This week I learnt to appreciate the importance of diversifying a client base and constantly marketing myself. I was fortunate eenough to land a cover story assignment for a monthly magazine for the construction and architectural industry, and finally nailed a regular slot for a monthly consumer magazine.
But, I also found out that a regular client has run out of money to fund a publication, so there will not longer be regular assignments coming from that quarter. For a moment there it was scary, but then, I had to remind myself that, when one door closes, another door opens.
A girl’s gotta sell
Entrepreneur’s day at Baby’s school went very well. Her stall was perfectly positioned near the school gate, so potential clients would not miss her. However, it still took a while to attract the attention of the people attending the event.
That is, until she decided to work the crowd holding some of the merchandise for inspection.
“A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, and this girl has got to sell,” she said when she marched off with some of the ear-rings, necklaces, hair clips and alice bands. I remained at the stand, selling to customers she referred to the stand because she did not have the precise item they wanted on her person, and the ones that were wandering around the “market.”
Baby made over R230 during the 3 hours the school market was open. She has some left-over stock that she’s selling today, and we’ll package the rest as birthday presents for her friends.
Lesson I learnt: Kids need to learn the art of marketing and selling at an early age, so they are comfortable in a business environment even if they choose not to operate their own businesses.
Baby also learnt that the choice of stock for a particular audience is important. “Maybe next time I’ll provide a service. You don’t have to spend too much on stock and most of the money you make it profit,” she said, watching the long queues at the stall of a friend of hers who was offering massages and manicures.
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