How to grow your business?
Start at the Farmers Market!
In 2017, when Mary and Derek O’Connor decided to take the big leap of starting their own business – Chocolate Chipped Bakery – they opted for a strategy that has paid off for other budding businesses: the Farmington Farmers Market. Here’s their story:
We officially formed our business in 2017. As we started building the concept, we knew that a significant contributor to future success would be building a strong, local customer base – and doing that would mean getting in front of as many people as we could on a consistent basis.
We knew a farmers market was a great way to introduce a business concept, and we heard from other food business owners that the Farmington Farmers Market was an excellent market to be a part of. So we applied to be a vendor in 2018 and have been part of the market ever since.
Initially, we were a part-time vendor and participated in just a handful of markets. Then, in 2020, we were graciously offered a full-time spot and have been a full-time vendor since then. We used to participate in the Northville, Eastern Market and Birmingham farmers markets. But eventually we chose to focus on our hometown market, Farmington, and eventually our storefront that we opened in 2024 just a short walk from the market.
Since 2021, we've also participated in Plymouth Art in the Park and Milford Memories.
But it was always our goal to have a storefront, so we were grateful to open our bakery on October 17, 2024, in downtown Farmington. The Farmington Farmers Market allowed us to maintain a strong, local presence with low overhead and risk.
The best thing about the market is the strong community support and vibrant energy of the customers. We also love the incredible variety of vendors that the Farmington market provides. On top of this, the market is run extremely efficiently. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes, from the volunteers to the market manager and all other staff.
But the biggest challenge of being part of the market – and this is not unique to Farmington – is having to manage inclement weather. Although Michigan provides us with four wonderful seasons, the market sustains itself through three of those even when changes in the the weather can be drastic, prolonged or sudden. We still show up every time, though, even if there's a 100% chance of a storm. The dedicated market-goers will always be there in support of vendors, and it's our obligation to provide value in the overall Farmington Farmers Market experience.
One of the best things about opening our storefront is that we are able to serve our customers five days a week and year-round. We have found new customers that may not have found us otherwise. But there is a challenge.
Top photos show Mary and Derek O’Connor at their Farmers Market in early 2020 – the year of covid. Their tenacity led them to the brick-and-mortar store they opened just a few steps from the Market, above left.
The benefit of selling at a farmers market is that you are very close to your potential customers – most of the time, they’re just five feet away from people walking around, browsing the market. That makes it easier to get somebody's attention. When you have a storefront, you have to get the customer into your store on any given day. You don't have the benefit of a well-known event going on that draws in a few thousand people each Saturday.
That community support of Farmington residents has been a significant contributor to growing and maintaining a customer base. We've seen consistent growth, year over year, which gave us the confidence needed to open our storefront. Making the move was a huge step and admittedly daunting - but knowing that we had the support of our community was a driving motivator that pushed us to make that jump.