Si's Hip Hop Tea Shop

Well, yesterday was Hip Hop Tea Shop day. Those of you following the twitter (@hiphopteashop) will know that I did alright. Despite the fairly rubbish weather I actually made a profit. I thought I’d share a few of my thoughts on the day so maybe any of you who are thinking of doing the same thing can learn from some of my mistakes. If you already have a successful tea business, well at least we can have a bit of a laugh at my naivety eh? So, let’s organise these thoughts into a nice, easy to read list shall we?

I am not responsible for any retina damage caused by awesomeness.

Thought No. 1: Woo! I made a profit! That’s like money from nothing! Well, money from several months of sorting stuff out, stress and a mad rush towards the end, but money none the less. Now I’ve had an evening to rest on my laurels it’s time to get my business head on and try to establish why. Which leads me to my second thought…
Thought No. 2: Damn, the weather was rubbish! Ah the British Summertime, you can always be relied upon to (very literally) rain on my parade. I’m just moaning really (another long standing British tradition). It rained most of the morning but cleared up in the afternoon, much like Woodstock of old, as any Wayne’s World 2 fan will tell you. I must admit I was worried to start with. Last week the sun was shining and there were plenty of people around, I was fretting that the adverse conditions would lead to a disappointing day. Thankfully that was not the case. So, if the weather wasn’t a huge factor then perhaps it was thought No. 3…

Thought No. 3: I’m really getting the patter down. Any experienced trader will tell you that t is extremely important to connect with potential customers. A good rapport can be the difference between a sale and… well… not a sale. Now I’m not going to claim that I’m some silver tongued saviour of the market stall business but I’m definitely getting to grips with touting my wares to an unsuspecting public. Except when they ask me about the health benefits, I’m not a doctor and I really don’t want to sell tea as some sort of mystical cure-all. I may have to brush up on some studies though, just so I can have the conversation. Personal feelings aside, did the patter help boost sales? Probably, but in all honesty I think it was thought No. 4…

Thought No. 4: Presentation is everything. Bet you were wondering when I was going to get to the point. As with many things when selling a product the first bite (or sip, or bag of tea sold, delete as applicable) is with the eye. I’m sure you saw the pictures from last week, me on my stall, surrounded by Tupperware.  Well my Mum certainly did, and to my suprise the next time my sister came round she did so with a whole load of wicker baskets and a politely worded message. Wait, that doesn’t sound gangsta enough, how about WICKER WITH ATTITUDE (or WWA)? Anyway, my Mum being the sage that she is instructed me on the finer points of display. My original thinking with the Tupperware was that people might want to actually see the tea, smell it, hold it in their hands before buying it (in a container obviously, health and safety etc). What actually happened was a general confusion about what I was selling. So this week I spent a day bagging up and labelling my wares, and you know what? It made all the difference. People were asking me about the teas, actively engaging with me rather than just walking by. It felt good I tell you.

So what am I going to take away from all this? If you haven’t guessed already it’s that presentation really is everything. A table cloth, some WWA and a few napkins is lall it took to get my stall looking professional and inviting (or PIMP as it’s known in the trade). I still think people may want to have a look and smell though, maybe some sample pots are in order. So to finish (and because I stupidly took very few usable photos) I’m going to leave you guys with a picture of me shaking my ass* in celebration.

*AssAM. Shaking my assAM. Sorry for any confusion.