The number of people setting up their own business under the age of 35 is rocketing. More specifically, it’s the millennials (those born between 1980 and 2000) who seem to have those at the top of larger organisations scratching their heads the most.
Too often it is reported that our generation tends to lack staying power to their employer, choosing in favour to go at it alone. This is because we are far more likely to be entrepreneurial, unafraid to take risks and want to climb up the career ladder more quickly, which often means that we learn what we can, then move on to set up on our own.
University provides the perfect platform for us to fuel these ambitions. With almost every institution offering some kind of enterprise programmes where students are actively encouraged to think, create and build their dreams for themselves – and the resources are provided to go ahead and conquer – it’s unsurprising that there has been a surge in pop-up businesses by students. Furthermore initiatives such as Unipopshop and The Street Store (UCL’s pop-up to help the homeless) are only increasing in popularity.
Pop-ups are a fantastic way to not only earn a bit of extra cash, but to test and get feedback on an idea you may be harbouring for the longer term, or indeed to raise awareness of a particular cause. Here are some tips to help run your own pop-up:
Get the set-up right
Make sure you’ve clearly thought out your space, ticketing and marketing plan. If you’re not in the right place, you won’t get the footfall – or audience that is right for what you’re selling. Similarly if no one knows you’re there then you won’t get what you need from your pop-up. Check out sites such as We Are Pop Up to help spread details of your venture and use all social medial platforms to spread the word further.
Set clear goals
At the start of the project, set clear objectives for your pop-up. These could include driving brand awareness, testing product price-points, experimenting with brand messaging or purely maximising sales. Keep your eye on your initial objectives each day to measure what’s working and what’s not. If you’re hitting targets, how can you do more of what’s working, and if you’re not, why is that? If it’s not working, be bold and make changes, don’t just to more of the same.
Know your requirements
Make sure you know the exact specifications and facilities of the location you will be popping up in as well as any support that may be offered. Find out what is included with the venue and what you need to source yourself, such as furniture, lighting and any in-house decoration.
Communicate effectively
Communication is the key when it comes to popping up. Often the landlord will have plenty of experience and expertise in this field – ask for advice if you need a hand or a second opinion. There is always something to learn and the process of launching a pop-up provides the ideal setting for this. By allowing some room to grow and communicating openly and effectively with the landlord as well as your own team, not only will the pop-up run smoothly but you will gain valuable knowledge along the way.
Promote yourself
If you build it, will they come? The space is not in charge of footfall – you need to drive that yourself. One misconception about popping up is that customers will simply appear because you’re there, but if people aren’t aware of who you are or where you are located then you will miss out on a huge potential audience. Make the most of the unbounded (and free) power of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Reach out to new audiences to tell your story as well as engaging your established followers. If in doubt, advertise, advertise, advertise.
Learn from the experience
Remember: this is an experiment. Pop-ups are a proven way to test a new brand or business concept, measure your progress and learn from the result, but there is no concrete rule to success. Evaluate each of your objectives – whether that was building brand awareness, testing price-points, or sales – by reflecting on what went well and how you could improve next time. If you learn from the experience then ultimately your pop-up will have been a success.
Whatever your plan for a pop-up, take it as an opportunity to be bold and experiment. Learn from mistakes and plan how to build on successes in your next one. Most importantly – have fun. It’s a great way to innovate and enterprise. Who knows, you might be the next Innocent Drinks!
These tips were contributed by Simply Business.
Image credit: Robert Churchill/123rf.com