Advertising executive Larry Leach talks about how clustering like items or stores can actually help sales. Something market managers need to understand, but also to understand the need for tact when designing their markets…
“In communities where competition is limited we found that people would chose to drive to another community where there was more choice, more variety, and better prices because of competition.”
news
In the February Farmers Market Coalition webinar, farmer and community and economic development specialist Anthony Flaccavento of Rural SCALE, Inc. will discuss his recent price comparisons between farmers markets and grocery stores in six states, and offer advice on how this data can be part of efforts to reinforce markets’ commitment to equity and affordability. Webinar is scheduled for Tuesday February 7, 2012 2:00-3:00 p.m. EST
This is from St.Louis which has received new proposed regulations for farmers markets from the state that to the editorial writer sound like “special event rules warmed over.” Very well put.
The need to push back on over regulating market farmers does need to go in hand in hand with a well managed risk mitigation strategy on the markets behalf. In other words, we should run ahead with good, appropriate rules rather than boo from the back.
The Michigan Farmers Market Association has been designing a Market Manager boot camp that sounds like a very promising way to train managers- much like the MarketU training that I had begun to design while working at marketumbrella.org. (Rumor has it that marketumbrella.org may be almost ready to start their version in early 2013, so keep an ear out for that announcement by the way.) State convenings can be useful to outside audiences because of the new resources that become available to download after one of these conferences takes place. Presentations from outside experts, case studies from markets and program measurements are often available on their websites.
Michigan Farmers Markets Association hosts 2-day conference as number of markets grow | The Republic.
I’ve been writing a great deal about entrepreneurs lately. I think it’s because the media is fascinated with them during times of economic downturns, and also because I have been working directly with a lot of markets in the past year. Those markets usually ask me the same type of questions but often, the questions come in cycles. A year ago everyone was asking about tokens and wireless machines, and this year people are asking about rules and regulations – both their own and the ones that government requires them to follow.
My impression is much of this seasonal energy comes from their vendors; I hear from markets in the spring because its time to meet with their vendors or because they need to focus on getting new ones, or because the market wants to institute a new system for vendors.
The issue is there is not only one answer to any of their questions. Most of the time, I need to come to them and gather information about their place and their entrepreneurs to be able to assist them. Really, helping the markets understand their entrepreneurs and the community that they host the market in is largely what it takes to assist a market in beginning a sustainability cycle. So articles such as this one can help any market start to think clearly on their own about their own culture.
Just How Risky Is Entrepreneurship, Really? – Bruce Gibney and Ken Howery – Harvard Business Review.
This seems appropriate for us to think about as we work to change perceptions in the food system. I have found that some shoppers have an elevated perception of the food for sale in our pop up cities (“the food here is so incredible!”), and some think the food must be less than what the supermarkets have (“why not take over a store so you don’t have to be in a parking lot?”) Over the years, I have watched markets become experts at providing the right mood for the proper staging of their vendors products.
“In Washington DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about four minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule. About four minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk. At six minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again. At ten minutes, a three-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent – without exception – forced their children to move on quickly. At forty-five minutes: The musician played continuously. Only six people stopped and listened for a short while. About twenty gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32. After one hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all. No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music. This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities. This experiment raised several questions: In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? If so, do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context? One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made… How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?” YouTube
I think it’s important that market managers remember what sole proprietors/entrepreneurs go through to open (or open and close, open and close, open and close in this case) their business. Markets can take some of the edge and lonely learning curve time away from some of these folks, or at least invite them in for a spell to find some inspiration or camaraderie.
I admire these folks in a different way but just as much as that farmer with the gorgeous hothouse tomatoes- they’re both a little nuts and a lot dedicated to the health of their community, whether social or nutritional.
For those deep in the market world, the year tends to go in patterns. Starting with workshops and meetings in the winter and early spring, we then gear up for the late spring season at market, then work madly throughout the summer, and end the year writing reports and attending to administrative needs.
Whether the market is year-round or your region has seasonal markets, it makes it hard to find the time to gain or share knowledge past those we see regularly at market.
As we start our workshop/conference season, I for one am looking forward to the Southern SAWG conference in Little Rock, AK. SSAWG functions as a regional entity, working with and through hundreds of associated organizations across 13 southern states. By building partnerships, sharing information and conducting analysis, they transform isolated ideas and innovations into practical tools and approaches for widespread use.
I have presented at past SSAWG conferences and am always energized by the farmer bustle and the very detailed assistance that is available to organizers across the South from this organization. We don’t have many large organizations down here, so we value each one we get!
There is still time to register for SSAWG; the information gained would be useful even if you are not a Southern farmer or food organizer. And if Little Rock is not possible for you to visit this year, at least sign up for their Newsletter.
An extremely useful article for the market world. Evaluation techniques should represent what is doable in a particular field while it asks people to stretch their imagination and analytical skills. Stepped evaluation (or as it is called in the article, “Stage-gate process”) for markets really is the best idea. marketumbrella.org’s 4M worksheets use that idea, and I know they have more coming along those lines in 2012…
to see the 4M sheet, go to marketumbrella.org and then log in to the marketshare project. View it under Shares.
A Disciplined Approach to Evaluating Ideas – Scott Anthony – Harvard Business Review.
An excellent example of a market annual report. Clearly, this market engages lots of partners to help on a regular basis.
I truly believe that the most successful markets have the widest group of community partners assisting them.
Check out how much data they have for the year; each piece of that data will help another partner or a vendor or a market understand it’s function and potential a little better.
Sioux City
Kickstarter is a perfect market fundraising tool for a board member to manage. Why not use to raise money for a small endowment that could pay for a staff person ultimately or save for a vendor emergency/business enhancement fund?
As many of you may know from the listserve postings and from this blog, I am beginning to do research on types of governance of markets and market organizations. Interestingly, I find that many organizers that I am chatting with simply believe that they cannot get 501c3 status (mostly through informal local advice they get or even during the first foray to I.R.S.) or think the 501c3 process will be too long or arduous. In response, they incorporate as other types of 501s that do not allow donations or make it easy to receive grants. Just as often, many seem to not do any incorporation which, until a terrible thing happens and those running the thing are held financially responsible and lose their personal property as a result, may feel like enough. This is particularly of concern to me when markets are run by a farmer and therefore operating without a corporation or LLC designation may mean endangering the farm itself.
One of the options may ultimately be the L3C designation. As I was beginning this post, I received a call from a friend who works with a foundation (that does not fund food work, sorry!). Upon hearing what I was writing about she shared that she is also researching the L3C as a way to help innovative social enterprises that will not be covered under their grant-making rules.
While still largely untested, the low-profit limited liability incorporation may become useful for food enterprises, such as farmers markets. It means that profit is possible but profit is secondary to the general purpose and good of the organization. It allows for program-related investments (PRI) from foundations in states that have authorized it. So far, legislation has been passed in Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming with many other states having introduced legislation.
So take a look and I’ll have more on this later…
L3C
Helping Farmers Markets Grow 