Being a market vendor is more visible than having a typical job. What you do in public reflects not only on you but also on the market itself.

As we are preparing to go to a market tomorrow morning, I am reminded of a lady at this market. I’ve had a few interactions with her and bought one of her pieces a couple of years ago. She seemed like an okay, but intense individual. She seemed to do well at markets and we used to see her at our regular markets and some church shows.

The market that we are going to tomorrow is definitely pet-friendly. We love it when people bring their dogs to market. We have to leave ours at home when we go to market so it gives us a “dog fix” at times throughout the day.

One thing that I know about dogs is that they like to mark their territory. They pee. They pee often. They pee on just about anything.

Well, this lady had a dog pee on one her tent weights and she went absolutely ballistic. She yelled at the owner to clean it up and scolded the owner for allowing their dog to do that. She was loud and obnoxious and griped about it for hours after the fact.

Another individual that I used to see often at markets made the local news. However, this was not in a good way. He was among a list of 150+ individuals that had been arrested for soliciting prostitution in an effort to cut down on human trafficking.

What do these two have in common? We USED to see them at markets. They are no longer invited to any of the markets that we regularly go to.

It seems that all of the market managers know each other. Even if they don’t, word gets around quickly if someone is evicted from a market or gets arrested. If you are ever banned from one market, it is highly likely that you will be banned from multiple markets.

Market managers don’t want any drama. They want people there who are reliable, gracious, personable, and consistent. They want their markets to be drama-free and safe for all of their customers. It doesn’t take being arrested to be de-listed from a market. Anything that brings negative attention or concern to a market manager is more than enough.

It is important to remember to be aware of your actions and how they may affect you not only in your private life but also in your market life. Being a small business owner and selling at markets has it’s own set of unique stresses. Having grace is key here. Monica always reminds me to have grace, but it is easy to forget.

“Grace can take you places that hustling can’t”