Join me on a thrilling adventure into the world of flea markets! I've taken a plunge into the bustling Rose Bowl flea market scene, and trust me, it's been a roller coaster ride of early mornings, eager customers, and learning the ropes of the trade. But, with the unwavering support of my wonderful family, I managed to not only secure a spot for the next four months but also had a surprise celebrity visit from Lisa Vanderpump!
Are you curious about the challenges and rewards that await when starting a flea market business? Well, my journey has been nothing short of exhilarating. From the nerve-racking acceptance to the prestigious Rose Bowl flea market, the thrilling vintage walk, to the relentless grind that tests your faith and patience - every step is a lesson. But remember, it's these trials that lead to growth. Moreover, finding the right balance in business, especially when it comes to pricing, is the key. So, come along and share in my experiences and learnings as I continue to navigate the exciting world of flea markets!
Join me on a thrilling adventure into the world of flea markets! I've taken a plunge into the bustling Rose Bowl flea market scene, and trust me, it's been a roller coaster ride of early mornings, eager customers, and learning the ropes of the trade. But, with the unwavering support of my wonderful family, I managed to not only secure a spot for the next four months but also had a surprise celebrity visit from Lisa Vanderpump!
Are you curious about the challenges and rewards that await when starting a flea market business? Well, my journey has been nothing short of exhilarating. From the nerve-racking acceptance to the prestigious Rose Bowl flea market, the thrilling vintage walk, to the relentless grind that tests your faith and patience - every step is a lesson. But remember, it's these trials that lead to growth. Moreover, finding the right balance in business, especially when it comes to pricing, is the key. So, come along and share in my experiences and learnings as I continue to navigate the exciting world of flea markets!
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Speaker 1:
Hey guys, welcome back to a new episode of MyWaveOfLife. I'm your host, rebecca, and let's just jump right into it. Let's talk about the Rose Bowl. I had the Rose Bowl two weeks ago, on Sunday, and it was pretty cool. It was pretty much a minute of an adventure and we had a great turnout. A lot of my family was out there to support me. I had family come in and help me set up at 5 o'clock in the morning, 5.30. Yeah, it was pretty. It was a lot.
Speaker 1:
We had to get a U-Haul and that was like your moving and so we loaded up the car and, looking back, I would probably not take as much as stuff that I did take. But I did have a lot of stuff and so picking and choosing what I wanted to take in the first place would have been a lot in itself. So I just wanted to take everything. Obviously, it's my first time and I don't know how much of a space I know it was a 10 by 20 base, so like basically two canopies. I really didn't get everything out of the U-Haul that we took, but for the most part it was.
Speaker 1:
This was my first flea market and having it at a big capacity of like the Rose Bowl flea market was pretty intimidating because it's the Rose Bowl and I know there's a lot of vendors out there and I don't know if they have the same things as I do something similar who knows? So I know of the Rose Bowl, I've gone plenty of times, but everybody has something different and so having that being my first flea market, it was pretty intimidating and having all the support and love behind it really helped me overcome my fears. I had a lot of anxiety. I was just anxious. It's big, you know, it's a big area, it's a big company, a lot of people go to it, so a lot of traffic going by there and stuff. So it was pretty much a lot. But I thought I would feel more like oh my god, I can't do this too overwhelming, you know. But it went with the flow. I had the help that I needed and even though I didn't really tell anybody what to do, they just took charge. I set up my little area. They were helping me set up everything else. I had to check out, stan, the tablet ready, make sure I can take payments, stuff like that. It's everything in itself, and especially doing it by yourself, and it's a great help to have people, friends, family, whatever it is. It's great to have them, to have their support.
Speaker 1:
It was a great learning experience and I definitely won't take as much stuff as I did this time. But you live and you learn. But for the most part I'm definitely not getting a U-Haul either, not the big moving truck ones. I didn't get the big one, I got the 15 footer one, but I definitely won't get that again. That was just too much. It felt like you were moving.
