Community markets and entrepreneurship: A primer

Abstract

An increasing number of popularly frequented, but lightly studied, entrepreneurial events such as farmer's markets, festivals, art walks, night markets, and other seasonal gatherings occur regularly as forms of community meetups worldwide. At these events, individuals strive to create and enhance their communities through a series of often loosely organized gatherings that combine art, entertainment, and entrepreneurial promise. These events are associated with small business owners or hobbyists that sell their wares to a location-based market often searching for goods and services viewed as at least somewhat unique from other mainstream offerings. These events are critical for entrepreneurs as they serve as a vehicle to expand their customer base, build awareness for their products and brands, and even test out new product offerings in their local markets. Building knowledge of these events and the entrepreneurs that fuel such gatherings provides an opportunity to bridge the gap between ‘what we know’ and ‘what we aspire to know’ about these common entrepreneurial activities. Inspired by the notion of ‘thick descriptions’ in the qualitative tradition, we hope to inspire such grounded thinking and detail several community events taking place in the culturally vibrant community of Denton, Texas.