Produce stand

Produce stands provide a comfortable living if you are able to attract enough customers and produce enough fruits and vegetables from your garden. Many produce stands will offer multiple things from corn to cherries to attract customers to continue coming back for more.

To get started with a produce stand, you need to have something to sell. Depending upon the location you are in and the climate, some produce will grow better from others. Try to pick a few different things to sell so you can attract different types of customers. You will need to build a stand to hold all the produce along with some other essential items:

• Signs
  
• Grocery bags
  
• Cash and a cash box
  
• Table
  
• Baskets
  
• Notebook

Be sure to pick an accessible location. Your customers should be able to drive right up to your stand so they can purchase the produce, if you start getting a rush of customers, move to a bigger area for parking accommodations. Contact your state department and your city offices to make sure you are in compliance with all regulations and that you have enough parking to accommodate your customers.

The hard part about running your produce stand is the amount of time it requires. Since customers don't have a set time frame for when they need to stop by, you will need to make sure someone is manning the booth as soon as the sun is up to when the sun goes down. You will also need to spend a great deal of time harvesting your produce and talking with customers. Half the reason why people purchase from produce stands is so they can gain some tips on how to grow their own produce. Many of them just like to talk to the grower so you'd better have some good social skills.

Many people make a nice living from their produce stands. Some individuals harvest enough produce to keep their company in business year-round, however it is a seasonal job for practically everyone else. The amount of money you make depends on how much produce you sell and the amount of customers you have. If you sell organic produce, you can usually make more money because organic foods have a higher price tag, usually 10-20 percent higher from other foods. If this is your first attempt at starting your own produce stand, be careful with how many crops you are harvesting. First-time produce sellers often harvest more crop than they can sell and they are left with an enormous amount of spoiled food and no money to pay for it. Keep a notebook handy so you can track the produce that sells the best, this will help you determine what you need to plant next year.

Location is a big reason why produce stands are successful. If you don't have a good location, how can people find you? Use your local paper to advertise your produce stand so people know where to find you. Make your stand bright and attractive. Use bright signs to get your customer's attention and then use fancy stands to showcase your produce. This is an easy way to grab the attention of your customers and to sell more produce. Be sure to offer different types of produce to appeal to a larger audience. Set your prices at a reasonable rate so people do not feel like you are taking advantage of them. Make sure to have conversations with your customers and offer some information on new produce you will sell next year so they will continue to come back year after year.

The biggest risk you take with a produce stand is the risk that you will grow too much of something and you won't sell it, costing you to lose your investment. Again, be careful when you are first starting out and be sure to track everything so you know what produce items sell well. Also, make sure you check all the state and local regulations on produce stands. You need to make sure you are in compliance or you risk losing your business.