Speaker 1:
But I think I would get a van or something and pick and choose maybe things, the bigger things that I would get, like plant stands and stuff like that that I would take my literal plants that I was taking. Those got destroyed with everything in the back. They tipped over and soil went everywhere and some plants I could not repot them on the spot. It was just a lot going on so I ended up not selling those. But for the other ones, yeah, they were out there for display and out there to sell and stuff and some of them did survive. They just need to get repotted. So I definitely want to have a little bit more of a system in place for my plants because I don't want them to get destroyed again. But yeah, so it was a learning experience, to say the least. I will definitely be there for the rest of maybe four months. I got for next month, september 10, and I won't be in the same spot as G14, but I will be behind G14, so it's F13. Unfortunately, the space G14 was already taken for the next month because I wasn't a permanent resident at the time. I just wanted to check it out for the first time before committing myself for the three months to be there, because you have to be three months consistently with payments and stuff. So I wasn't able to do that, but I was able to get it for the next three months, starting in October. Yeah, october through December, and I want to still try to have that spot as G14 for the rest of the months that I can. Hopefully no one takes it and stuff, so we will see how it goes.
Speaker 1:
It was a perfect location for me. We didn't really get that much sun obviously, the afternoon sun to set yes, we did get that, but other than that, it was near the restrooms. It was pretty cool I have no complaints about that and we had a great turnout. A lot of things that I would see people would like, didn't like, not so much didn't like, but they would just pass on it or whatnot, definitely notice the price range or what they're looking for. I understand, but we're also here to make a business as well make a living. So I get it. I get both sides that they want to deal and all that stuff, but this still is a business. So I understand. But other than that, there were great people out there who had no incidents or anything like that, which was awesome.
Speaker 1:
A lot of feedback on little things that I had on display or even for decoration. I had a 10 pale out there and I had water in it and I wanted to have a waterfall in a way. So I got one of those Amazon solar panel type where the solar panel does the whole waterfall of it, so you just put it on top of the water and it will just suck up the water and spread it out from the top. So that's what I bought on Amazon and I put it on the pail and obviously it needs sun. In the morning it wasn't really working and then after noon comes around, it was right on top of it and the sun was, and so basically it came out to a waterfall, so it was really hot that day. So people were like, oh my god, and so they would go and grab some water from the water fountain and just pat it on themselves. So it was pretty cool to have that reaction and interaction with people and say, oh, this is really cool. And people wanted to buy it for me. It was just like, I mean, it's just decoration. And then they wanted to know where I got it from. So I mean, I don't want to be in the business of fountains, but it was really cool to interact with people. Yeah, other than that, it was pretty cool.
Speaker 1:
Oh, and then I also there was a celebrity that came to my booth oh my god, she is cool. Like I was totally fangirling. It was Lisa Vanderpump. Oh my god, in real life she looks totally different. She looks like no, I take it back, she looks exactly the same. But like she, just like no, she's Lisa Vanderpump, she just has that, you know, you know, like that that structure, that like you know, I am who I am, you know. So it was pretty cool to like meet her and stuff. Like I didn't like say, oh, I know who you are. Like, yeah, dude, whatever, whatever. And I was like, no, like, I'm grateful that she came in some like you know booth and like, looked at a picture that I had and it was pretty cool to say like, oh, that's cute. And I was like, oh, my god, thank you, you know, like, but I wasn't like you know, I know who you are, you know, or made her feel uncomfortable or what not. I was just like, oh, thank you, da, da, da, like, yeah, so I was just inside screaming outside. I was normal, but other than that it was, it was pretty cool. Um, I knew it was her when she talked to her husband, you know. So I was just like, okay, that's, that's her. But yeah, for the most part it was pretty cool experience. I would do it again.
Speaker 1:
Obviously I'm gonna be doing it. We will be out there for the next four months. I will probably keep going until next year as well. I'm gonna see how sales are and I'm also gonna be at a new location as well for a flea market. It's gonna be in Covina, but it's on Azusa. It's 1033 north Azusa, covina, california. So it will be right in there. It's called a vintage walk. That's there. It's gonna be outside of their own location, their store. It's just gonna be like a little flea market or big flea market.
