44. How to Rock Pop-Up and Vendor Events This Summer

Summer is here, and that means one thing for small business owners: pop-up shop season! Whether you're a vendor event newbie or a seasoned pro who needs a refresher, this episode is your go-to prep guide. Whitney breaks down what to bring, how to set up, and how to hype your booth like a boss before the event even begins. Plus, get your hands on a free pop-up checklist to help you feel totally prepared!

What You'll Learn:

• The ultimate vendor event checklist (don't forget your portable charger!)
• How to prep your booth to attract and engage
• Easy pre-event marketing tips that build buzz
• What to do during and after to maximize your efforts
• Bonus tips for creating memorable moments and growing your email list

✨ Free Resource:
Download Your Free Pop-Up Checklist Here

Connect with Whitney:
Instagram: @aguonstudios
Website: aguonstudios.com

Join the Conversation:
Going to a pop-up soon? Tag Whitney on Instagram so she can hype you up!

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Transcript

0:00

We're diving into something I know a lot of us are thinking about as the weather starts to heat up, and that is pop-up shops and vendor events, whether you're brand new to doing in-person events or a seasoned pro who just needs a little refresher. I've got you covered. We're talking about prepping for success, hyping your business before the big day, and all the little details that make or break the experience. Oh. And a quick heads up, if you want a little extra help, I've put together a free popup checklist you can download right now. It's linked in the show notes. Grab it and make sure you don't miss a thing when you're prepping for your next event. So since it's hot outside, grab your iced coffee and let's get into it. Welcome to Caffeinated Chaos, where business deals happen between diaper changes and friendships are fueled by caffeine. I'm Whitney GaN, your host, and I'm here to talk all things business parenthood, and of course keeping up with the BFFs, whether you're juggling the boardroom, the playroom, or just here for some coffee fuel chaos. We've got you covered. Get ready for real talk, laughs and a whole lot of heart as we dive into the beautiful mess that is entrepreneurship, parenthood, and everything in between. So let's embrace the chaos together. Ated, of course. Summer is prime time for vendor events. People are out and about. Markets are thriving, and it's the perfect time to get in front of a brand new audience. Think about it. Outdoor festivals, local farmers markets, craft fairs, community block parties. People want to shop small and support local. Your perfect customer could literally just be scrolling by with a snow cone in hand. So if you've been waiting for a sign to get your booth game on, this is it. Let's talk about how you can prep like a pro. Okay. Here's your checklist. Before you even show up one inventory check, make sure that you have enough product ready and then some. It's better to have extra than to run out early. Two, have clear pricing. Price tags should be super obvious. People hate guessing and there's just not enough of you to go around to answer everyone's questions about how much things cost. Three table setup, bring a tablecloth, cute displays, maybe some height levels to make visual to make it visually interesting. Don't just lay everything flat. I used to help my friend with this in her Kindle business. Layers my friends lots and lots of layers so that you can have things. Look visually appeasing. This one's a bit of a checklist, so make sure you have the following. Do you have a car reader for pavements? Plenty of change if you are accepting cash bags for purchases. Business cards. Portable charger for your phone. Water, snacks, sunscreen, if it's outdoors, but also you should still have water and snacks if you're indoors, tape, scissors, safety pins, you know, all the just in case stuff. And this one is really important and one that I love. Practice your layout at home seriously. Set up a mock booth in your living room, it will save you so much stress the day of. Take a picture of what exactly you want it to look like. This especially helps if you have someone else who is helping you so that they can refer to the picture and not have to keep asking you, where does this go? What about this? How do I set up this? It's great to have a picture and also you can keep using that picture over and over for each popup. Okay. Let's talk now about marketing yourself before the event. Okay? If you show up and hope for the best, you are leaving so much opportunity and money on the table, here are some ways that you can hype yourself ahead of time. Create a countdown, post it on your social media, Instagram, Facebook stories, build excitement. Start teasing it at at least one to two weeks, I would say one to two weeks beforehand. Start showing behind the scenes content. Show yourself prepping for your products, packing your booth kit, loading your car. People love to be brought along for the ride Share event details. Where is it? What time? What are other vendors that you know are gonna be there? Make it easy for people to show up. One of the things I always found interesting was events would happen and people would be like, okay, what? Where's the parking? So if you know where the park, where the best parking spots are for this event, suggest it because they will be grateful that you gave it to them and they will come see you. Exclusive offers. Okay. This is where I want you to start thinking. Is there gonna be some kind of exclusive offer for the event? A freebie, a discount, something only available in person. People kind of love that feeling of exclusivity. Four. During the event, I want you to maximize your impact. All right? So you've set up now what? Don't just smile and sit and you know, wait for someone to start engaging you. I want you to smile and greet everyone. You don't have to be salesy, you don't have to be pushy. Just be friendly and approachable. Okay? I want you to capture content. Take pictures of your booth selfies at the events, mini videos walking around. You can use these for days after to keep the momentum going, and this gives you great content that you can repurpose later as well. Collect emails, have a little signup sheet or QR code for a giveaway. Grow your list because those are the people who will most likely buy from you again and again without having to constantly go to a vendor pop up. So grow your list while you're there. Okay. Network with other vendors. Some of your best future collaborations, referrals, and even friendships will come from people behind the neighboring tables. Make friends with your neighbors. I just wanna throw in some bonus tips here. A couple bonus tips that you know are just a few extra things that could make a huge difference. Have an. What's called an elevator pitch. Ready? Be ready to quickly explain who you are and what you offer in one to two sentences. So this is something you might want to rehearse ahead of time. So think of it as something just short and sweet. Create a wow moment. Whether it's a fun. Branded freebie, eye catching packaging, or just an over the top friendly service. Give the people something that they will remember you by. All right. And most importantly, follow up. After the event, hop on socials and think everyone who came by, post a little recap. Encourage your buyers to post what they got and tag you. Share what you loved about it. Keep building these connections. It's all right. So those are just a few extra little bonus tips that I have for you. Summer is seriously the best time to put yourself out there. When I go out and I meet vendors at popups, my business really supports small vendors, and so I used to like. Be the ones printing cards or banners or anything like that. And I would show up with all these bags to a popup location as everyone is setting up, and I would pass them out like candy, like, oh, here's your business cards. Thanks for your order, and who's this? And there's this. So for me, I attend popups to get to know the vendors and support local artists in my area. But as a vendor who is selling at the. Popup. It is important that you come prepared, that you make the most out of it, especially if you are paying a fee to be part of it. You wanna make sure that you at least get your money back and grow your business while there, right? It's all about moving the needle, so seriously, summer is the best time to put yourself out there. Meet new customers face to face. Breathe in some fresh new energy into your business. It doesn't have to be perfect. Trust me, some of my bestselling events were the messiest set up behind the scenes. Just show up, smile big. And remember, you are planting seeds for future sales, collaborations and opportunities that you can't even see yet don't forget to download our free popup checklist from the link in the show notes. It'll help you feel more organized, confident, and hopefully ready to totally rock your next event. Remember, you've got this and if you're going to a popup soon, tag me on Instagram so I can hype you up too. And if you're nearby, I will definitely be checking it out. That's it for today's episode. Thanks for hanging out with me. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast. Leave us a review if this episode gave you just a little bit of boost of confidence. Until next time, stay caffeinated, stay chaotic, and don't forget your sunscreen if you are gonna be vending outside. Bye now.