My plan is to grow slowly and learn some lessons as I build the business. I’ve scheduled in some school fairs to get me started. I’m aiming for a receptive and supportive crowd to view my wares, give me some feedback and hopefully buy a few things!

The day came for my first fair. This was the day I’d been working towards for months and that would start me along the road to becoming a fully fledged retailer! My goal was to have enough things to fill a stall, to try out some visual merchandising and to start spreading awareness of The Letterman Co by handing out some flyers. I went in with moderate expectations. School fairs are not occasions where parents expect to spend large amounts of money. Most come with a few quid for a raffle ticket, a turn on the bouncy castle, a face paint and a burger. I wasn’t holding my breath for great sales but was hoping for a bit of positive feedback and for people to like the look of the brand, leave with a flyer and then visit the website. That was all it would take to make me feel that it had been worthwhile.

After a slow first hour, and a few casual glances, I finally got my first sale! It was only a greetings card but it was a start. Next came some T-shirt orders, more cards, and firm interest in the posters! A local store I’m a fan of expressed an interest in stocking a few of my products. I was well chuffed!

Over the course of the day I made a tonne of notes about what I could do better and how I could improve things for the next fair. And it was all thanks to some wonderfully supportive local parents. A few words of encouragement was all I needed to fill me with the confidence to keep working hard and driving this idea forward.

Of course I couldn’t have done it without the help of my Letterman Co models (paid in candy floss of course!).