Yup. It’s a new year. What does 2019 have in store for you?

2018 was a crazy ride for us. So much so that I took last week off just to focus on stuff that needed to be done around the house and catch up with family and watch all the movies that I’ve missed over the past year. It’s going to take far more than a week to catch up on all of the stuff that I’ve neglected around here.

However, today is January 1st. It’s time to get back to work. We traditionally don’t do any markets in January but instead use it as the time we need to recover from December’s craziness and get a head start on the year to come. We will take inventory, look at our sales reports, determine which products to discontinue, determine which products to add, and order supplies to try to get us through the first six months of the year.

January is also a month that we use for reorganization. Over the course of the last year, we have accumulated a bunch of crap. It may be display items that were used for a special show, leftover supplies that were used for a custom order, or even scrap material that I just didn’t want to throw out because I might find a use for it someday.

On top of that, my shop is a total disaster. It is full of dust and scraps and pieces of projects laying all over the place. January is the month to clean the shop, sharpen tools and organize for the coming months.

Whether you are a vendor or not, it seems that the beginning of the year causes all people to declutter and organize. This is evident by all the sales and specials for storage bins and shelving at the local Home Depot and Lowe’s. Now is a good time to take advantage of those sales to make your life more organized.

For those of you that aren’t vendors yet but are considering it, this is the year that you have been waiting for! This is the year that you should start selling at your farmer’s market, craft market or church show.

Take your first step and go visit a market. Talk to the vendors and the market organizer. Learn what the requirements are to be a part of their market. If you don’t fit their requirements, there are other markets and shows out there that would love to have you!

For new vendors and seasoned vendors, now it the time to set your goals. Which markets will you apply for? What will you need to do to get into bigger shows? How will you improve your profits and sales? It is a great time to look at last year and discover what you did right and what you could do better.

One of my goals for the year is to write more blog posts. I also have a few videos that I want to make as well.

In the mean time, it is time to clean the shop, organize and sharpen all my tools to get ready for 2019. It is also time to learn new skills and put them to use. I hope you do the same.

See you at market!