Pop-ups are the latest trend in the business world and they’re really taking off. It started out with restaurants that would appear for a few weeks before moving on to the next place but now, there are loads of other businesses doing it. They’re a great way to do business because you get a lot of customers off the back of the pop-up concept. People know that you’re only going to be there for a brief period so they won’t take their time weighing up whether to buy things, they’ll make a purchase before it’s too late and you disappear again. Pop-ups usually have far fewer overheads as well because you’re just renting a space temporarily and they’re usually quite small with only a couple of employees. However, there are some downsides to running a pop-up business. When you’re moving from place to place on a regular basis, you’ve got to take all of your stock and anything else you might need in the shop like tills, clothes rails, decoration for displays etc. That’s a lot of stuff and chances are, you’ll have to make some sacrifices. You won’t be able to carry all of the stuff that you’d have in a permanent shop which can sometimes be a problem.
The other major issue that you’re going to have is marketing. You need to make sure that people know you’re coming, when you’re going to be there and where the shop is going to be set up. You’ve only got a limited time to tap into that market which can work in your favour but only if enough people know about it. That’s why you’ve got to on top of your marketing every step of the way. The good news is, there is some great technology out there that can help you solve these issues and make sure that your pop-up business is a hit.
Credit Card Readers
Most people are going to pay on a card so if you only accept cash, you’ll lose a lot of customers. But if you’re using a traditional card reader, you’ll have to find some way of connecting it to the internet and somewhere to plug it in. You’ll also have to take it with you everywhere and even though they aren’t that big, it’s just more stuff to carry. But you can avoid all of that hassle by using a credit card reader for phone instead. You’ll already have your phone with you, you just need to carry a small attachment that will easily fit in your pocket and you can take all of your payments on that. You can set it up in seconds and start taking payments right away without having to worry.
Scheduling Apps
Another issue that you might have with a pop-up business is staff schedules. The trading hours are going to be irregular and you’ll be moving around so some employees might not be able to get to certain locations etc. It’s a lot more complicated organizing an employee schedule for a pop-up than it is for a traditional business. But you can use scheduling apps to make things a lot simpler. When I Work is a great one that you can get for free. It allows you to build a schedule that everybody can easily access online and employees can request shift changes from the app. It’ll make it so much easier for employees to let you know if there are certain shifts that aren’t practical for them and they can swap them with others at the click of a button. Using a scheduling app is the only way to keep your employee’s rota organized properly, which is essential if your pop-up is going to be a success.
Accounting Software
Regardless of what the business is, everybody needs to keep on top of their finances. But when you’re running a pop-up business, keeping your overheads down is one of the main priorities. You might have weeks where you’re just not getting that many sales in a certain place and so you can’t afford to be spending loads of money every month. Hiring an accountant is expensive but there’s no need to do that anymore. There are some great pieces of software on the market that can help you with everything from pricing products to paying staff and keeping track of all of your money. They’ll cost you a fraction of the price of hiring an accountant and once you learn how to use them properly, they’ll perform the exact same function.
Make sure that you take full advantage of this tech and your pop-up business will be a hit in no time.
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