What is Smellicious up to this year?

Just a little update to let you all know what I am up to this year.

Considering I'm still relatively new to the biz, I've decided that I'm going to set a plan in motion to keep going what I started last year and make myself a name and a face in the community.

Last year I signed up to do a 6 month long craft fair.. that sounds a bit extreme but here is the gist. It's the first Saturday of every month May - October. It's not bad actually. It's in a well-traveled new-ish strip mall here in Sparks. Legends Mall, where you'll find Scheels, the new Imax theater, and Outlet stores for things like Sanrio (Hello Kitty), Adidas, Gap.. etc. Last year was the first set of craft fairs there so the organizer and the Mall itself had no idea what to expect really. It was kind of a mess at first. The first 3 fairs we did great. The Mall decided we needed to move our booths to an area with more room, but this ended up hindering sales. The organizer has come to an agreement about this year and we will be set up near the Imax where there is a ton of room, so I'm hoping this will mean more foot traffic and therefore more sales.

I also signed up (mid-season) last year for a small Farmer's Market in Sparks which starts in June. There are quite a few in the area, and this one is just a small guy. I think there were 5 booths of fresh produce, and then about another 5 booths like mine (well... there was Avon, a popcorn person, the "egg lady", the Lavender guy, and beef jerky vendor who dropped out with the popcorn vendor a few weeks after I started). Oh, and a fresh meat rancher guy. It runs every Tuesday from 7 am - 1 pm which are great hours. I'm not sitting out there allllll day, and I generated about 2-3 times my booth fee which isn't bad, however my booth fee is pretty low considering. I've talked with the organizer of that market and he said he's had great feedback about my product and loads of people asking if I'm coming back. Good prospects.

Other than that, I haven't committed to anything else. I'm sure I will find a fair or market here or there to attend in the meantime, although I'm not actively looking. I'm refining a few products that I've offered in the previous markets so I'm hoping they will be a hit.

I've also become a completely legitimate business woman. I now have most of my licenses (need the city license, but I'm not too fussed because the markets/fairs offer a blanket license fee for their events) and I've registered my DBA (doing business as, in conjunction with my state license) and I'm now insured. I'm pretty happy with myself for accomplishing these most important tasks. It's just one more step in the right direction to realizing my dreams.

Thank you all for your support in my venture. You are helping me continue to do what I love to do, so I dearly hope you love what I offer.

If you're in the area, you should stop on by one of my shows and say hi. If you'd like a closer look at where I'll be in the coming months, take a look at my Event Calender on my website, it will tell you where I'll be.

Thanks for reading, and until next time....
Shannon