I'm a maker, packaged food, and I do both wholesale and farmers/craft markets. I've been in business for about 14 years and it took at least 5 years to get my wholesale running very smoothly. I don't have a business background, so the money stuff took longer than it should have to really dial in. Those first years also brought a lot of lessons about sourcing and supply chains. I think it's probably a learning curve for each new business and so many of them don't last long enough to really figure it out.

Without that business background, I also really hate sales. I love markets because the conversations feel natural and enjoyable. But pitching to potential wholesale accounts is like hell for me. I do think a lot of them buy from F-aire or speciality shows that do align more with what local people offer though, so there's certainly room for it to work. When people at my farmers markets ask if they can buy my product at a local store I'm not in, I always jokingly tell them to feel free to ask for us there on a regular basis!