Have you ever had a really good business opportunity fall into your lap?  I just did, and it opens up a new market segment for me.  It has great potential for my business, but will also take lots of planning.  Let me introduce you to these fun events and talk about the planning.

For background information, I am a licensed amateur radio operator.  You might be more familiar with the phrase “ham radio”.  They are the same thing, and, yes, “people still do that”!  Ham radio has moved nicely into the 21st century, with radios becoming digital and even modes where your home computer keys the radio to send digital messages over the radio waves.  One ham radio tradition is holding events called hamfests.  These are often held outdoors or both inside and outside.  There are tables and booths where radio equipment, electronics, food, and just about anything can be sold.  This is where I come in.  It is popular for hams to have shirts, hats, name badges, and several other things with their names and callsigns on them.  Here is my nametag, as an example.

One of my friends, a fellow ham, was at the last meeting of our ham radio club (I wasn’t), and they began discussing finding someone to make custom shirts and nametags for them.  My friend said, “You know, we have a member who does this professionally”.  I realized that my products are perfect for this group.

On September 20th, I will be setting up as a vendor at our club’s hamfest and making custom callsign products on location.  If this works out, I will be going to other hamfests in the area to sell products there.  This one will be a good test run, since it’s a small hamfest and a “friendly” crowd, but it will still take a lot of planning.  I need to complete the list of products that I would like to take, figuring out how many I should have so I can order from my vendor.  I also need to make sure to include all of the little things, down to the bowl of water to dip the mugs after they’re done in the heat press.  This event is an hour away, and I can’t just go to the local store to pick up transfer paper or most of the other supplies, since everything is specialized.  I will also be purchasing a light-duty heat press to take to the hamfest.  The one I use here weighs about 200 pounds, so it isn’t really practical to take it anywhere.

I’ll need to create some demo products with real names and callsigns for the table.  I’ve already created two nametags for two of my friends.  I originally thought that might not be good since the nametags won’t be on the table, but then I realized that my friends will probably wear them and be walking around the event, so that will be even more exposure.

I don’t anticipate any major problems if I plan this out, and I really think that this has the potential to take my business in a very positive direction.

Diggs, Stumbles, Tweets, and comments are always appreciated.  Thank you to everyone who has done this so far.  I’ve enjoyed the comments.

Have you ever had a really good business opportunity fall into your lap?  I just did, and it opens up a new market segment for me.  It has great potential for my business, but will also take lots of planning.  Let me introduce you to these fun events and talk about the planning.

For background information, I am a licensed amateur radio operator.  You might be more familiar with the phrase “ham radio”.  They are the same thing, and, yes, “people still do that”!  Ham radio has moved nicely into the 21st century, with radios becoming digital and even modes where your home computer keys the radio to send digital messages over the radio waves.  One ham radio tradition is holding events called hamfests.  These are often held outdoors or both inside and outside.  There are tables and booths where radio equipment, electronics, food, and just about anything can be sold.  This is where I come in.  It is popular for hams to have shirts, hats, name badges, and several other things with their names and callsigns on them.  Here is my nametag, as an example.

One of my friends, a fellow ham, was at the last meeting of our ham radio club (I wasn’t), and they began discussing finding someone to make custom shirts and nametags for them.  My friend said, “You know, we have a member who does this professionally”.  I realized that my products are perfect for this group.

On September 20th, I will be setting up as a vendor at our club’s hamfest and making custom callsign products on location.  If this works out, I will be going to other hamfests in the area to sell products there.  This one will be a good test run, since it’s a small hamfest and a “friendly” crowd, but it will still take a lot of planning.  I need to complete the list of products that I would like to take, figuring out how many I should have so I can order from my vendor.  I also need to make sure to include all of the little things, down to the bowl of water to dip the mugs after they’re done in the heat press.  This event is an hour away, and I can’t just go to the local store to pick up transfer paper or most of the other supplies, since everything is specialized.  I will also be purchasing a light-duty heat press to take to the hamfest.  The one I use here weighs about 200 pounds, so it isn’t really practical to take it anywhere.

I’ll need to create some demo products with real names and callsigns for the table.  I’ve already created two nametags for two of my friends.  I originally thought that might not be good since the nametags won’t be on the table, but then I realized that my friends will probably wear them and be walking around the event, so that will be even more exposure.

I don’t anticipate any major problems if I plan this out, and I really think that this has the potential to take my business in a very positive direction.

Diggs, Stumbles, Tweets, and comments are always appreciated.  Thank you to everyone who has done this so far.  I’ve enjoyed the comments.