Speaker 1:
I don't. I don't, I've never been there, so definitely go check us out there. It will be like a little small area for us to just get out there and be within the community, and it will be a great learning experience for me too. Who knows, I might do better on a smaller community side than a bigger location as a Rolls-Bowl flea market. It may hit different, you know, and I might like the small community instead of a big, huge outpour of people. You know, I don't know, we'll see. We'll see where it takes us, but for the most part I'm enjoying every little, even though it's stressful, every little nook and cranny that happens. You know, I'm just taking it as it goes. I just know now what to do, what not to do. I'm going definitely to, you know, condense everything that I'm going to be taking.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, stuff like that, like I don't want to like I took too much stuff and I took so much of of materials to wrap things in. I just overly, overly did it. I mean it's good to be over over the top then. Not even over the top, but like to go above and beyond then having so little that you don't have anything to display, and so I'm grateful for that, because I could have been like, oh, I don't have anything else left here, like there's like tables empty. You know what I mean. Like I just did not want to be like that, but definitely know what. We already organized everything. I put everything in boxes. Some things broke, yeah. So I literally literally got together and we packed everything up. I don't want anything to be broken again. I mean, stuff happens. I get it, but the whole you-haul situation it was just a lot. I could not have done it without my village. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:
The people that know who I'm talking about helped me out and are always going to be there for whatever journey I take, and we're going to keep doing this. We love doing this, we love doing all this other stuff with it and whatever happens behind the scenes. I rather be doing this than actually having a nine to five job. I, this is not a nine to five job. This is like whole hours of the morning and nights and everything in between. It's been a journey, it's going to continue to be a journey and I love the journey of it. I thought I would be like very dreadful or, you know, not motivated. But I am more motivated to do more things and to get out there and hopefully I do want to have my own store, but as of right now, that's not happening right now, but it will manifesting it. So, yeah, definitely check us out next month, september 10, on spot F13.
Speaker 1:
If you have not been to the Rose Bowl, we're in the orange area out where all the antiques are, because there's new merchandise around the whole circle of the stadium. But we're not over there, we're down on the bottom where it's all the antique stuff. You can look around on the floor. I'm pretty sure they have like little stands for each aisle and you can see what letter and number that goes with it and we are F, row F and then you'll see 13 there. Yeah, we will be there. And then the following month, in October, we will be G14, we will be in spot G14 and we will be there for three months. So it will be there October, november and December and then, continuing on from there, I will let you guys know.
Speaker 1:
Like I said, I have to be continuing on my payments on there to be a permanent vendor there. So I will let you know, and yeah, and then for September 23rd I will be at a vintage walk flea market. It's an antique and vintage flea market there at 1033 North Azusa in Covina, california, and we will be there hope to see you guys there and, to be honest, like I really am enjoying this, like this is really, really cool that I get to look back and be like, oh my god, like from where I was, like like a year ago, practically until now, like I have my own business. I'm I was already at the Rose Bowl, I'm gonna be at another place to do a flea market. I'm gonna continue to do the Rose Bowl. Like this is pretty cool.
Speaker 1:
I would never have thought that I would be doing this and doing your first flea market or whatever thing or event or whatever you want to accomplish, doing that one. Obviously it's a big hurdle, but doing that one will get you to like continue, because you are gonna want to fill that rush of adrenaline or whatever it may be. You would want to keep doing it because, like you felt cool and happy and and you felt like you're meant to be there and it's a very different feeling. But once you get over that one initial thing that you have to do, it gets easier and sometimes it won't get easier and, yeah, you're gonna have to keep grinding, keep grinding and and the grind is where you grow, obviously. So I'm enjoying the grind, I'm enjoying the journey of it and any accomplishments and challenges that come with it. It's very enlightening to me, like it's it's. I'm very grateful it has lit a fire up my butt.
