Festival Geeks

Michael Priest
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Entrepreneurship

Festival Geeks is the practical business podcast for artists, makers, food vendors and entrepreneurs who sell at festivals, craft shows, fairs and markets. Hosted by Michael Priest, an experienced business owner and working festival vendor, each episode tackles one real problem vendors face—from choosing profitable events and pricing products correctly to controlling expenses, improving booth presentation, managing inventory and having better conversations with customers. You will hear hard-earned lessons, honest vendor stories and practical steps you can use in your own business. There are no one-size-fits-all pricing formulas, promises that every event will be successful or motivational speeches pretending the difficult parts do not exist. Festival Geeks is about understanding your numbers, making better decisions and learning from people who are actually doing the work. Whether you are preparing for your first show or trying to turn years of weekend events into a dependable business, Festival Geeks will help you protect your profit, avoid costly mistakes and build something that can grow beyond the next festival. Real Stories. Real Lessons. Real Results.

  1. 8h ago

    When a Hot Product Changes Your Booth | Seasonal Merchandising for Vendors

    A hot product sounds like a great problem to have — until you realize how many other parts of your vending business it can change. After spending the summer wondering whether last year’s pet jacket sales were a fluke, Michael and Dede brought the jackets back for the fall season. Customer response answered the question quickly: the jackets had earned a much bigger role in the booth. But giving a successful seasonal product more space isn't as simple as putting more of it on the table. In Episode 13 of the Festival Geeks Podcast, Michael walks through the real adjustments that followed: • Why a seasonal or fast-selling product may deserve the prime real estate in your 10×10 booth • What happened when Festival Geeks initially split the jackets across different parts of the display • Why proven year-round products sometimes need to move aside temporarily • How different products can require entirely different fixtures and merchandising • Using height, sizing examples, mannequins, and customer behavior to improve the shopping experience • How increased demand affects production schedules and inventory depth • Why larger products can force changes to shopping bags, checkout space, signage, and vehicle packing • Removing the fear from gift purchases when customers aren't sure about size • Why a new product should be disclosed to an event organizer before you arrive • How one successful product can create a ripple effect throughout the entire business Michael also explains how he used the free Festival Geeks Booth Planner to rethink the booth layout before making changes in the real 10×10 space. The larger lesson: give seasonal products the space they earn — but plan for everything that comes with that decision. Your customers will tell you what deserves more space. Your job is to watch how they shop, respond to what they're buying, and keep refining the booth. Free Festival Geeks Booth Planner and vendor resources: festivalgeeksmedia.com Festival Geeks Real Stories. Real Lessons. Real Results.

  2. Oct 28

    When the plan changes

    Plans change. Events move. Weather turns. Inventory guesses miss—and sometimes the smartest decision is to walk away, adapt quickly, or push through. In Episode 12 of Festival Geeks, Michael shares what happened when October stopped going according to plan. One festival was no longer the right fit, another event moved by two weeks, and an Oktoberfest weekend created an unexpected inventory problem. By Saturday night, only five or six dog jackets remained. That led to an overnight sewing session, a lot of coffee, and about 18 additional jackets sold on Sunday. This episode is not about working all night as a formula for success. It is about recognizing when circumstances have changed, making the best decision with the information available, and staying flexible enough to take advantage of the opportunity in front of you. In this episode: • Knowing when it is time to walk away from an event • Adjusting when an organizer changes the schedule • Making inventory decisions without perfect information • Responding quickly when demand is stronger than expected • Learning from the plan—even when the plan changes Have you ever had an event or business plan change at the last minute? Share what happened and what you learned. More free tools and resources for festival vendors: https://festivalgeeksmedia.com/pages/free-vendor-tools Festival Geeks: https://festivalgeeksmedia.com Follow or subscribe for more practical lessons from behind the booth. Festival Geeks — Real Stories. Real Lessons. Real Results.

