By Akiko Veil
If you’re playing with the idea of opening up your first small business, try holding a pop-up shop first. I have 3 reasons starting a pop-up can help you and your business grow:
1. Pop-Ups Are the Perfect Testing Grounds for Business Ideas
Success in business is all about testing concepts. A pop-up is the perfect way to do test the viability of a business idea or new product. Pop-ups don’t require a long-term lease, is a great low-risk way to test out a location, and you can identify how your target market would receive a product or a new selection of menu items.
2. Pop-Ups Create a Sense of Urgency
Since pop-ups are temporary retail locations by nature, they tend to drive retail customers to make impulsive choices and increase check averages for pop-up restaurants.
3. Renting a Space Can Save You Money
Instead of buying a store front, remodeling, and then having to keep up with the maintenance- renting a space could save you so much money. You may even get lucky and find a space that you wouldn’t be responsible for utilities and you pay a flat fee.
Looking to hold a pop-up locally? In Fort Walton Beach, BizLounge is a coworking and office rental space that offers services for entrepreneurs starting up their own businesses. Starting this year, BizLounge is offering a service for those looking to have a pop-up shop for their merchandise. They have hosted events to demonstrate products or workshops to create and take-home goods, but now they’re hoping to be a place where businesses can set up shop.
The idea came from the Women’s Expo event that’s held every couple of months. Instead of vendors coming for one day, BizLounge wants to give an opportunity to have a physical location for a couple weeks. As a bonus, BizLounge has drop in childcare available-which helps business owners focus more on their shop or event and even provide a service to their patrons.
In January, BizLounge has a variety of events Mommy & Me Playdate (1/4 and 1/18), Parent to Parent’s Kids in the Kitchen (1/16), Japan America Society of Northwest Florida’s Rakugo: Art of Storytelling (1/17), and SB Showcase’s Natural Hair Expo (1/21). Visit one of these events or contact BizLounge for more details on how to hold an event or set up a pop-up shop.
BizLounge is located at 652 Beal Pkwy Fort Walton Beach, FL 32457 and you can call them at (850)213-1877.