A week and a half ago I was a stallholder at The West Chiltington Village Summer Fayre. I feel as a small business it is important to point out the pros and cons sometimes of doing these types of events. This is the first one I have done for West Chiltington and although the footfall of people was steady throughout the day, from an event planner’s point of view there is a lot that needs to be done to help the independent sellers when they are displaying their goods at these types of event.
All of the independent sellers were clubbed together on one part of the field, whilst the local and “fun stalls” such as tombolas etc were on the other part of the field. This was fine but unfortunately, advertising for the event fell a little short of what was expected especially with the pitch fees involved.
If I could give advice to anyone who wishes to run an event and I have done several including one the week before lockdown in 2020 it is this. – My Wedding and Events Fayre with Chloe
Advertising:
When you host an event especial a big summer Fayre, advertising the event outside of the actual village where it is taking place is vital. You need as much exposure as possible to get as many people visiting as possible, in turn raising as much in donations and sales as you can. Social media is a tool nowadays to use to these event planners’ advantage. Advertised well in advance and tell your audience the types of sellers you have at your event. If someone sees something they think will be ideal for a friend or family member then they may bring them or suggest the event to them, this will then mean instead of that 1 person coming, another 2 or 3 could come because of the types of stalls being advertised at the event. It is about drawing your public in and engaging them.
Communicate with EVERYONE:
When I ran my last event, I made sure ALL the stallholders felt included, each of them was individually advertised and on the day each of them had contact with me physically and through the telephone. They knew that any issues they had they could contact me. I know most of these events especially village fayres are run by committees and volunteers but if you wish to have these stallholders back for future events you need to keep in touch with them and make them feel wanted. Unfortunately, this was not the case at the last event I was a stallholder at, It is nice to feel you are included and not just a “fee” to them.
On the Day: Don’t expect too much then you won’t be disappointed
A lot of people on that day visited my stall and they were asked what I did and what could I do for them. This again is a learning curve for me as a small business, that I need to tell people more about what I do, so I have increased my advertising and marketing to make sure at the next 2 events I am promoting in August, people are fully aware of what I do and who I am. Although I had a lot of enquiries throughout the day, some of these will not come to anything as people enquire and then forget or find something else. This is par of the course of running a small business, so this is where you need to advertise in multiple places to get your name and business out there for lots to see. If you get a sale on the day that’s a bonus, just getting recognised and getting your name out there is just as beneficial as getting a sale.
Experience is great
I have been gaining experience and adapting the way I do things throughout the years. If something doesn’t work, change it, don’t be a creature of habit because we all have to adapt to new ways of life and communication to survive and business is certainly a survival of the fittest at times!!!
Ask for help
I am the first to admit that delegation takes work, sometimes taking all the tasks on your own doesn’t work and if you have a chance to delegate DO IT… it doesn’t make you weak it will actually help you in the long run. Don’t overload yourself with tasks and take time to carry them out as a rushed task doesn’t benefit anyone.
Time out after to evaluate
Take time out after the event to give feedback to the hosts, if you can, evaluate what went well, what went not so well and what can you change. Don’t be afraid to change it for next time, try something new, by working with others you will only know if something works by trying it out… Be bold and you never know it may just work. The most important thing after any event is to RELAX……….. organising and displaying at events no matter how big or small your business is exhausting. Take time to recover and take time to readjust back to normal working. My time is a very important time when running a business.
Anyway, I have learnt a thing or two but recent events and I will be looking to change the way I do things for incoming events. So if you would like to see me at these next two events they are:
My Special Event – Zoe Pniewski @ The Felpham Post Office Pop-Up Shop – Wednesday 10th August 2022 From 9 am till 2 pm
My Special Event – Zoe Pniewski @ The Cat and Rabbit Summer Fayre, Siddlesham – Sunday 14th August 2022 From 11 am till 4 pm
If you cannot make any of these events and wish to contact My Special Event – Zoe Pniewski then you can do the following ways:
Email: info@project1-z2alti0870.live-website.com
Visit: www.myspecialevent.co.uk and fill out the contact form – we will contact you within 24 to 48 hrs (please allow extra during busy periods)
Facebook Message My Special Event – Zoe Pniewski or Instagram Message zoepniewski.
