Rough Vending Season

At the Renaissance Faire in Cedar City, UT.  That was during my good season.  The winter season, on the other hand...

This winter was a very rough season for vending, and I'm jumping for joy that it's finally over.  It was a walk through hell with some bright spots.  Perhaps I'm being overdramatic.  Perhaps I'm being passive aggressive, and really need to watch what I type.  Regardless, when the Renaissance Faire season ended on a high note in October, in Carlsbad, NM; while the Gallup Arts Crawl season ended on a freezing cold note in November, I should have known to leave well enough alone.  

I should have used that time to improve my products.  Instead, I saw opportunity with craft fairs and other events that more often than not, went terribly, terribly wrong.  Some events went well, such as the Christmas Cupsleeve event in Albuquerque, and a SOPE cupsleeve event in Farmington.  But 2 successful events out of 9 total, and barely  successful at that? Not good!  Waste of time and energy.  Many people in the state of New Mexico don't have a whole lot of money right now, and the products I sell are more expensive.  I'm only compromising on price for some of my 한복 at the moment because I want to make room for additional, more relevant 한복 for the Renaissance Faire scene.  Otherwise, no, I don't compromise, because these take a lot of work and practice to make.  It's not something you can just glue and staple together, and call it good.  At some of these events, to get by, I sold photo cards, which is fine, nothing wrong with that, but I'm not in the business of selling photo cards. I'm in the business of selling culturally relevant items with a twist, such as fan art from 사극 and Xianxia, 한복, and 한복 dolls.  Photo cards are great, but they're not something I want to exhaust my resources on. And I'm not knocking people who sell photo cards, and I'm most certainly not knocking people who buy photo cards from me, but there is so much more to the Korean wave than BTS, and there's certainly so much more than K-Pop.

Additionally, these days, in 미국, everyone is an entrepreneur, pressuring their like minded besties into buying a bunch of stuff.  I get it.  The business has to get off the ground some how, but if not done carefully, it can potentially give a false sense of success.  Friends and family will only purchase from you for so long before they avoid you, for fear that you not only see them as a business deal, but that you'll guilt them into buying something else that they do not want. My general rule is I don't mix my business with my friends.  In the long run, it creates a lot of unnecessary awkwardness and tension.  People don't like feeling cornered into buying something from you because you're struggling.  They don't want to be your unpaid marketing staff, and they shouldn't have to be.

There's a lot of fake it till you make it on social media, which I am not cool with; and aside from my last paragraph about getting your besties to purchase from you, this next bit is going to sound extremely passive aggressive.  I want to say that it isn't, it's merely me expressing some frustration, but I also understand if anyone I know who is reading this, most certainly feels that it is. Being an entrepreneur involves a lot of unpaid work, and it is not for the faint of heart.  There will be more failures than successes, and I feel it does many people a gross disservice when you act as if you're all successful all the time.  Many people need to know that this is extremely far from being passive income.  Also, all these little girls who have bought into the idea that it will be passive income clog up the online SEO, and make it difficult for those of us who take this very seriously to be seen.

I'm also not big on "fake it til you make it" because if you are having a problem, but keep showing Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok reels where you're sending out boxes and boxes of fake Etsy orders in order to maintain an image of success, it will fester.  Then, it will get ugly and explode, causing people to lose trust in you.  I'm not saying to be constantly complaining, or how much you're failing.  What I am saying is, if you're having a hard time, admit it and own it, and show your audience that you're working on a no strings attached solution.

For instance, this winter vending season was terrible, and next winter, I know where my markets are, and I'm not going to waste time on events where they won't be there.  It's draining.  I now know that the Renaissance Faire Season is where I make my money.  Gallup Arts Crawl is a good family event that I will continue to participate in, as I get repeat customers.  I also know I do really well in Northern and Southern New Mexico, while Albuquerque hasn't been very great for me. I did sign up for the Rail Yards Market, however, and if they accept me, I will give it a try.  Other Albuquerque stuff, though, for the sake of my own sanity, is a big, fat, NO.