Behind the Booth: Part Five - The Checklist(s)

The top of one of my favorite growth charts I've done.

Right now starts my busiest season of year, the month I take off from show preparations.  January I limit my crafting to commissions and getting my accounting done, working on things like this blog, my Etsy shop, and generally making my notes for the next run of shows.  My next scheduled event isn't until July, but I'm planning on picking up at least one spring showing - I just don't have a date hammered out yet.  

So January is when I start doing things like going over my last checklist for the summer show, and looking at my notes.  I always make notes of things I was missing and/or didn't need on the checklist from the year before, and keep it in my cash box to file with my other paperwork - the checklist actually has a place with my tax records.  So now is when I pull it out and start crossing things off, adding, and updating the spreadsheet that I've made.  

I break the lists up so they are easier to follow, and harder to miss things from.  Each one is either based on what I need for the display, what I need for sales, what I need for booth set up, what I need for take down, or what I need to pack the day of the show.  Every show I pull out the checklist, print a copy, and cross of things that I don't need, if there are any.  (On the back of the checklist will be my notes on what worked and didn't work in my display setup for that show, but that's a whole different list.)

Yesterday I started to work on my checklist again, and made some notes, and started designs for the next bit of display work I need to do, and I thought to myself how much it had evolved from the first one (which I still have a copy of).  The first list was based off one I found on the internet somewhere, and it didn't really fit my needs at all.  I think it was for a jewelry booth, and I realized after that first show that I have completely different needs.  Shelving, for one.  So I resolved to create my own set of lists.  

 

So I start with the order I need things when I do my most complicated set up, and go from there. These are the lists of everything I put together for an outdoor show, one where I plan to be outside for 3 days of sales and fun, in a location that tends to be damp in the summer.

First, the tent.

• Tent, with sidewalls
• Weights for the corners
• Stakes and Plastic Mallet
• Rug (if using, depends on weather)
• Three Tables (1 8', 2 5')
• Table Linens
• Risers
• Ladder & Shelves
• Sign / Banner
• Folding Handtruck(Dolly)
• PVC Display for Growth Charts
• PVC Risers & Covers for on Tables
• Yard Tree Mobile Display
• Tree / Branches for displaying bird ornaments
• Toolbox
• Mosquito Repellent & Backups
• Hooks for hanging Displays
• Clothespins 
• Twine / Jute
• Scissors
• Pens (Lots)
• Business Cards
• Screwdriver
• Pliers
• Binder Clips (3 Sizes)
• Small Flashlight
• Pocket Knife
• Emergency Cell Phone Charger
• Toilet Paper in Ziploc (The show has port-a-potties, but sometimes they run out of paper)
• Hand Sanitizer
• Claritin
• Advil
• Benedryl
• Emergency Rain Poncho
• Break and Shake Heat Packs - enough for two per day at an outdoor show.
• First Aid Kit (Small, travel version) that has been restocked and ready to go 
• Bandaids
• Tweezers
• Needle
• Iodine Pack
• Cold Compress Pack
• Gauze 
• Tape
• CPR Instructions (both adult and child)
• Matches in waterproof container (Fires are not allowed at the show or in the campground attached, but in an emergency...)
• Zipties - two different sizes
• Four Bungee Cords
• Pricing Gun and Tabs
• Extra Pricing Tags
• Hardware for setting up display towers (if bringing)
• $20 in $5 for bribing other vendor's kids to help haul stuff to my site
• Chair(s)

At this point, I have everything I need to get the basic booth setup done.  I can arrange my booth how I like, get everything in place and staked down so the wind cannot take it. Put my tables and shelves where they need to go, and can play without tripping over my inventory.  When I get to the site, these are the first things I need from the car, and after they are out I stop and do that much setup before going further. 

Next, the Displays:

•  Inventory (Include checklist for what my inventory should be, so I can click things off and make sure I've not left a box at home - I did that once, lost out on many sales since it was a box of 90 of my most popular item!)
• Baskets / Boxes / Small Risers
• Signs
• Chalk Marker for Signs
• Custom Book with Stand
• Business Cards & Stands
• Bags & Tissue
• Display S-Hooks, two sizes
• Ring Clips (for Draperies, usually, but I use them to hang up things like purses or table runners)
• Small Notebook / Pen (For taking notes about who my neighbors are and what they have that I might want, phone numbers, notes I need for the next day)
• Rugs for individual large items, if not using a rug for the whole booth.  (I buy carpet remnants for this task, or a painting canvas drop-cloth if I want a large rug I don't mind throwing out)
• Painters Tape
• Gaffer's Tape
• Double Sided Tape
• Camera
• Check Sim Card
• Batteries

Before I actually unpack any inventory, I take pictures of the set up from multiple angles, and spend a little time walking around - maybe 15 minutes - so I can walk back through and see my booth from a distance.  That way I can make any changes without worrying about having to empty shelves.  I make sure when doing this that I approach the booth from all directions possible.  Often at outdoor shows potential customers will walk up from either side, across from a 45 degree angle, and across from straight across.  So I check all these angles, and if my booth is seen from the back I make sure it looks nice there, too.  Then I unpack my wares and see how it looks full, and take pictures of that, too. 

