Vendor Insurance/Business License
Soon after we launched JamBusters! we knew we had to run it as a business. As a result, we hold a Town of Princeton Business License and carry Vendor Insurance. Both of these items came up for renewal this month and they renewed our energy for the new year.
Schedule Changes
In February 2019 we vended one day at the Mainly For Women event at the Oliver Community Centre. It was a busy day for us but this year we dropped that event from our schedule. Last year we had six ‘extra’ vending dates/venues planned but could only attend four of them. That’s a huge drop from 2018 where we had twelve events away from the Oliver Indoor Flea Market scheduled. Both George and I have discussed this at great length and have decided to chop that number even further in 2020. We have only three ‘extra’ events scheduled at this point and will likely leave it at that.
The reasons for cutting back on additional vending shows is related to our inventory and overall logistics. George doesn’t want to pack the car up with inventory that will leave a hole in our stock at the Oliver Indoor Flea Market. Sure, we could make a lot more but that’s more work for me in the kitchen. I like the pace I have right now. I only make products when we need them and not to stockpile for a big event out-of-town. We may add a couple of smaller events into the calendar once the year gets underway, but for now, we will stay with what we have booked to date and try to keep it at that.
A Brief Look At Numbers
Since we decided not to be so reliant on sales figures and trying to match or beat them regularly, it has slightly changed our focus. However, we do still track our sales. Our best week so far this year was February 15 & 16, 2020 which saw us sell a total of 32 jars over the two days. That is pretty good for this time of year and we will probably still finish the month with 100+ jars sold.
Playing The Road Trip Game Again
To accommodate George’s ghostwriting schedule we are back to traveling to Oliver on Saturday mornings rather than Friday afternoons. We still spend a night with our friends Don and Sherrill in Osoyoos but staying home Friday has given George a full day extra to service his clients rather than a partial day. We made our first Saturday morning trip on February 8 and got to the market in Oliver at 12:30 PM due to road conditions. The following Saturday, February 15, we made it by 9:45 AM, again due to road conditions. The following Saturday, February 23, we got to the market parking lot at 7:30 AM, a full 30-minutes before opening.
New Look Display
Regular customers of ours from Penticton gave me a huge surprise on Sunday, February 24. The previous week a conversation with them led to the possibility of a new display rack being built to hold jars of JamBusters! products. What I didn’t expect was for it to be completed so soon and that it looked so professionally made. Matt created a stunning five-tier rack for me that allows for the display of several more jars than the plastic three-tier units I had been using. It sounds like he may end up replacing all of my display racks which would clean up the look of our display booth. We have been so lucky to meet some great people as part of our vending life.
Follow Us Online
For regular updates on what I’m doing in the kitchen and when we are vending, follow JamBusters! on Facebook. You can find us HERE.