I’ve been at the painted tree for nearly three years, and it was time for a quick refresh of the space. It was also time to do some analysis of what is working with regard to sales, and what I hoped to improve upon.

What Works

I hope this isn’t a choice-bias, but I do really like the location of my booth. It’s one space in from the corner space, which allows shoppers to see my wares from the main aisle along the front of the store. I’ve noticed in my time at the Painted Tree that some vendors will change locations, but at this time I am happy to be in C3. I’ve also invested in business cards from the beginning, and changing locations means updating those, as well as all references on the internet.

Happy to be in Booth C3… Sounds like a wonderful 2nd anniversary theme!

MAE has also been through three holiday cycles. Although many vendors specialize in holiday-focused items, like pumpkins or Christmas ornaments, I have found that holiday themed jewelry, for example, does not sell as well as a fall spiced candle. My market strength is clearly in small gifts like stocking stuffers or secret Santa surprises. Handmade soaps, bracelets, and mini candle tins are very popular, and now I have some guidance on where to focus for the 2024 holiday shopping season.

On a semi-annual basis, I download my sales data (other businesses may do this quarterly or more, depending on sales volume) and examine which categories are most successful. I also use this as a time to flag items that have not sold or to notice categories (i.e. necklaces, floral scented candles) which are under inventoried.

What Needs Improvement

The Painted Tree staffs the store in its entirety, meaning I do not have to be on-site to sell items. However, this leads to a bit of passive involvement on my part, and I tend to wait too long between visits. I also tend to rely on the company’s promotion via social media, and share their content, rather than create my own booth-specific posts. While this is better than doing no social media, I clearly have more work to do on the marketing side.

To help address this lack of involvement, I have created a social media / blog posting calendar and will take advantage of scheduling posts for future dates. This is a nice convenient feature of many platforms, including this blog. However, it’s best to keep the content of scheduled posts rather neutral and keep the scheduling top-of-mind, as there is always a chance that a newsworthy event can make your message seem out-of-place or worse, inappropriate.

What’s Undecided

I struggle with deciding to offer items that would sell based on demand, versus offering items that I personally prefer. For example, I love making jewelry, but I only have so much booth area, and displaying jewelry properly takes up valuable space for an item that is of average customer demand. My booth would likely not be profitable should I offer only jewelry. I address this issue by rotating stock and keeping some unsold items safely stored, and offer high-demand items which take up less shelf space, such as essential oils.

I also am very conscious of the items I source to sell in my booth (the items I purchase wholesale, to resell). I purchase from small business brands which adhere to MAE’s overall mission and brand, so the products fit seamlessly and the booth feels like a true, unified shopping experience.

If any of you have gone through a business self-assessment, feel free to share what you’ve learned in the comments!