How to Plan Financially
It is vital that financial planning is part of your market day plan. With a small business, you will be able to directly plan and track all of your expenses. This is not an easy task if it doesn’t come naturally to you, but it can be easily done. There are many online tools that can help you to stay on track. You might need to save up to be able to invest and spend in the following areas:
Time
You might want to track the amount of time you spend on different tasks. You can use a simple timer app to track your time per task and analyse your reports week by week. You’ll be spending time on the following: Shopping Travelling Planning Research * Creating
Marketing costs
- On-line marketing spends (Facebook ads and promotions)
- Branding (logo design, branding)
- Promotional material (business cards, photography, website etc.)
- Giveaways and freebies
- Wrapping or packaging options
- Look-book or image gallery
Admin costs
- Bank account and fees
- Printing of forms
- Postage for your own orders and out-going orders
- SUMUP machine or POS software
- Notebooks
- Sharpie, markers and pens
- Receipt book
- License or permits if required
- Business stamp
Creation costs
- Materials
- Tools
- Books, courses needed to upskill
- Renting studio or maker space
- Cost of employing someone to help you
Stall costs
- Sales apron
- Table, chair and tent or shelter
- Application and stall fee
- Stall decor
- Lighting
- Electric connectors or converters
- Printing signs or banners
- Glue and tape
- Elastic bands
- Bull dog clips
- Pegs
- Rope or twine
- Scissors
- Mirror
- Display props
- Storage
- Portable steamer
- Cashbox
- Counterfeit checker
- Trash bags
Costs on the day
- Mints and water
- Meals at the market
- Accommodation
- Pocket money to support other vendors
- Emergency money
First-aid kit
- Lip balm
- Painkillers
- Plaster or band-aids
- Sunscreen
- Hairbands
- Safety pins
- Hand sanitiser
- Kleenex
- Bug spray
How much do I need to sell?
To find out how many transaction you need to make to cover the cost of your market day, take the total expenses and divide it by the average profit per transaction. So if your total cost for the event was R1000 and you make an average of R10 on each product you sell, you will need to sell about 100 items on the day.
How much do I want as income?
Take your income goal and divide it by the average profit per transaction to give you the number of sales you need to make. So, if you want to have an income of R150), you need to make 150 sales. Remember that not all of your income will be profit, you will still need to cover your expenses.
Budget for bad market days
Every time you set up your stall, you’ll be hoping for a great market day with lots of customer interaction and amazing sales. You’ll be hoping to cover your costs at the very least. The truth is that not every event is successful, and sometimes customers are just difficult or critical. It’s important to stay respectful, kind and always be ready to go the extra mile. Remember to thank customers of all kinds and accept their feedback. Do not take nasty comments personally and treat them as market research. Jot down notes and ask customers questions about why they might feel a certain way and revise it a few days later with a glass of good wine.
On the day, find a way of tracking your sales. It might also be a good idea to find out what time of day you sell the most. If you try different markets, your sales notes will help you to find out which one gives you the most sales.
It can be really tricky to know how to price your items, especially if you’re a bargain hunter yourself. If you set the bar too low your products might not be seen as truly valuable or even desirable, but if you price them too high, your average fair visitors won’t be able to afford them. In our next blog post we will be discussing how to price your items right.