Setting up shop! (Welcome to "Lulu's".)

[big brown horse]

Thanks Valmon.

Hmmm.....how is five pounds only 40 loads? I use little sandwich bags, less than half full, to make up mixes and use the water method to make two gallons of the liquid, which does 64 loads at about 1.4 cents per load. Yours is about ten times that. Still a good deal, but....are you giving instructions as for a dry mix? I suspect people still put too much of the dry mix into each wash. Just thinking out loud here. I'm super frugal, and don't even know what laundry soap at the store costs anymore!

My recipe is:
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
1 bar grated fells napta (sp?)
1 cup baking soda
1 cup salt (for hard water)
The directions say 1/4 cup per load. Do you think it should be a smaller scoopful per load? (Which would be good...)

I got my tag making supplies today! I'm doing the tea (probably coffee) stained version just like the one mentioned in framing fowl's post. I have a paper cutter leftover from my teaching days. (I even have a pocket laminator with lots of laminate for the little signs.

My friend volunteered at a salmon hatchery yesterday and came home with 6 HUGE (free!) salmon. She canned, smoked and froze as much as she could and called me to get the rest. I got 5 whole fillets, plus the extra skin for the chickens!! Anyway, while I was there she asked me if I wanted a cute, small chest of drawers and a very cute paper shaded floor lamp. Guess where they are going? I scored today for sure!

 

[Britesea]

I would like to throw a cautionary word out.... Don't price your goods TOO low, or people will think there is something wrong with them. Take a look at what the price points are for similar items in your area to get an average of what people expect to pay for these goods. I remember a show I did where nothing was selling at all the first day of the 2 day show. So I came out to my booth early the next morning and changed all the price tags to about 15% higher than they had been the day before, and suddenly I was making sales! Even if I had someone wanting a discount, I could still give them a 15% discount and they were very happy and I hadn't lost any money giving them the discount.

Another idea I saw someone else being successful with was a bunch of inexpensive freshwater pearl bracelets strung on stretchy line. They were every color of the rainbow and they were priced at $5 each (this was when a 30" strand of freshwater pearls cost $3 wholesale). People would grab one of each color in their wardrobe, and even though their total bill was mounting up-- their mind was saying "It's ONLY $5! Goody Goody!"

 

[big brown horse]

I would like to throw a cautionary word out.... Don't price your goods TOO low, or people will think there is something wrong with them. Take a look at what the price points are for similar items in your area to get an average of what people expect to pay for these goods. I remember a show I did where nothing was selling at all the first day of the 2 day show. So I came out to my booth early the next morning and changed all the price tags to about 15% higher than they had been the day before, and suddenly I was making sales! Even if I had someone wanting a discount, I could still give them a 15% discount and they were very happy and I hadn't lost any money giving them the discount.

Another idea I saw someone else being successful with was a bunch of inexpensive freshwater pearl bracelets strung on stretchy line. They were every color of the rainbow and they were priced at $5 each (this was when a 30" strand of freshwater pearls cost $3 wholesale). People would grab one of each color in their wardrobe, and even though their total bill was mounting up-- their mind was saying "It's ONLY $5! Goody Goody!"

Good point.

 

[big brown horse]

How many cloth napkins should I put in a set?

 

[freemotion]

Thanks Valmon.

Hmmm.....how is five pounds only 40 loads? I use little sandwich bags, less than half full, to make up mixes and use the water method to make two gallons of the liquid, which does 64 loads at about 1.4 cents per load. Yours is about ten times that. Still a good deal, but....are you giving instructions as for a dry mix? I suspect people still put too much of the dry mix into each wash. Just thinking out loud here. I'm super frugal, and don't even know what laundry soap at the store costs anymore!

My recipe is:
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
1 bar grated fells napta (sp?)
1 cup baking soda
1 cup salt (for hard water)
The directions say 1/4 cup per load. Do you think it should be a smaller scoopful per load? (Which would be good...)

I'd say probably a tablespoon per load and probably less would work, too. You could say it does "up to___ loads" and give instructions for them to start with a tablespoon and go up from there. Say it depends on their water and what type of dirt in their laundry....a mechanic's clothes would need more than a librarian's clothes, I'd think! (Depends on the librarian, as I'm thinking of my librarian friend who is not afraid to get dirty in her garden or with her projects! )

 

[old fashioned]

Well, you already have lots of great ideas & advise. And I agree with Britesea about pricing too low. Don't forget to include your time invested, and that you are selling 'natural & organic' specialty products that are 'hand crafted'...not mass produced. Many eons ago when I was in Decca in HS, we were taught to charge 2.5 over cost and that was before the dinosaur. If using that formula today, your laundry soap should be around $7.50 (cost $3.00 x 2.5 = $7.50). You didn't mention your cost for the Castille soap, but $2.50 sounds like a bargain to me & I'm so cheap I squeek I would think if you even raised that price to $3 per bar it would still be well worth it.......unless of course you're selling very small bars then le$$ would be good.

I love those kind of places too & I tend to gravitate toward those decorated in homey, farmy, antiquey fashion & not too cluttered or busy. I usually don't go anymore cause I know I'd spend too much.


Oh wait...I do have a few ideas....books--older cookbooks, farming or animal books, gardening books, etc. You don't have to have many, but a few are always good. And other farm pics too to go with your sheep pics. In fact if you can, include pics of something that ties in with your products...Sheep for wool items, laundry hanging on the line for laundry soap, goats by a bucket of milk for goats milk soap, sorry I couldn't think of anything for castille soap but I think you get the idea here. If you don't have pics of those things, look in old magazines, calanders, etc.
And last but not least....a small bowl with some mints or hard candies free for the customers...it's kind of a sneaky way of finding out if people are paying attention to your booth or not. If days go by & all your candy is still there, then nobody is visiting your booth & you'll know you'll have to improve it somehow. Or if all your candy is gone in a matter of a few hours, atleast you'll know people are very interested. It's not a fool proof plan...people may be diabetics or toothless...or very hungry or a bunch of kids...but it can give you an idea or you can use business cards with your contact info. Actual sales aren't always the best way to judge interest. Just because they didn't buy today doesn't mean they won't be back tomorrow...with some like minded friends.

I wish you the best as a new enterapenuar (I know that's not spelled right :/ )

 

[gettinaclue]

How many cloth napkins should I put in a set?

4

 

[framing fowl]

I agree with old-fashioned -if you can find some old cookbooks or old farm books. They're like a magnet to me!

 

[big brown horse]

Great ideas! Thanks!!


Now, as far as packaging the laundry soap up. A thought: laundry powder inside ziplock bags inside brown paper bags (stamped with "homemade") with a cute tie and adorable price tag that I'm making? I would love to use mason jars, but the price goes through the roof that way. Any other ideas?

You guys are priceless by the way, your ideas are all wonderful, thanks soooo much!!

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

How about placing the little bags inside small Chinese take out boxes. You can find them in bulk at paper stores and restaurant suppliers.