She Had No Customers at the Farmers Market — Then One Man Took a Video

When Dawna Thompson was selling her beef jerky at a farmers market in Rosenberg, Texas, it was a slow day. But one customer was about to change her business in a way she never imagined.

David Dominguez, a content creator, travels to farmers markets across Texas and visits vendors who have little to no foot traffic. After he was laid off last year, he and his wife began visiting farmers markets and decided to post videos in hopes of helping small businesses. What started as a hobby has since become a weekly project.

When Dominguez visited Dawna’s booth, he sampled her beef jerky and shared the experience in a video.

@davidspov_ She makes amazing Spicy Lemon Pepper beef jerky! Giving back to the community part 92 #pov #farmersmarket #wholesome #localbusiness #vendor ♬ growth – Gede Yudis

The next day, he woke up to discover it had gone viral. The video has now surpassed 33 million views.

Shortly after his visit, Dawna and her husband woke up to alerts pouring in on their phones. At first, they thought their website had been hacked. Instead, they realized the notifications were orders—pouring in from across the country and around the world.

“We hear our phone just like ding, ding, ding, ding, ding,” Dawna told Click2Houston. “It was crazy.”

Dawna says the unexpected spotlight has helped her business tremendously, and she and her team are now working to fulfill thousands of orders while going to her regularly scheduled farmer’s markets.

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