A stall owner’s top tips for making a mark at Finders Keepers Market

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ONE.CHEW.THREE all started with a brand new tooth. While on maternity leave with two young boys to look after, Elisa Reeves became obsessed with finding the perfect baby safe alternative to all of the plastic teething products out there. But she couldn’t. So, she decided to start a business for herself. Crafting non-toxic handmade teething toys and jewellery using food grade silicone and naturally antibacterial beechwood, ONE.CHEW.THREE offers a boutique twist on a childhood essential.

Here at Xero, our driving force is helping small businesses like Elisa’s to do beautiful business. Which is why we’re excited to sponsor Finders Keepers – a design market that features the work of over 1200 independent makers and designers from across the country. Showing at this weekend’s Brisbane edition, we sat down with Elisa to discover her top tips on mastering the market for prospective stall owners.

What is your top piece of advice for someone who’s starting their first market stall?

Firstly, I’d say: just do it! Getting out there and making it happen is the most important step. When I first started the journey with ONE.CHEW.THREE, getting the brand out there at markets was really important. And while it can be daunting running your first stall, the chance to receive face-to-face feedback from customers makes it all worth it. You’ll soon find out that launching into this arena is about much more than just selling stuff.

What’s the best way to take payment system to use at the market?

We actually use Square, which accepts credit and debit cards from iPhone, iPad, or Android devices, and integrates with Xero instantly. Xero automatically syncs Square transactions and keeps track of things like fees, tips, and refunds which certainly makes running the stall a whole lot easier for us.

What’s the best way to make your stall or product stand out amongst the hundreds of others at Finders Keepers?

Because we’re a smaller business, we need to do the set up by ourselves. I try to make the space as inviting as possible and ensure that people can clearly see what we’re offering as they walk past. The other thing I like to do is make sure pricing is visible to avoid any confusion. The best part about Finders Keepers is that there’s just so much inspiration to be found from other stalls. So I always make sure I allow the time to take a walk and admire what everybody else is doing. That way, I come home with plenty of fresh ideas.

How do you use Finders Keepers as an opportunity to connect with and grow your social media following?

It’s all about preparation. ONE.CHEW.THREE is entirely online, we don’t have any physical stores. Because of this, we use social media to connect with our customers and encourage them to come along to see us at Finders Keepers. We also make sure everything on our stall has our social media details – that way, people who connect with our brand on the day can follow along with our journey online.

How do you keep growing the engagement with your customers via social media?

Content is king! Social media changes so much that understanding what your customers are actually looking for is key. And that comes with time and experience. I always closely follow how people are interacting with our content, and use that to drive what we do next.

The one thing I swear by with social media is not getting too bogged down by the numbers. It’s not about having the most likes. It’s not about having the most engagement. Yes, that’s important – but as long as you’re getting something out there, then people are seeing it. Keep it genuine and don’t stress the small things.

Find out when Finders Keepers is coming to your city here.

It’s official: from 1 July 2019, all Australian small business owners are required to digitally report their payroll information to the ATO through Single Touch Payroll (STP). Join the team behind Finders Keepers in discovering that STP is only a few clicks away with Xero.

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