Aromatherapy

Sniffing Success: How a Flea Market Aromatherapy Project Turned Into a Fun Business Lesson. (Sort Of)

Picture this: it's a lazy Saturday morning, birds are chirping, my bed feels like heaven, and I'm deep in my REM cycle dreaming of tacos. Suddenly—ding!—a message from an old university friend shatters the peace.

"Hey! Wanna join our school project today?"

Now, did I read that message when she sent it? Of course not. I saw it one hour later while still wrapped in my blanket like a human burrito. Luckily, fate was on my side—she hadn’t left yet, and within 30 minutes, I was showered, dressed, and ready to plunge into... the mysterious world of aromatherapy.

Plot Twist (#1) : This wasn't just sniffing flowers and chanting in a circle. It was a full-blown business project in the wild terrain of a downtown flea market. Picture the scene: ancient coins, questionable antiques, jade dragons, and amidst it all, our stall selling elegant little bags filled with dried flowers that smell better than your grandma's perfume drawer.

I was hooked. I hung out at the stall, made conversation, and then wandered around the market pretending to be a treasure hunter. I even bought a bunch of old coins to impress my family back in Brazil (they'll think I’m now Indiana Jones).

The first time we did it, things went okay—some people bought our flower pouches, some just sniffed and walked away like they were judging a perfume competition. Still, I had a spark of hope: “We could totally sell more... with a few tweaks.”

So, naturally, I pitched my genius ideas to the group like a startup CEO:

FREE eBook Alert! We create a mini guide to aromatherapy (with gorgeous pictures) and slap a QR code on our table. Customers scan it, boom—instant value.

Bonus Bonanza: Buy anything from us and get two more eBooks (written by yours truly, of course) absolutely free. It's like a flower-scented book buffet!

book 1 - The key to Learn English

book 2 - The World in your Hands

Conversation Starter: The free eBook? Just an excuse to talk to anyone who walks by. "Hey, want a free book?" Boom—ice broken, sale incoming.

Super Bargain: Our dried flower bags were cheap enough to make your wallet smile, and the added book bonus made the deal irresistible (in theory).

We even convinced the responsible teacher for this project to let us run the stall a second time just so we could implement our master plan. I was feeling like a marketing genius.

And then... plot twist (#2): Labor Day.
The market was basically a ghost town. I think I saw more pigeons than people. We sold three bags. Total. Not exactly the million-dollar day I envisioned.

But hey—was it a failure? Not at all.

We chatted with strangers (in English!),laughed with friends, and got to experience real-life business in action. Plus, we learned the most important entrepreneurial lesson of all: