A fellow worldschooler friend had a great idea: to have an autumn fair where the kids could sell things they made. We thought we would arrange it on a Saturday so that the whole families could join. You never know what to expect with the worldschoolers here. If just one family or fifty turns up. They are so unpredictable! So we had no idea about today apart from that we knew for sure that four families would come.
In our home we started the day with a quick breakfast and then baking. The kids got to choose what they would bake. We have a swedish cake book and usually use recipes online for baking. We usually twist it as none of us like to follow instructions completely. Winston chose a sponge cake and Henry "kärleksmums" which means "love yum" in Swedish. It's a chocolate kind of a cake with coffee glazing.
I got the things out and the dad took the baby out to the play ground. Henry and Winston had a bowl each. I just whipped the eggs and sugar. Otherwise they made the cakes pretty much by themselves. A lot of things to take into account. Measuring. Temperatures. What order to do things in.
They decorated their creations with the buttery glazing (coffee and chocolate for Henrys cake and vanilla for Winstons) as well as a candy topping and so we packed the stroller with all the stuff and went to the park. Elena arrived on time with her oldest displaying their waffles and cinnamon cookies. They were really cheap. A new family turned up as well with two boys. They had a table with a clear sign saying their chocolate chip cookies were only 5 Kč.
I realised we set the prices too high and wondered how the others would make a profit. We had a long discussion at home what the costs are for us and how much we need to make to not make a loss. There was some room for lower prices. Winston changed his price and I suggested a 10 Kč discount to Henry, so the "love yums" were only 20 Kč now. They have a lot of chocolate and candy on.
Winston brought the gas stove and offered coffee. It's well needed always with some caffeine for tired parents! I ordered two cups and so did some other parents.
Seeing the amount of worldschoolers coming to buy and sell stuff from each other wasn't a huge qtty and we quickly went through our 3 "market stalls" and tried everything we understood that we had to change our plans. There were plenty of families and old people going for a stroll on the path near the tree we were under so one by one we moved closer and closer to the path and also made some new signs. And to get the attention for the passer byers we taught our children how to shout in czech swedish cakes and so you could hear Henry on the top of his voice shouting "Svedske dorty!". Winston sold out all of his cakes first and got to take over two of Henrys last cakes.
Some families stopped by and bought things. The new american/czech family had good sales. The mum was a good example of how to sell making some loud and efficient advertising for their only 5 Kč "susenky". We felt the competition against each other and improved our tactiques. By 2 hours we had sold almost everything and ate the last three kärleksmums quickly while the boys had gotten bored and were playing by the tree.
When they didnt sell anything we discussed what makes a sale? What makes people want to buy things? How to better improve for next time? We had wasps visiting Winstons cake stall and when he was running away from the wasps (and the stall) he also ran away from the customers. Many went from our stalls to the two cheaper ones. The wasp was trapped in a clear cup and hidden under the small folding table. For some reason other wasps didnt come back while this one was trapped. Maybe it sent out some kind of warning signal to keep away?
The boys were learning so many things in this exercise. What are people prepare to spend at this kind of location? What makes them curious to come and have a closer look? And finalize the transaction? How do you set prices and how do you make a profit?
We also know our costs. We had used 1,5 packets of butter and high quality ingredients for the two cakes. The butter was our biggest expense. We should have marketed the butter a bit more. We also know that we didnt make a loss. We set the price correctly for this kind of cake.
We know also that a clearer sign and attractive display lured more people to come closer. As we improved we had more sales. Until there was almost nothing to display anymore. The abundancy attracts as well. The boys were overall very happy with the experience and the fruits of their labour. They got to keep everything they made - contrary to the working adults that have to pay taxes! We should advance and introduce it on the next event for a learning experience as well!
They are saving all at the moment..well they are saving up a little more to afford a nerf gun they wanted. So they are already planning on their next sales pitch for selling cakes to a nearby cafe!
