Bake Sale Trial Run

Zoe has been wanting to sell baked goods at our local farmer’s market to make money. I told her we could do a trial run and make a few items that would stay fresh for a few days so we weren’t stuck making and selling everything in the same day. So, one Sunday, we spent three hours making one batch each of brownies, banana bread mini-loaves, zucchini bread muffins, and chocolate chip cookies. My dad taught me years ago that “a fast nickel is better than a slow dime,” so I made sure to keep the servings small (ish) and the prices low. After deciding we could sell each portion for a dollar each, Zoe and I bagged each portion and created a sample plate, intending to go door-to-door down the street to get a sense of what would sell. That was, of course, after a quick poison-control-check and setting aside a couple samples for a second opinion later.

Our first stop was to our next-door neighbor, a young family with two small children, who Zoe likes to talk to. Unfortunately, they weren’t home. As we were leaving, I noticed a group of half a dozen men on a driveway across the street near a work truck and suggested we stop over and ask if they would like some samples. She insisted that I do the talking. We walked up to the men, who gave us their immediate attention, and introduced ourselves, telling them we were preparing for a farmer’s market and asked if they would like to try any samples or buy any baked goods for a dollar. After only moments, one of the gentlemen said they would buy the entire supply. I tried to give them a discount for buying in bulk, but he insisted he would pay full-price and handed over a wad of cash. We happily handed over the platter of samples, which they devoured in minutes. We mentioned that we also sold pot-holders and could sew blankets, pillows, and even crochet. One man asked if we could make potholders with their logo, which I stated we would be happy to do so. I walked away with an empty Tupperware and a child grinning from ear to ear with enough cash to cover the cost of ingredients and then some. We even got a business card and an invitation to send them an email with my contact information for potential sewing work.

Of course, Zoe was psyched that we made money “in only five minutes” but I then had to remind her that we had spent several hours in the baking process. It looks like we will need to make some double-batches before we can go to our first farmer’s market…or we could just walk around and find hungry, hard-working, laborers who haven’t had lunch yet.

At any rate, here’s a very grateful shoutout to the gentlemen at Uncle Kim’s Flooring, LLC in Arizona. I personally haven’t hired them for any work, but you can bet they will be the first on my list if I ever need any type of flooring done. It’s hard to find that kind of customer service nowadays.