Choosing a Location for Your Floral Pop-Up
During those slow wedding seasons, it can be easy to go a little stir-crazy. If you’re regularly checking your emails for new work or endlessly scrolling through Instagram, seeing all the amazing things others are currently working on, it can all feel a little discouraging. You have a free week or two, and you're dying to get your hands on some flowers and get creative, but you also could use a quick buck! What do you do? Floral pop-ups!
You’ve probably heard about them or seen them on Pinterest or Instagram: People share their cute table filled with arrangements and buckets full of flowers at a trendy boutique or a popular clothing store that suited their brand perfectly. It looks like a smart way to increase your floral business revenue during slow seasons, but how do you get started and which location should you choose?
There are lots of ways to go about having a pop-up. In this article, you'll see what an experience looks like at a main street shop vs. a large chain store. We’ll also discuss two vital things when planning your floral pop-up:
How to choose the right time to pop-up shop and sell your beautiful goods
How to choose the right location for your unique brand
Choosing the Right Time to Host a Floral Pop-Up
Choosing the right date to host your pop-up is probably the most vital thing for success! You can plan everything and set up the cutest table filled with gorgeous flowers, but if it's a slow day wherever you’re hosting, you might end up spending most of your time sitting and worrying rather than selling (which is not the right vibe, am I right?). Whether you decide on a main-street shop or chain store, below are some thoughts to ponder while browsing through your calendar and planning a date!
1. Is there a holiday coming up where you and the location could BOTH benefit?
Anytime a big holiday is on the horizon, gift-giving is always an option—and what better option than flowers? Big-ticket holidays include (but aren't limited to) Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, or Christmas! If your pop-up falls around these dates, ask the location if they are open to hosting an event to sell your product for the holiday.
2. Is the location hosting a special event? {Anniversary, big sale, etc.}
If the location is already having an event in their shop, it's highly likely they'd like to include other vendors to drive traffic and add something special to their sale.
3. Has the location's current season been slow or busy? Is the traffic steady or sporadic?
If your available time frame does not fall on an event or holiday, ask about the current flow of traffic. In every business, there are slow and busy times, so be sure that all your hard work does not go to waste on a quiet day!
4. Is a collaboration with another artist possible?
This is such a great way to meet more of your community and drive more traffic from the other artist’s following/clientele as well. See if a collaboration of vendors is possible—maybe a watercolorist or wedding photographer? The two of you could promote one other and collaborate on a special product or deal.
Choosing the Right Location for Your Floral Pop-Up
Option 1: Host your pop-up at a Main-Street Shop
When I decided to do a pop-up, the first step I took was looking at the small businesses that were in my community. Now, this could be clothing stores, coffee shops, restaurants, or boutiques! I liked this option as a small business myself, so I thought, Hey it would be a great way to collaborate and support another local place as well!
Here are a few things you can do to determine local locations:
Drive around (good tunes only), and write down all the potential sites in your current area
Take it to Instagram and stalk some businesses in the area that you might not have driven by and add any to the list
Reevaluate your list and take out any that might not be "on-brand" or a good fit
Feeling good about your list? Now contact these businesses!
When you reach out to other businesses, you need to really sell your pop-up idea! Fill them in on your business and explain why collaborating on this pop-up would be great advertising not only for you, but also their business as well. Many companies might be familiar with the idea, while others might need to be slightly educated.
After lots of selling and chatting, you may receive a few no's. It's important not to get too discouraged! People get busy and may not have time to dedicate to a pop-up at the moment. It may be useful to keep them on hand for a later date and reach out again. However, with some time and perseverance, you'll make a great connection and find an excellent location that gets you excited. Once you get a positive response and feel like it's a good fit, then it is time to schedule a time/event to make it happen!
Option 2: HOSt Your Floral Pop-Up At A Large Chain Store
A large chain store that suits you, your brand, and brings significant traffic—what a dream! But how do you make that connection and contact? If there is a shop that you love, whether it's large or small, it doesn't hurt to ask! If going directly into their store and chatting with the manager is a little too frightening, try finding an email for that specific store location. If you've seen a fellow creative friend host a pop-up at a major chain, shoot them a quick message on Instagram and see if they have any advice; they might even have a direct contact to a chain store.
Once you have a point of contact, it's time to sell your pop-up! Selling an idea to a bigger chain can be tricky and intimidating, so include some images of your work or what you'd like to sell. Chances are they've had artists and creatives in their space before, so be sure to ask how past events have gone and if they have any sales or special events coming up.
PROS + CONS
Main Street Location
Pros
Most of the time, small shops have loyal customers (coffee shops, boutiques, etc.) which may mean loyal customers for your business
You get to connect with the community in a more intimate setting
The contacts you receive are from those who support small businesses
If all goes well, you might be more likely to host another pop-up at the same location
A smaller shop may mean more direct contact with the front of the store (in other words, direct contact with the customers who are coming in!)
Cons
You may have to split compensation with the owners of the store
If it is not on a main street or high-traffic area, you may hit slow lulls in your sales
A small store may mean smaller advertising (or none at all) on their part (although some stores are stellar at social!)
Large Chain Location
Pros
Could potentially bring great opportunities for you and your business in the future
Large stores equal large crowds (If you're in a good location in the store, you may receive a ton of foot traffic to your table!)
Great advertising can come from working with a large chain, whether that is on social or word of mouth
If you've made a good impression on their company and bring in new clients, they may invite you directly back into their space!
Cons
Harder to get in contact with and may never establish that connection
May already have established vendors that they like working with and aren't looking for anything new at the moment
Are picky about timing and when they allow vendors into their space (often, it must be the right event/time to host the pop-up which limits availability for you)
No matter what location you choose or what time you decide to host, pop-ups are a great way to meet new people in your community and establish new contacts that may bring potential work or friendships!
My biggest advice before doing your first pop-up is to be open to what this may bring to you and the growth of your flourishing business. There is always room to make mistakes and grow for the better, so anything is worth a shot. Get out there and show people your beautiful work because it is time they saw it!