Navigating your way through Americasmart

Have you ever heard of Americasmart? It’s a place here in Atlanta that sells wholesale items that you can resell in your business. So basically you buy a bunch of items like candles for a great price and then you resell and mark your price up to make a profit. Let me break it down another way you buy 12 candles at 5 bucks each that’s $60 you then resell your candles at $15 so now you make a profit of about 120. I want to give tips on navigating your way through Americasmart in Atlanta.

Tips on navigating your way through Americasmart in Atlanta

• Wear comfortable shoes. You don’t have to dress up but wear shoes that you can walk around in. No heels…I know you want to look good but you have to navigate 3 buildings….I wouldn’t do it
• Have a plan of action in place I will talk about this more in this post but please trust me when I say you need a plan
• Have your business cards ready I was asked for mine a quite a few times
• Bring your cell phone with a charger. They have charging stations and you will be there all day…you will need your phone (note if you have tmobile your phone will work in there that was surprising because tmobile doesn’t work anywhere)
• Bring an extra bag or rolling suitcase for all the extra stuff you get. You will get a lot of brochures, free gifts, etc. My arm was heavy and I felt like I was in the gym all 2 days I attended.
• Have money readily available just in case you want to make a purchase which I did

So I attended my first show two weeks ago here in Atlanta. I didn’t have a business license to attend so I actually attended as media because well…..I do own a media outlet. (BTW I have my business license now lol) So I went down there on Tuesday ahead of the rush to get a lay of the land. Since I’ve never been there before I needed to see what I was getting myself into. I knew to wear comfortable shoes but I also didn’t realize I needed to bring a small sweater or jacket it was cold. I grabbed a map of the place first because there are 3 buildings……each has more than 5 floors. I was lost the first day but there were security guards on every corner so if I needed to ask a question I could. It’s a maze in there I would suggest you carry a buddy with you.

What I went for

They sell everything in there from holiday items, to jewelry, to tshirts. There is something in there for everyone. I went in there specifically for the apparel section. So I had a branding and photography company called Sweetgrass Roots and I felt that it wasn’t really what I wanted to do. I loved the name but not what the company was doing so I ditched the branding and photography part (photography is now over here and I do branding only for specific people) and turned it into a lifestyle apparel company that focuses on my hometown of Charleston, SC. I went in there to see what kind of Charleston items I can buy to sell in my shop. I found some leggings that I would love to buy but I need to test them out and do some market research on them first before I sell to you all.

Plan of action in place

The first day my friend got me in and the 2nd day I got in on my own. She has a business license and she knew the ins and outs of the mart. She knew how to talk to the sellers and she knew how to negotiate everything. I will be taking her with me if I plan on buying something. As an introvert, I knew that I needed to have a plan. I didn’t want to be like a deer in headlights. First order of the plan is to get the map and the book that tells you all of the stores in the market. Take that book and go home so that you can look each one up and see if that is the store you want to visit. Let me repeat that….get the map and then go home to do your research. After you have done that you know where they will be located…go back on another day and tackle just the stores you want to engage with. That way you aren’t all over the place. I knew that I wanted to visit Southern Culture, Girly Gurl, and the Home T. I went back on that Wed and only went to those stores. I also stayed for the guest speaker which was Martha Stewart!

I loved the t-shirt companies because I love t-shirts. I love t-shirts so much that I gave you all a rundown of my favorite t-shirt companies a few months ago.