46 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
Executable File
46 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
Executable File
HacDC ran [HackersMart, The Hackers Convenience
|
|
Store](http://wiki.hope.net/index.php/HackersMart), during The Last
|
|
HOPE. Designed to be a "one stop shop" for things attendees might need
|
|
and might not be readily available (especially at night), it's a way to
|
|
raise money for HacDC and provide a service to conference goers. In the
|
|
future, Hackersmart will be traveling to other
|
|
[Conferences](Conferences "wikilink").
|
|
|
|
## Hackersmart Lessons Learned
|
|
|
|
### Preparation
|
|
|
|
- Make sure everyone knows how to operate the [cash
|
|
register](cash_register "wikilink").
|
|
- When members are scheduling their travel to and from the event, have
|
|
them take into account the time it will take to set up and tear down
|
|
the Hackersmart, including hauling and loading boxes.
|
|
- Bring only labeled boxes. Keep things sorted as much as possible
|
|
throughout the event. Confusion leads to lost sales.
|
|
- New customers are like razor-toothed gree worms. They can be
|
|
succulent, but sometimes they bite back.
|
|
|
|
### Inventory
|
|
|
|
- Keep a notepad upon which to record requests. Every time someone asks
|
|
for something you don't have, even if it seems like an item you'd
|
|
never consider carrying, write it down. Future business ideas start
|
|
here.
|
|
- Establish a dedicated separate spot for "employees" to leave their
|
|
crap so it doesn't get mistaken for inventory. Especially on Sunday as
|
|
people check out of their rooms, crap piles up.
|
|
|
|
### Pricing
|
|
|
|
- Price everything clearly, or mark "make-offer" items as such.
|
|
- Get someone familiar with each item to price it. If there's something
|
|
unique about an otherwise mundane-looking item, that familiar person
|
|
should write it down so that, if they're not available when a customer
|
|
wants to haggle, those who *are* available don't unknowingly let it go
|
|
too cheap.
|
|
- Giving things away can sometimes be much more profitable than selling
|
|
them. Handing someone a pair of two-cent LEDs and saying "don't worry
|
|
about it" usually got a few quarters or sometimes a whole dollar
|
|
thrown in the tipjar.
|
|
|
|
[Category:Materiel](Category:Materiel "wikilink") |