Dan Thompson

Creating a pop up business embraces a new, nimble way of working that’s perfect for the 21st century. Pop ups aren’t just a temporary use of space because there’s a recession; they’re a new way of using town and city centres, and they match the needs of a new generation of entrepreneurs.

You see pop up cinemas and pop up cafes, pop up shops and all types of pop up businesses everywhere you look. What’s going on with this pop up phenomenon? So what separates a pop up from other projects? To truly qualify as a pop up, a project should: Use an empty or under-used space. Be time-limited, with clear start and end dates.

When planning your pop up, be clear about what it does. Pop up businesses use an empty or underused space to do something exclusive, distinct or special. They have a clear start and end date, and don’t aim for permanence. Use a pop up to: Provide a space for a seasonal sale or event. Offer a chance to test or prototype a new business.

Pop ups are fast, furious, flexible and fun. Planning is essential to success, but plans for pop up businesses are living, working documents, not set in stone. Aim to use agile methods (an idea taken from a type of software development), and make sure that you: Aim to be up and running as early as possible. Welcome change.

Finding a pop up venue can be great fun; you get to explore your local area and spot all sorts of spaces you’ve never noticed before. Does a local space particularly match your pop up? Sometimes, a particular building or a public space seems ideal for a project. The perfect space increases customer interest, brings the media along and ensures your pop up is talked about after it’s closed.

Spotting a pop up space you like is easy enough, but finding out who owns the space and then winning them over to let you use it can be harder. The key to success is to start early and to network. Networking isn’t something you do once a week at a breakfast meeting. It’s something you can do all the time. Get a meeting with the pop up space owner You’re asking the person who owns the property to do you a favour by giving you a short let (lease) probably at low cost.

Time spent on researching your future pop up shop isn’t wasted; it means less time correcting mistakes in your plan further down the line. When a big company does something wrong, it has time, resources and finance to carry on. If your time, resources and finance are more limited, mistakes may mean the end of everything you’ve worked for.

Pop ups offer many benefits over traditional premises to lots of types of businesses. Although artists were the first to recognise the benefits of pop ups, all business sectors, from small and home-based businesses to global brands like Reebok and Disney, widely use them. Taking on any commercial premises comes with certain responsibilities, so why choose a pop up over more traditional locations?

To find the perfect place for your pop up, you have to do some footwork and visit potential locations. But the first step in finding a pop up actually takes place before you set a foot outside. The following questions help determine the places you look at so that you’re not running around on a wild goose chase: Does a local space particularly match your pop up?