Blackbusinesscircle.com Founder and President Lisa Washington offer tips on vending

Blackbusinesscircle.com Founder and President Lisa Washington offer tips on vending

Let’s look at some ways where everyone pitches in to make events better.

Vendors get information on places where they have opportunities to sell their products and services. Some vendors do this for a living. They scout out the best possible places they hope will generate the most income for them.

Experienced vendors will plan and prepare ahead of time. But, still here are some tips that can help make a vending experience run smoother for a better desired result.

1. Find out if there is a fee for general admission. This fee has nothing to do with the fee that vendors pay to be vendors.

2. Once you have decided to be a vendor at an event, if possible, find out from the event planners/organizers if they have marketing material like flyers or other literature that can be used to promote the event. If so, try to get your hands on the material and exercise your natural marketing skills. If not, then make sure to ask how they (the event planners/organizers plan to promote the event.)

3. Take responsibility. Start talking to your network about the event right away. Those within your network are family, friends, co-workers and neighbors. Get a minimum of 10 people to attend. You will be a vendor at the event, so be excited when communicating to your network.

Remember you are in business to make money and you plan to be there. That's something to get excited about. If every vendor makes a commitment to get 10 people to attend, each then takes the responsibility of making sure that the numbers are present. Do not depend on the venue or event planners/organizers.

Many times because they have their own agenda, we depend on them for the wrong things, expecting a certain number of consumers to be in attendance, this is where we fail in terms of reaching our desired result. You must take the responsibility, making every effort to make sure that you walk away with profits.

You may have to follow-up with your network contacts a least three times before the event, with telephone calls, emails, word-of-mouth, flyers and then some. Everyone, together pulling in the resources to make sure the intersection of financial success meet at these events.

2. Find out from the event planners/organizations if there will be food vendors. If so, you may or may not want to bring your own food. Knowing this can help you to decide whether to prepare and bring your own food.

3. Two to three days before the event make sure that you have single one dollar bills, enough change just in case you need it. There are times when people will give you large bills and you want to always be prepared. Finding out if others have change for you really takes away from your ability to provide excellent customer service. It also takes you away from your vending space, which is a NO, NO.

Clearly, we cannot avoid using the rest rooms, but be sure to empty your bladder, before leaving home. And once you are completely setup at the venue, try to empty your bladder again.



4. Please think cooperatively. Vendors need each other. Keep the energy levels high. Consumers are attracted to positive energy, especially when they are spending money.

5. Be creative. At the end of the day your profit margin is depended much on your creative abilities to generate profits.

There will be times when an event may need help, in terms of getting people to purchase. (vendors you all know what I mean…)

6. Don’t be selfish. Don’t promote yourself. One vendor should always promote another with the event planners/organizers. Get the people in charge to take notice of another vendor and press the people in charge to plug another vendor.

When that vendor makes money. Then that vendor should find honest clever ways to direct the consumers to other vendors. And certainly vendors should seek out other vendors at that same event who can supply their own needs.

It is a blessing when we have opportunities to do business. Again, building and cultivating wealth creation, in terms of economic empowerment has to be the responsibility of both the event planners and the participating vendors.

Event planners must promote events to the best of their abilities and have informational material ready and available for distribution, talking it up and/or advertising it up, making sure that a certain amount of people show up to support vendors and support economic empowerment through dollar circulation.

Likewise, vendors also have a responsibility to invite a minimum of 10 people to events where they are appearing. Yes, sometimes that requires a little extra effort like following-up a few times. It’s not all about "TAKING," in the sense of setting up a table and selling, it’s about totally preparing for that day’s event.


Here’s an example for us to examine.

If an event committee consisted of a chairperson and five co-chairs, not only do they plan the event, but each must step up to the plate and take the responsibility to make sure that each are generating the proper number of attendees or audience participants.

For example let’s say that a venue holds 950 people. Each person on the committee each should somehow generate 100 people to attend. It’s not as hard as it sounds. Get a commitment from 10 people.

They could be any combination of family, friends, co-workers, neighbors and your community and faith-based leaders that will commitment to "showing up", especially if you have and still support them. You feed them. Then they should do the same for you.

