Two years to achieve a moment of validation: A look back at 2023

I've said it before and I'll say it again, with few exceptions, running your own business takes a special kind of grit. Not faith in some imaginary super natural being who suddenly decides to give a shit about you or your luck, but in the flawed, hopelessly optimistic meat sack that stares back at you with bleary eyes every morning in the mirror.

I've been keeping OddGoods afloat with unwarranted determination and my own pocketbook for two years. Along the way, I've managed to convince a handful of wonderful people that my work is worthy of their attention, but for the most part, success of any kind has been fleeting. I've sustained my enthusiasm for making things through moments of joy I see appear on the faces of strangers and a ridiculous belief that what I'm doing is somehow important. I still believe it is.

Not including December of 2023, the combined sales from my first two years selling puzzles fell short of the poverty level for one year of income. Needless to say, I burned through my emergency fund trying to keep a roof over my head and my business afloat with a smattering of support, grossly underwhelming sales, glacial growth, and exposure akin to shouting into hurricane force winds.

I made adjustments, considered options, and stuck to my guns. Six months into 2023, I was asked if I'd be interested in participating in a new holiday event organized by an unknown local company that had been running an identical event in Vancouver BC for over a decade. I decided to roll the dice and apply to become a vendor—The Seattle Christmas Market would be a thirty-day event where I would be renting a physical hut for OddGoods. At the time, I was approaching two and one half years of unemployment, money was critical, and my optimism was flagging after dismal summer sales despite vending fifty-five days from April to October. I sent the organization a check for over $4,000 to reserve my shack, two-thirds of my yearly vending budget.

I spent months prepping for an event that I knew nothing about with hopes that maybe, just maybe, it might be successful. I defined "successful" as making enough money to pay off the exorbitant stall fee, the 10% commission the organization levied against all sales, and my inventory costs. I never factored in my hourly rate, time spent preparing, or basic living expenses into the equation.

Fast-forward to November ...

My inventory arrived days before the event melting a mountain of stress. My sister was in town to help me and my better half get my shack set up. At 7am on November 24, it was go time. That first weekend, sales were so good I actually felt a bit of optimism creep back into my business ego. Would sales be consistent? Would I earn enough to pay off the vendor fees? How many puzzles would I sell?

I did better than I expected and for the first time since the first day I began schlepping puzzles, I felt validated—my product is fantastic and people genuinely loved the artwork. I was thrilled.

How did the numbers shake out?

I made a little money for the first time, ever. I was able to pay off the event fees along with my inventory costs. My profit for 240+ hours of work over thirty days was peanuts, but minimum wage is better than no wage. Out of 275,000 entry tickets sold, only 1200 or .44% were paying customers of OddGoods. If you do the math, my customers amounted to less than one half of one percent of the total visitor count—There's a compelling argument for both positive and negative interpretations there, to be sure. Approximately 20% of my sales, or $8,000, was paid to the market organizers (who walked away with millions of dollars in pure profit.) In the end, I had enough money left over to cover my living expenses for January.

The Christmas Market has a sales benchmark that vendors must meet in order to be invited back and it's two times what my sales were in 2023 ... Fingers crossed my application will be approved for 2024 because it's crystal clear that my products only sell during the holidays.

The Christmas Market has a sales benchmark that vendors must meet in order to be invited back and it's two times what my sales were in 2023 ... Fingers crossed my application will be approved for 2024 because it's crystal clear that my products only sell during the holidays.

One month in 2023 validated everything I'd been working toward for over two years and I broke even ... That's something to celebrate.