  3. Oct 6

    How Much Inventory Should I Bring to a Craft Show?

    How much inventory should you bring to a craft show, festival, or vendor event? It sounds like a simple question, but there isn't one universal number. Rules like “bring three times what you expect to sell” or “aim for ten times your booth fee” don't account for the actual costs and realities of your business. In Episode 11, Michael walks through a practical method for planning inventory by working backward from the result you need the event to produce. You'll learn how to calculate your true event costs, establish minimum and worthwhile sales goals, determine the sell-through rate your inventory would require, and evaluate whether you'll still have a strong selection for customers later in the day. Michael also uses real-world examples from selling pet T-shirts and bandannas to explain why different products—even within the same business—can require completely different inventory strategies. You'll learn why new products should earn deeper inventory, how dead stock develops, why selling out isn't always a success, and how keeping good sales records makes every future inventory decision better. There is no formula that can guarantee what you'll sell. The goal is to replace guesses pulled out of thin air with a repeatable method based on your costs, goals, capacity and actual customer behavior. Festival Geeks — Real Stories. Real Lessons. Real Results.

  4. Sep 29

    Your Booth Is Open. Now What? How to Work a Festival Booth

    our booth is set up. The market is open. Now what? In Episode 10 of Festival Geeks, Michael walks through what actually happens once customers start coming through the gate — from taking one last look at your booth from the customer’s point of view to deciding where to stand, how to greet people, when to talk, when to listen, and what to do when business slows down. We talk about staying off your phone, reading different types of customers, handling several shoppers at once, using slow periods productively, taking care of yourself during a long market day, and why packing up early can cost you a sale. Most importantly, every customer deserves a clean slate. Whether the day has been great or terrible, the next person walking into your booth shouldn’t have to carry the weight of everything that happened before them. In this episode: What to check before the market officially opensWhere to stand without blocking or hoveringBody language that makes customers comfortableWhy listening matters more than talkingHow to acknowledge multiple customersWhat to do during slow periodsFood, hydration, and surviving a long event dayWhy you shouldn’t pack up earlyGiving every customer your best effort Festival Geeks — Real Stories. Real Lessons. Real Results.

  5. Sep 22

    Why This Exists: How to Tell the Story Behind What You Make

    Every maker has a story, but it is not always the story behind the company name or logo. Often, the most powerful story is the reason a particular product exists. In this episode, Michael explains how the 7T Designs pet T-shirt began with a real problem: protecting Sydney, his poodle, from scratching irritated skin. Commercial pet shirts were loose, floppy, and built like shrunken human shirts, so Michael used his sewing experience to create something shaped for a dog’s anatomy. That practical solution eventually became a product—and then a business. Dede added the colors, patterns, and sayings that made the shirts as attractive as they were functional. Michael also shares the story behind 7T’s tie-on bandannas and explains how small construction choices can become meaningful parts of a customer conversation. In this episode: Why the product’s story matters more than a manufactured brand storyHow to connect a design feature to the problem it solvesWhy customers care about the decisions behind handmade productsHow to tell one true story at different lengthsHow to recognize when a customer wants more information—and when they simply want the pink oneWhy authenticity does not require giving every customer your entire biographyHow successful conversations and painful strikeouts help refine your storyWhat truly separates an independent maker from big-box retail The customer can see the feature. Your story explains the decision. Download the free Product Story Builder for Makers: https://festivalgeeksmedia.com/pages/product-story-builder-for-makers Find all Festival Geeks vendor resources: https://festivalgeeksmedia.com/pages/free-vendor-tools

