SPOKANE, Wash. – One local business owner will be using the annual Spokane spring market at Riverfront Park to figure out how the community will react to her new business idea.
Meghan Mackey has lived in Spokane her entire life. She has a dental consulting business, but it doesn’t allow her to be as creative as she wants, so she started Bliss Bizz (less than a month ago, March 5).She sells shower steamers with her sister-in-law. At the 4th annual spring market at Riverfront Park, they will be allowing the public to pay whatever price they want for their products because they are using this as a chance for market research.Here’s how it works: You pick out whichever steamers you want, you scan one of two QR codes to pay digitally on Venmo, and you vote by choosing which person to send the money to.If you send it to Meghan’s sister-in-law, Shondra, it means you want to see this business in a brick-and-mortar location. If you send it to Meghan, you do not think they should start a business locally.Mackey wants the community’s honest opinion, but she knows she has a good product.”People love them,” said Mackey. “The menthol with eucalyptus, especially if you aren’t feeling very well, it just slaps you in the face, wakes you up like oh hi, good morning…”Because Mackey is so passionate about this, she says if everyone votes for them to start a business, she will seriously consider taking out a major business loan. If everyone votes no, she will still make her product because of how passionate she is about it; she will just give them away as gifts.But Bliss Bizz won’t be the only new stop you can expect to see at this year’s spring market.For all Spokane Public School kids, this week is spring break, which is why for the first time at the spring market, volunteers from Whitworth University will be leading and engaging kids with sidewalk and board games.There will also be a zero-waste station to gear up the community in preparation for Expo 74’s 50th anniversary. They will have a booth set up, so the community knows what to expect moving forward.They also will have a petting zoo that is returning for the 2nd time after being a hit last year.And the dog fashion show will be bigger and better: more dogs and more crazy outfits for the public to appreciate.In total, there will be 75 arts & crafts, home goods, and clothing vendors. There will also be 15 food vendors.For more information on the spring market click here.
