Grant Winner Update: Pop-Up Shops - test the waters

One of the things Michael and I knew we wanted to do when we started to seriously explore the idea of a cat café was to first set up a pop-up. This was mid-2015, and at the time, only a few cat cafés open in the U.S. were employing the business model that we planned to use. We knew that these cat cafes were currently successful, but they were all located in larger cities than New Haven. Would a cat café in a smaller city like New Haven be able to engender enough demand to sustain the business?

Setting up a pop-up shop is very similar to opening any business. You need a location, your product, marketing, décor, and help – a lot of help.  

Location: The first thing we knew we needed to do was to find a space in which to hold our pop-up. If you’re in a well-populated city, websites like The Storefront or Pop Up Shops are available to help find locations that you can rent on a short-term basis.  

If you’re in a city that’s not listed, you’re going to need to do a little more footwork. In our case, we used Craigslist or Loopnet, contacted agents, explained what our business would be, and explained why we would need a short-term lease. Retail locations often go months without tenants, and hosting a pop-up shop helps to occupy the space while the landlord is waiting for a long-term lease. There may be stipulations in your lease that require you to return the space in the exact condition you found it, or you may be required to rent for a longer period of time than you’ll need for the duration of your pop-up.

You’ll want the space where you run a pop-up to mimic the environment you would ideally want for a permanent location – a similar amount of foot traffic, a similar neighborhood. This way, when you look at your sales, you will have a better estimate of what your future revenue will be.

Product: Can you obtain the amount of product that you estimate will be required for the duration of your pop-up? For us, that question entailed: could we bring the cats in, get them acclimated to the space, and provide a pleasant environment for our customers? As we worked with our shelter, we found that it would be necessary to extend the timeline to include additional days for set-up as well as closing down. If you run out of product during your pop-up (and good for you if you do!), make sure you have a way to follow up with your customers so that you don’t lose the sale. Take their order and ship their purchases when they’re available. Or ask for their email address and offer a discount when you restock.

Marketing: No one will know if you exist if you don’t tell them! We had built a respectable number of followers over the course of a year on our social media outlets, a group we considered our customer base. In addition to cat-themed images and videos, we shared milestones with them, such as signing our lease, looking for staff, and introducing the cats to the cat lounge for the first time. This continued to build excitement in our followers, and who, in turn, shared with their friends. We also spent a little bit of money on Facebook ads. In comparison to the statistics we had for our own posts, the Facebook ads were able to reach thousands more people.

Décor: At this point, you have probably already spent a lot on your lease and your product. While it is important to provide the right environment for your customers, you also don’t need to go all out at first. Decide what is the very minimum you’ll need to spend (and maximum you’d be willing to spend) in order to fit up your space. I’m not recommending that you purchase very cheap and flimsy items, but decide whether you need that additional piece. For us, we decided that cat shelves were a necessity. We felt that these were a component of the cat lounge experience without which it just wouldn’t feel complete. Cats could run up and down the floating shelves, and people would love watching them bounding across the walls. We did decide against purchasing some of the bigger play items – spinning cat wheel, rope bridges, little houses to nap in, etc. These were nice to have, but the purchase could be postponed until we knew that we’d remain open for more than a few weeks.

Help: You don’t have to do this alone! One of the things entrepreneurs forget sometimes is that you’re not alone. While this business is your baby, there are often people around you who can help. Friends, family and supporters who might be willing to help move you in, decorate, place product, research groups who would be interested in your pop-up, and just be present at the pop-up while you stop to take a breath. It’s important to have people you can count on that will help pull it all together.

Our pop-up was a huge success. We had over 700 customers in the course of the 17 days we were open, and all 5 cats got adopted! They were able to go straight to their new homes when we closed up the pop-up shop. While our customers were in the cat lounge, we were able to listen to their feedback and suggestions. We saw how they acted in the company of the cats, which prompted some adjustments and additional education. We learned the places where our operations could be improved, from the reservations system to the process of introducing the guests to the cat lounge when they enter.
With the overwhelming response we received, we felt confident that we could move forward and open permanently.

About the author

Angela Pullo is the 19th Small Business Grant winner. She is the owner of Mew Haven Cat Cafe. Mew Haven Cat Cafe is a coffee shop with adoptable shelter cats. With an hourly entry fee, people can come and play with cats. Some people can`t have cats, and this provides a form of stress relief. Some people who want to adopt can get to know the cats` personalities before they adopt.

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