Last weekend I participated in a local market for the first time.
I feel like I’ve been waiting for the magic pill that gives me the license to meet people face to face. I figured that if I first built a decent social presence, then I earned the right to be a real brand in front of real people in real life. Then I realized how backwards that thinking was, so I found a market, paid my vendor fee, and didn’t give myself a reason to back out.
Making sales or even just participating in the market was not the win for me, it was deciding to do more than post on socials and wait for virality. I truly believe that this brand has value and I need to do a better job of trusting that belief. I think this past weekend marks a pretty meaningful moment for the brand. I have so many ideas of ways to show up, products to build, and stories to tell and I’m choosing not to wait for the right moment to take action on those ideas.
One of those ideas is to periodically post thoughts like these! I’ve started keeping a daily journal to keep track of the internal monologue that exists outside of my regular posting and waiting routine. That journal will occasionally result in an email or post like this where I speak from my own voice rather than the voice of TAKE. I’m hoping that this feels like a more authentic way to tell the “founder story” without becoming a cliche.
TL;DR: I participated in a market last weekend and it didn’t go particularly well in terms of business success, but it left me feeling confident and excited to do more things that I’ve previously deemed unnecessary for a brand that doesn’t sell much.
If this is something that you enjoy, I’d love to hear from you! I’m debating whether or not to add these to a blog style section on the website.
-Trent