Let's talk pop-up shops!

I had the pleasure of having a pop-up shop for Five Dot Post at our beloved Chateau le Woof this past weekend. It was my first one in almost two years (Covid), and I had the most wonderful time. I remember being so nervous about my first pop-up shop (now almost three years ago!) at Lockwood Shop in the neighborhood. Thoughts: How many cards should I bring? How should I display them? How should I take payments? How much change should I bring? etc.

I thought this could be a good moment, hot off the heels of my most recent pop-up, to share what it's really like and answer some of your questions!

+ You can really never guess how many of which card to bring- and that's okay!

I love the surprise of seeing which cards sell well in person. Sometimes it completely surprises me, though it does seem to mimic the trends on our online selling platforms. You will run out of cards you don't expect to, and the best solution is to direct customers to your website! I don't bring every design to these types of in-person shops, so I often let customers know I have more designs online, and then offer a discount code (on the back of my business cards I hand out).

+ Offer multiple payment options

I was so nervous to use my Square payment for the first time, but it's honestly fool-proof. I love being able to accept credit/Apple Pay through my Square Bluetooth device (this is the one I have). I do think having multiple payment options increases sales opportunities. It's free to set up a Square account, the device is inexpensive, and the processing fee is low.

+ Bring change

I normally bring $50 in fives as change to pop-up events. Since my pricing options at pop-ups are 1 card for $5 or 5 cards for $20, five-dollar bills are all I need.

+ Keep your display simple

It's so easy to feel like you need all the bells and whistles to show off your cards at in-person events, but for pop-ups, I recommend going simple and inexpensive at the start. You can find tons of different options on Amazon from card spinners, to shelves, etc. I used a foldable shelf thing, a wooden box from Michaels, and my card storage box for the one this past weekend. I didn't have a spinner to show all designs at once, so I pulled them out onto the table for customers to look through! If pop-ups were a more regular thing for my business I would invest in more extensive displays, but what I have works for me.

+ Bring water, snacks, and a buddy if possible!

I went solo to my first pop-up and stepping away for food/the bathroom was tricky. If you can have someone there with you to keep an eye on things for those moments, it will be so much easier! Having water and snacks is the way to go as you will likely be there for several hours.

I will be having another pop-up soon where I will be sharing all my new cards for the Five Dot Post Summer 2021 release! Keep an eye out on the Birthday, Halloween, and Holiday sections of our show, or follow @fivedotpost on Instagram to see all our upcoming designs.

Want to learn more about how to start and grow your own greeting card business? Check out my A-Z program, The Card Maker Business Course, here!

xoxo, jess