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Hot take: I thought selling my sourdough at the farmers market was easy money, then I did the math after 3 Saturdays in Findlay
When I started baking sourdough at home about 8 months ago, my kitchen filled up fast and my friends kept telling me I should sell it, so I figured a booth at the Findlay farmers market would be money for nothing. I paid $35 a Saturday for the spot, stayed up until 2am Friday doing my bake, and sold out my first week, which made me feel like a genius. Then after the third Saturday I actually sat down with a notebook and added everything up, and between flour, jars of starter feed, labels, bags, and the propane for my outdoor oven, I was clearing about $4 an hour, which is less than I made bagging groceries in high school. The thing that killed me was bread that didn't sell, because day old loaves go half price and whatever's left goes to the chickens. What convinced me to keep going anyway was a regular named Deb who now orders two loaves every week and pays upfront, so I dropped the booth and just do porch pickup for repeat folks. My advice to anyone thinking about this is to track your hours for a month before you buy a single sticker for a table banner. Has anyone here made the jump from market booths to straight preorders, and did your profit actually get better or just your sleep?
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ellis.susan4d ago
The whole market booth thing is a trap for people who are good at a craft but bad at math. I have watched it happen with candle makers, jam ladies, and a guy who welded garden art out of old wrenches. The market takes your money, your sleep, and your Saturdays, and what it gives back is exposure, which does not pay the electric bill. Preorders flip the whole deal because now the customer comes to you and pays before you bake, so there is no guessing and no half price table at 2pm. Once you know exactly how many loaves to make, the profit math gets real simple in a hurry. Your Deb is the whole lesson here, one regular who pays upfront beats fifty strangers who might buy a loaf.
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