opening day!

today was my first day at the markets! it was a (very) early start, up at 4am and left at 4:30, to be all set up for market opening at 6am. the west end markets have a ton of produce stalls so it got really busy really early with early birds grocery shopping, but my stall didnt pick up until a little later. tough part about the day was that it rained the whole time, ranging from sprinkling to torrential downpours. since it had also been raining all week, the field where everyone (customers, shop keepers etc) could park (for free) was flooded/closed - apparently that keeps away more people than the rain because there arnt many other places to park around there. still had a good day and most importantly, learned a lot. everyone at the markets is really nice too, very friendly and helpful. the whole set up process was more work than i reckoned it would be, and my stall was the easiest set up of any of the stalls that i saw (the 3x3 tent and one clothing rack that stays there, on loan, plus one portable clothing rack, a mirror, a portable table, and the merchandise itself to take with me). from what people have told me, they dont often make very much money doing this (with some exceptions - the flower stall on valentines day, etc) and its a lot of hours. i figure people do it because they really like having their own business and so its worth it to them. i can see why... i think there might be a future in owning my own business for me - especially if i can manage a later start time :)