Speaker 1:
This is what I envisioned that it would take me, that I had in my head that it would keep me going and I would really enjoy this. And thank God it has, because it could have turned differently. It could have been like, maybe this is not where I want to be. It could have gone sideways. It could have been like, yeah, we were successful, but I do not enjoy this. I don't want to do this all the time.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I'm totally grateful that I got to experience Rose Bowl and I'm going to keep experiencing the Rose Bowl. And I'm grateful that that was my first flea market, because if I can accomplish the Rose Bowl, I can do anything. So, yeah, reaching that high it could make or break you. So, even though I should have done flea markets like little flea markets of the local communities and stuff like that. But I mean, I think I wouldn't have pushed myself even more to actually do the Rose Bowl as anything afterwards, because I'll be like I'm content and I don't need to do anything else. And I don't want to be content, I want to do more, I want to accomplish more. I have a lot more that I want to accomplish, you know. So I have a lot of goals that I want to complete and that's where I'm at, and I'm really grateful that I decided to do the Rose Bowl, that I put my application in, I made all the steps to actually do it, because no one's going to hold my hand to do it.
Speaker 1:
People are going to be there to support me and say it's a good idea, or hey, it's not a good idea. But if I feel like it's still a good idea and they don't back me up, then okay, it's up to me to make that decision. You know, thank God I haven't had anybody to like really push me down and not really understand where my vision came from. I'm glad that I do have the support, because some people do have naysayers in their lives and then they kept going at it and then they, you know, joined the wagon with them, you know. But for me I have naysayers and they're going to help me and support me and I'm super grateful for that, you know. And I could have had naysayers and I'm glad I didn't because I would have had to prove them wrong, and I don't necessarily want to prove them wrong. I want them to enjoy it with me and I'm glad that I have a family that wants to help me out and to enjoy themselves in the process of shopping with me. You know, and seeing my vision come alive, and they know where I've been. They've known me since I was a kid, obviously, and so to see me come up from where I was before, it's truly a blessing. So I'm going to leave you guys with that.
Speaker 1:
Okay, I have one quote from the Bible, james, chapter 1, verse 2 with faith and wisdom, my brothers and sisters, you will have many kinds of trouble, but this gives you a reason to be very happy. You know that your faith is tested. You learn to be patient and suffering. If you let that patience work in you, the end result will be good. You'll be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be.
Speaker 1:
I've worked with being patient and it's just a work in progress and you will have to learn to be patient in order for it to actually come through. It's hard, but that's why you have your faith that everything will come through and it will come through at the end. You know, that's one reason why I feel like I haven't really broken down or anything, because I know that I have my faith. I know that if this is not going to work, then okay, there's something else out there. But I'm not going to down myself for accomplishing something that I know I wanted to do for a long time and if it didn't work out, then it didn't work out. But I know that with my faith, it's not going to let me bring me down or have those negative emotions over me, because I know there's something greater out there for me and I have to believe that in order for it to happen.
Speaker 1:
If I'm going to be just negative and just be in that place of like, oh, I'm not going to get a job, oh, I'm not going to have my business, oh, what are you doing to grow your business? What are you doing to get a job? What are you doing to do any of these things that you want in life? What are you doing? You have to make things. Like I said, you have to do things now, obviously, to snowball it to become something in the future, obviously. So I had to be patient through all the things that were coming about and coming about and getting my license and getting a structure of an LLC and getting permits and trying to figure out all that stuff because, look it, I didn't even go to college for that. I went to college for kinesiology. So I mean, I had no business experience. I have no business of doing permits or any of that stuff.
Speaker 1:
Read it, learn it. Whatever you are doing, and be patient with yourself. If you have patience in yourself, it will come out as a good result. That's what the Bible says. So I guarantee you it will happen at the right time that it's supposed to happen. And if it doesn't, then you know in your faith that something else out there is for you, no matter what you have to believe in that. That's the only thing that's going to get you by is your faith. If you don't have that, you will be negative, nancy, and you will just completely be in that really negative place period. That's where I'm going to end it, finally. So thank you guys, so much for listening again to another podcast of my Wave of Life. I'm your host, rebecca, and I will talk to you guys next week on a new episode. Have a great day, guys. Bye, guys, mieli.
