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- Run a stall on a market, selling your goods to the public
- Often long hours, and you'll need to be on your feet for most of the time
- You'll normally be self-employed, and could expand to run several stalls or move into a permanent shop
As a marketing trader, you could sell products at a market run by a local authority or a privately run market like a farmers' market.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Visiting suppliers to buy products and agree prices
- Unloading your van and setting up your stall
- Encouraging customers to buy
- Taking money for goods
- Stocktaking
- Keeping records of goods bought and sold
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
Income will vary according to your hours, location, type of goods or services, and how good you are at selling.
You'll be self-employed so you'll decide how many days to work. You may have a stall at one market for the whole week, or different markets on different days. Your work might be physically demanding as it involves packing up and setting up your stall.
You'll need
For this role, you'll need customer service skills, the ability to work well with others, to remain calm under pressure, thoroughness and attention to detail, sensitivity and understanding, good initiative, excellent verbal communication skills, and the ability to sell products and services.
You could do a college course such as Level 1 Business Start Up, or Level 2 Certificate in Preparing to Set Up in a New Business.
You can contact your local council for information on how they let their market stalls, licensing requirements and how to apply.
To get started, you could work on a stall part time, at car boot sales, or start selling via online marketplaces. You'll learn on the job from experienced traders, sharing their knowledge and watching their sales methods. Once you've got experience, you could apply to set up your own stall.
You'll need to have insurance, and depending on where you work you'll need local council licences for a market stall and to street trade. If you're selling food, you'll have to register with your local environmental health service at least 28 days before starting, get food hygiene certificates for any staff, and complete assessment for control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH).
CAREER PROSPECTS
You could expand your business by taking on staff and starting up new stalls, or you could move into market management.