The last checklist that's really important is the 'day of' checklist.  This is the last of everything I'm bringing to the booth the morning of, and it usually fits in two or three small containers that I plan on carrying to my booth. 

•  The Cash Box
• $200 Change - $100 in Ones, $50 each in Fives and Tens.  I cannot count the numbers of times I have had extra Ones handy to help out a fellow vendor in need, but good will is appreciated!
• Receipt books - one for each day of the show plus one extra just in case.  (Note: I rarely have gone through more than two 50 ticket books in a given show, but I'm optimistic.  Also, since I buy them in 8 packs, it's not a burden.)
• Pens
• Stickers for Receipts - I hate writing my business name a thousand times when I could have stickers on them ahead of time.  I do one book before the show, and bring the rest with me to do there if I don't have work to stitch on.
• Square - the lifesaver, the sales-maker, the awesome thing that plugs in my phone and makes my credit card processing possible.  :)  
• Inventory List & Price List - just in case tags fall off / are torn away in travel.
• Cash Divider - I have a small cardboard folded accordion for my cash box that lets me keep all the bills upright, and keeps them sorted for easy change making.
• Checkbooks - both personal and business.  
• Small Wallet with my ID and Credit Card - just in case.  There's a potter I keep seeing at shows, and she makes the most lovely bowls...I've started quite the collection.
• Small shammy for cleaning my glasses / phone
• Charging Cable for my phone (if indoor show with access to electricity)  
• The Marketing Bag
• Blank Custom Order Sheets for Growth Charts
• Blank Custom Order Sheets for Stuffed Animals
• Blank Custom Order Sheets for Miscellaneous
• Pens
• Sketch Pad
• Colored Pencils
• Small Ruler
• The Project Box
• The unfinished work I plan on finishing at the show
• Small Sewing Bag
• Thread in colors needed
• Needles in needle case
• Small Snips for trimming threads
• Buttons, felt accessories, etc. to finish items in box, if needed
• The Cooler (I might not have much time to eat at the show, much less time to go find food)
• Water Bottles - at least a liter, every day.
• Sandwiches
• Chocolate
• Pretzels and Mustard
• Small Cheeses
• Hard Boiled Eggs, Pre-Peeled
• Cookies
• Jerky
• Mocha Frappacinos - 2 per day
• Ice Packs

That pretty much covers my checklists for a given show.  I trim things off, of course, when doing an indoor show - a lot of the first list and some of the last go away, especially for a one day affair.  But by making my lists ahead of time, I'm a lot more successful, and ready, and confident.  Don't underestimate the value of being prepared - it will show in your demeanor, and that will get you more sales - it will make you seem very professional.  

At the end of the show I re-print my list, and use it to make sure everything makes it back into the van.  I make my notes on the back, and and tuck it in the cash box when I'm all done, where it waits until January for me to pull it out and type up the additions / subtractions.  This year's notes are fairly simple:

1. Get new rug for booth, or consider other alternative for individual items that must sit on the ground at outdoor show - old rug too stained to clean.
2. Order more hooks for Yard Tree for mobile display - make more mobile types.  
3. Figure out better / easier risers out of PVC for next year.  Need to be lighter, easy to stack
4. Paint PVC & Shelving - Shelving should be white, PVC purple or green
5. Sand and re-paint ladder.  Then give clear coat or four to make it easier to wipe down.  Consider using wood putty to fix some of the dings / scrapes in steps, give a cleaner look
6. Consider rounding the edges of the shelves.
7. Consider drilling holes so shelves can be bolted to ladder - sturdier, less dangerous.
8. Redo chalk signs with white chalk marker instead of purple - white is much easier to read.  Maybe purple accents.
9. Consider spray painting all baskets to match each other - white, maybe, or copper.
10. Sew covers for PVC risers when they are finalized.  White or purple or green, depending on what works best and what fabric I want to buy.  Consider doing in stretch so they are fitted. 
11. Take more pictures!  Photograph everything before it leaves the house.  Get photo booth out and set up in Silhouette alcove, if nowhere else, and arrange with lamps.  
12. Make more of the Growth Charts - this time at least two fancy ones, as well as the simple versions. 
13. Look for better shoes for outdoor shows - got massive blisters from last set.  Sneakers?  Boots?  See what I can find that looks nice but also feels good and doesn't get ripped off my feet by the mud like my clogs.
14. Start early on package for Juried show at the University.  Really, really want a booth next Christmas.

Just remember - every show is different, and you'll need to adjust your list accordingly.  List out individual display pieces - and their parts, if needed.  Organize your list by how it goes together.  The more preparation you do ahead of time, the less stress you'll have on the day of the show.  Which leads to having a good time, being in a good head space to enjoy your clients, and make more sales than ever!  Remember to smile!

My next few posts will probably be a bit about product development.  How I decide what products make the cut, and which ideas get put on the back burner for future shows.  Looking forward to writing then!