First Farmers Market

The energetic staff of Pecan Bluff Farm had their first venture into sales at our local farmers market last weekend.  They were awesome!

R is an absolute natural at setting up displays and making sales. She had to field all kinds of questions about how we raise our hens and our garden and she did such a good job communicating with the curious customers. HW and HA were the muscle in setting up and taking down, plus they each had plenty of opportunity to calculate totals and politely make change for customers. The fact that they are adorable young salesmen also seemed to draw in the crowds. Business was brisk the whole time, but when there was a slight lull the kids would all grab a towel and clean up any messes or rearrange their produce to better show their customers what our farm has to offer. It was so much fun to watch them shine after all these months of hard work.

They were very successful! After months of nothing but expenditures we are so glad they made enough their first weekend to cover market expenses, set aside their full loan payment for next month, pad their fund for chicken feed for the next few weeks, and also pay themselves a small wage for their market efforts. YAY!

Lessons learned:
1. Get there earlier. We arrived before our scheduled set-up time. But while we were unloading the truck people were already waiting in line with their bags, ready to buy stuff! Market wasn't even supposed to open for sales for another hour, but regulars seem to know that you get the best stuff when you get there and sneak in early. So we will be earlier next time, too.

2. Pack all the water we could possibly need, then toss in five more bottles.  We took a bunch, but could have used more. It's getting pretty warm here, so we are very thankful for the shade of the beautiful, huge oaks that line our market!

Here the kids are scrambling to get their produce and signs on the tables,
 while customers were trying to buy things straight from the boxes. 

Still setting up, but selling as fast as they could fill their baskets.

We are so proud of you, our hard-working entrepreneurs! Keep up the good work! We love you all.