Get those 10 people to invite 12 of their family, friends, co-workers and neighbors. We’re looking at a minimum of 600 hundred people.

Now let’s add in the numbers from participating vendors. If for example, 35 vendors take responsibility to invite 10 of their family, friends, co-worker and neighbors, we’re looking at a minimum of 350 people in attendance. Now let’s add the efforts of the event planners/organizers, which is 600 people and now add the efforts of participating vendors, which is 350, that gives us a total of 950.

Being a successful vendor at times require more than just vending. Together, both event planners/organizers and vendors must pull in the resources to pull off a successful and profitable event where everyone has an opportunity to walk away with something.


Repetition is the mother of success. So. let’s recap and look at this again. If there are thirty-five vendors in a room each generates 10 attendees, consumers that show up. That’s 350 people in the room. Now Let’s say the event committee generates 600 people, each gets 100 people to attend. Now add 350 and 600. Think about it. That's close to 1000 people, 950 to be exact.

We all build, we all cultivate, we all promote, we all show up, we all participate, we all buy and everyone wins. When there is a fair exchange of energy, (from start to finish) everyone benefits and great profits are earned, because everyone showed up.

People eat. Rent and mortgages are paid. The venue should not be the sole benefactor of all our good efforts. They have a name for that. (but let’s not go there).

Moreover, if vendors pay money to be vendors, they set up their vendor spaces, they are their to work. Many of them can not leave their posts. Hospitality should be accessible at all times. They’ve already paid you money.

In return, give them excellent service. In some cases, not only have they financed your event, they are also asked to make donations for many events. They are now paying twice. Great churches, great organizations, great businesses, exhibit your great leadership, at least feed the vendors. Give them water.

See here’s the deal. When your church or organization is receiving more from the people it is claiming to help, you are than no longer servants. (the church, the organization) are no longer the servant. Our ability to serve or be a servant is then false and must be re-captured.

Many have said, “We give vendors opportunities to setup and sell.” But where exactly is the opportunity if everyone didn’t do all that needs to be done (on the organizational side or the planning side or the promotional side or the marketing side or the word of mouth side or the announcements side to make sure that people show up so that vendors have true opportunities.

Certainly we can all improve. Learn and recognize that the responsibility is all of ours.

FINAL THOUGHT: Keep inviting people. And people… “keep showing up.”

Black Business Circle Power Up! June 4, 2005 Black Business Circle will be presenting Power Up! A Day of Pampering Total Empowerment Fitness for Today’s Women!

Conversation and Dialogue on Business Development, Faith and Empowerment, Health Empowerment, Entertainment Empowerment and more will be presented at Power Up! Women Empowerment Day Faith and Business Empowerment "Changing the Way Blacks do Business with Each Other" Health Empowerment” Reducing Stress" Women in Media "TV, Radio, Print and Advertising" Men for Women Empowerment "Branding Style and Public Image" Entertainment, Food, Networking

Power Up! Will be held on Saturday, June 4, 2005
12:00 noon – 4:00 pm 1320 Sutter Avenue (between Hemlock and Crescent St.) Brooklyn, NY 11208 1.718.277.5588 Advance registration only Click link below http://www.blackbusinesscircle.com/Registration.htm Absolutely No Door Sales!


The Men’s Empowerment Day "Man 2 Man" segment will be held on Saturday, June 11, 2005 at Greater Bright Light Baptist Church 1320 Sutter Avenue, Brooklyn, New York.

The event will begin at 12:00 noon and end at 4:00 pm. Men Empowerment Day will include discussions for men on Faith and Business Empowerment, Black Male Empowerment, Community Empowerment, Legal Empowerment, Image and Public Relations Empowerment, etc.

For more information concerning advance vendor registration or advance registration policy, regarding the upcoming Men’s Empowerment Day segment of Conversations and Dialogue on Empowerment with Men). You may log on to our web site at http://www.blackbusinesscircle.com/ or email us at blackbusinesscircle@yahoo.com

In addition and Economic Empowerment Reception will be held on June 17, 2005 click on link below to register for Economic Empowerment Reception. http://www.blackbusinesscircle.com/Registration.htm