope you found these ideas for a small business booth helpful! If you have experience with an event like this, I would love to hear from you over on Instagram! @homesweetharps
Thank you for the tips. I’m wanting to do this sometime and these tips will be helpful.
I’m glad you found our ideas helpful!
Great post. Keeping it simple! Vendor shows can be so hard to get carried away!
I agree Lee! I was glad I kept things simple and did not break the bank!
Great tips! We use to do the farmers market & would pre-stage! I agree…great days are often about tge great people you meet and not the money!😁
It was a great experience, I loved networking with other vendors!
Some helpful ideas here. Thank you 🙂
I’m so glad you found some helpful tips!