We have had a day out of the office today, what fun!
I had booked in to a local mums and babies fair, a 6 ft table to display our range of children’s party supplies, well at least some of them, there are far too many for a mere 6 ft space. So we got up at 7:30 am, woke the kids, got breakfast, dressed and then loaded the car up.
We found our way quite easily, and parked. Our usual routine is for me to get as much as I can on the first trip to the venue, with the girls in tow, and then for my husband to make the remaining trips back and forth from the car with the remaining stock as I start to set up and use the eyes in the back of my head to watch the kids. We were a bit crammed in today, so getting set up before it opened was a challenge that I failed miserably. Eventually the table was covered and filled with a good range of the licensed partyware I had taken, and off we went.
Half an hour in, and I was getting a bit cross with the girls standing in front of my table, so my husband said he would take them for a walk to the supermarket nearby. I managed to spend that time chatting to a few mums and handing out leaflets. A good start.
Around lunchtime there is always a natural lull at events like this so my husband took the girls off to get them some dinner and the stallholders all had a sit down and a bite to eat. I had a quick nose round the other stalls there, some interesting ones, not the usual crew of book and make up reps. One that caught my attention was a franchise opportunity called Debutots, a mix of drama and story telling for babies and young children. My two went to the afternoon session that Sarah, the local franchisee, had agreed to run in the room upstairs. They came back buzzing about how much they had enjoyed the story and had to relay it to me when they went to bed, so it is definately one to watch out for.
My afternoon was not so exciting however. Apart from handing out a couple more leaflets my marketing was done for the day, and I had made no sales. As a couple of stalls started to shut up shop I decided to bite the bullet and go and network, determined to come away with contact details for the stalls I have interest in.
So, here I am, kids fast asleep in bed, a bunch of catalogues and business cards for future plans, and hopefully some potential customers now aware of my existence. Counting down to the next event!