5. Bring your credit card machine. Credit cards are the common currency of shows and fairs, and if you don’t accept them, you’re going to lose sales to vendors who do. You also face the risks of dealing with bounced checks from strangers who may be hard to track down after the show. Especially if you’re selling work priced in the hundreds of dollars, credit cards are a must. To find out more about obtaining merchant credit, see our “Resources” section.

6. Don’t go it alone. While shows can be exciting and profitable, they can also be physically and emotionally exhausting. That’s why it’s important to bring along someone to help you work the booth and deal with customers. This will also give you a chance to get up and go to the bathroom and grab a hotdog or something to drink without losing sales. Spelman of Wax Creations works the fairs with his wife. “You need a lot of good friends and family willing to help you,” he says.

7. Pack your stuff. Make sure you bring enough work to sell but not so much that you’ll have to carry most of it back. Besides your artwork, you’ll also need to pack your booth, several chairs, a small table, a calculator, a credit card machine, bags for customers to carry your products home in and any brochures or marketing materials you might have.