  6. Sep 15

    The Business Box — Small Solutions for Big Event Days

    Every experienced festival vendor eventually learns the same lesson: sometimes the smallest problem can create the biggest headache. In Episode 8 of Festival Geeks, Michael opens up his Business Box — the compact collection of tools, repair supplies, display fixes, tagging equipment, cleanup items, and emergency odds and ends that travels to every event. From tape, scissors, zip ties and clamps to safety pins, Velcro, screwdrivers, a small hammer and a Dennison tagging gun, these aren’t exciting purchases. But when something breaks, comes loose, needs repaired, or simply refuses to cooperate in the middle of a festival, they can save your day. Michael also shares additions learned from conversations with veteran vendors and explains why a good Business Box isn’t about carrying everything you own. It’s about having small solutions ready before small problems become big ones. Get the Festival Vendor Business Box Checklist: festivalgeeksmedia.com/pages/festival-vendor-business-box-checklist More free tools and resources for festival vendors: festivalgeeksmedia.com/pages/free-vendor-tools Festival Geeks — Real Stories. Real Lessons. Real Results.

  7. Sep 8

    Stop Trying to Win the Argument: How to Deal With Difficult People

    You can be right, win the argument, and still lose the outcome. Difficult customers, neighboring vendors, organizers, staff, and volunteers can all put you in situations where your first instinct is to prove your point. But when you’re running a business, being right isn’t always the same thing as getting the result you actually need. In Episode 7 of Festival Geeks, Michael talks about learning to see the entire field before reacting. Using real experiences from years of dealing with customers, businesses, and difficult personalities, he explores when to stand your ground, when to let something go, and why winning the interaction can sometimes cost you the bigger opportunity. In this episode: Why being right and getting the right outcome are two different thingsHow to recognize when an argument isn’t worth winningHandling difficult customers without surrendering your boundariesDealing professionally with organizers, staff, and neighboring vendorsProtecting your reputation while still protecting yourselfLearning to think beyond the immediate interaction Festival Geeks is practical education for festival, market, and event vendors — built from real experience in the field. Website: festivalgeeksmedia.com

  8. Sep 1

    What Does It Really Cost to Sell Your Product? | Know Your Number™ Part 2

    A $1,000 sales day does not mean you made $1,000. In Episode 5, we followed an imaginary product that appeared to cost about $8 to make. Once we accounted for the real costs of producing it, that number became $14.44 before the product ever left the workshop. Now we have to sell it. In Part 2 of the Festival Geeks Know Your Number™ pricing workshop, Michael starts spending some of the money you thought was profit. We work through the costs that happen after production, including booth and event fees, travel expenses, the labor required to sell at an event, recurring business expenses, card-processing fees, and the money a healthy business needs to retain instead of immediately spending. By the end of the episode, the gap between your product cost and your selling price may look very different than it did at the beginning. The goal still isn’t for Festival Geeks to tell you what to charge. The goal is to help you understand everything your price has to carry before you can decide what your number needs to be. Free resourceWork through the numbers with the free Know Your Number™ Pricing Workshop: https://festivalgeeksmedia.com/pages/know-your-number-pricing-workshop It includes the worksheet used with Episodes 5 and 6 plus the companion reference guide.

See All (13)

About

Festival Geeks is the practical business podcast for artists, makers, food vendors and entrepreneurs who sell at festivals, craft shows, fairs and markets. Hosted by Michael Priest, an experienced business owner and working festival vendor, each episode tackles one real problem vendors face—from choosing profitable events and pricing products correctly to controlling expenses, improving booth presentation, managing inventory and having better conversations with customers. You will hear hard-earned lessons, honest vendor stories and practical steps you can use in your own business. There are no one-size-fits-all pricing formulas, promises that every event will be successful or motivational speeches pretending the difficult parts do not exist. Festival Geeks is about understanding your numbers, making better decisions and learning from people who are actually doing the work. Whether you are preparing for your first show or trying to turn years of weekend events into a dependable business, Festival Geeks will help you protect your profit, avoid costly mistakes and build something that can grow beyond the next festival. Real Stories. Real Lessons. Real Results.

Information

  • Creator
    Michael Priest
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Michael Priest
  • Show Website
    Festival Geeks