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Our biggest market yet: lessons from the North Beach Festival
A few months ago, we applied to the North Beach Festival.
For a while, we weren’t sure whether we would be accepted. The organizers received many applications, and the selection process took longer than expected. Then one day, an email arrived: we were in.
This year was the festival’s 72nd edition. For two days, North Beach filled with artists, makers, musicians, food vendors, and visitors enjoying one of San Francisco’s oldest street fairs.
We printed extra cards, spent days writing messages on covers, and headed to North Beach excited to see what the weekend would bring.
Within the first hour, we realized this festival operated very differently from the smaller markets we had attended.
There was a steady flow of visitors all day long. In the narrow street, with booths packed closely together, sitting down to write a letter to the future simply didn’t fit the rhythm of the festival. There wasn’t room for an easel and pet portraits either. Most visitors weren’t looking for long conversations or newsletter signups.
The festival moved at a different pace, and we needed to fit our setup to the festival.
We removed the letter-writing area, put away the signup sheet, pushed our card displays closer to the front of the booth, and focused on making everything easy to browse.
A while ago, ZĂŠlia, who is a big Lord of the Rings fan, painted Gollum for fun. It wasn’t originally meant to become a product. She shared the painting on Instagram while it was still in progress, and almost immediately, someone asked for a print.
That led us to print a few posters and cards, even though we weren’t sure anyone would buy them.
We were wrong.
All weekend, visitors stopped for Gollum. Some laughed, some took photos, some shared inside jokesâand many left with a card or poster.
One person even bought it as a wedding card.
đ See the star of the weekend
One difference from the holiday markets we attend was how people purchased.
At Christmas, many customers buy bundles of cards and build up a small reserve for the holiday season.
In North Beach, purchases felt much more immediate. Most visitors picked just one or two cards for a birthday, Father’s Day, or another occasion already on their calendar.
One customer was a notable exception.
He bought 10 cards, spent time asking us questions about our inspirations, and came back later to buy 10 more.
At this point, you may be wondering what the numbers look like for a festival like this.
First, there was a non-refundable $25 application fee, so we would have lost it if we hadn’t been accepted.
Once accepted, we paid $90 for our booth, a discounted rate for young entrepreneurs.
Was it worth it?
For about the same amount of time, we made a little less than we did at our Christmas market. Still, by the end of the weekend, we had brought in roughly ten times our booth cost.
We also left with new ideas, new contacts, and a better understanding of what works in a busy festival environment.
We were surprised not to come across any other young entrepreneurs during the festival. The application fee and booth cost may play a role, since some youth-focused markets make participation more affordable.
By the end of the weekend, we were tired, windblown, and very happy.
Experiences like this remind us how much our entrepreneurial journey has been shaped by the city where we live.
The opportunities available to young entrepreneurs look different depending on where you live. The important part is noticing what’s around you and finding ways to get involved.
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Solène & ZÊlia, for SoliaVenture
P.S. A few of our favorite customers
