I love what I do. I am the one who makes the decisions of what, when, and how to make my farm work. I am the one who gets to struggle with the gazillion variables over which I have no control. I am the one who works to be open to the gifts, even when the gifts are not what I am hoping to receive. I also get to be the one who spends time with the farm early in the mornings when it’s absolutely still, or humming with life in the afternoon. Of course, there’s always a hitch. Loving what you do does not always pay the bills. If you can’t sell what you produce, you can’t afford to farm for very long. A big part of being sustainable is being financially sustainable. My wife Kate and I grow 2.5 acres of vegetables for a farmers market and a small CSA. We realized when we started that direct marketing was the way we could afford the lifestyle we wanted on the acreage we had available. We receive a better price for our produce than we would in the wholesale market, and are in charge of how our produce is marketed. When our customers come to our stand Saturday mornings, they are choosing to spend their dollars with us because we can offer them something different than they can find elsewhere. We can tell them how their food was produced, when it was harvested, why I choose the varieties we grow, and how to prepare the vegetables as well. It all sounds pretty basic, but communicating to your customers is a big step to marketing yourself better. But before any of that can happen, you need to get them to stop at your booth. You only get a few seconds to make a positive first impression. Arriving at a market and throwing produce on a table doesn’t cut it anymore. In a venue filled with many vendors, you need to stand out. Some of the ways are obvious, some are more subtle. But the goal of good marketing is to remove the barriers between you and your customers. Keep it clean. Our market takes place in a parking lot on the asphalt. The first thing I do when I arrive is sweep out our spot, including the area in front of our booth where people are walking. It only takes a few minutes, but it makes a huge difference in how our stand looks. It is important to remember you are selling food, and a dirty floor with cigarette butts and grit can be a real turn off. I also arrive each morning with two shirts. One shirt always gets dirty unloading the van and setting everything up. Once the booth is ready to go, and before the crowds get there, I am changed, clean, and ready to go. Did I forget to mention that I am also in my “going to town” pants? Be available, but not pushy. While you have the few seconds to make an impression be engaging, and let your customers know you are happy to help them. It’s also important to leave people alone if they don’t want to be bothered. It’s usually pretty obvious. If someone’s hands are full, offer to fill their bag for them. If you have a shady, out of the way spot, allow customers to leave what they have bought and pick it up later if they are going to do more shopping. And most important, please don’t be sitting down. Even if the market is slow, use that time to clean up the front of the booth, rearrange the display, anything but sitting. If you are sitting, you are tired or bored, and people aren’t going to want to come to you. And if they do, when you stand up, you are doing it for them, and they have inconvenienced you. More is more. Most people realize that vegetables are grown in soil. That doesn’t mean they want to see the dirt on them. We spend a lot of time getting our produce looking good; greens are healthy, roots are clean. How you arrange your produce is also important. Abundance will stop people and bring them to you. If we are short on something, we use false bottoms that fit into our baskets that allow a smaller amount to rise above the rim. I have also built boxes that fit the produce that goes into them as well as the layout of our stand. It brings a uniform appearance to the booth, and allows me to set up in a predictable arrangement week to week. Bringing more than you think you can sell hurts at first, but it is important that there always be a choice for your customers. No one wants to buy the last one of anything. Granted, there are always some items that we sell through. But we try hard to always have something at the end of a busy day. As our produce disappears, we are busy tightening up the display, making our overall stand smaller, but still trying to appear full. A smaller stand that is neat will always be more inviting than a big stand that looks picked over. As I am setting up my booth, I am always conscious of how far the average customer can reach. I am careful that everything I am selling is easy to pick up. For items that are loose, like beans and peas, I put them closer to the customers, so there is less fumbling with a bag. Heavier items are also closer, lighter ones farther back. Utilize signs. We have a sign on everything. I list varieties, what method of preparation might be best suited for that vegetable, and what I like about the variety. Every sign has a price. I think our prices are a reflection of the cost of production and the quality of the produce I bring, and I do not hide them. I began using the computer to make my signs because my handwriting is hard even for a pharmacist to read. They all have a uniform format, are laminated to protect them from the weather, and when they start to look worn out, I print out new ones. My final suggestion would be to stand outside your booth during market time and watch how the traffic flows through it. Where does it get congested? Can people find what they are looking for? Also take the time to admire the work that has gone into getting everything to market. The season is intense, and sometimes you need a lift. Market day is a very tangible reward for all your work and long days. I hope this season brings lots of success, and the continuing opportunity to love what you do.