Rise Up Designs

Grab your coffee, because Mother Nature decided she wanted to be part of my market planning this week. 😂☕ Yesterday I returned to a market that was one of my best last year, so I was really looking forward to it. Then came the weather. We’d had a lot of rain in Texas, including flooding in some areas, and San Antonio had gotten enough that the organizers moved our market from the park to the parking lot because the ground was too wet. Immediately, I started thinking: What if it rains? What should I take? What could get ruined? And, if I’m being completely transparent, there was also a little part of me thinking: But if I don’t bring everything, what if I don’t do as well? There it was. 😂 That small-business-owner voice that convinces you the ONE THING you leave at home will absolutely be the thing everyone wants. But I couldn’t control the weather. I could control how I prepared for it. So I edited. I left my carpet at home. I focused on products that were already protec...

​ This week reminded me of something I think every small business owner learns eventually. I’ve stopped asking myself, “Was this market worth it?” Instead, I ask, “What did this market teach me?” That’s a very different question. 🙋🏻‍♀️ I’ve had incredible markets where I sold well, and I’ve had markets where the weather had other plans. Rain. Wind. Slow foot traffic. Wet signs. Products that needed to be covered in a hurry. None of those things are fun, but every single one has taught me something. Maybe it’s to laminate my pricing signs. 💲 Maybe it’s to pack extra towels.🧻 Maybe it’s to bring another set of clips or rethink my booth layout. 🤔 Maybe it’s simply a reminder that I can’t control the weather, but I can control how prepared I am. ⚡️💨 The funny thing is, the markets that challenge me are usually the ones that make me a better vendor. - Every event becomes info.  - Every conversation teaches me something about my customers. - Every mistake becomes a chec...