WHAT IS THIS WORKSHOP?

This is not a motivational seminar.

You will not be told to follow your dreams and the money will follow.

You will be told the truth about running a pop-up store. What it costs. What it takes. What goes wrong. And how to get it right.

By the end of this single day, you will have built a real pop-up store from scratch, created your own run sheet, done your own cost and pricing calculations, and decided whether this path is actually for you.

Six participants maximum. One facilitator who tells it straight. One day that could save you thousands in costly mistakes.

WHO IS THIS FOR?

This workshop is for you if:

• You have a product or idea and are thinking about testing it in a physical space.
• You have never run a pop-up before and want to understand what’s involved.
• You prefer honest answers to sugar-coated promises.
• You want practical tools, not just inspiration.
• You are prepared to do the maths, not just dream the dream.
• This workshop is not for you if:
• You are looking for a get-rich-quick formula.
• You don’t want to hear about costs, risks, or paperwork.
• You believe passion alone will carry you through.

THE THREE TRUTHS

These three statements will be on the wall all day. We will come back to them again and again.

1. A pop-up is a real business with real risk. Treat it like one.
2. Most pop-ups don’t lose money because of the product. They lose money because of the rent, the location, and the lack of customers.
3. You will be exhausted. Plan for it.

If you can accept these three truths, you are ready for this workshop.

THE DAY AT A GLANCE

PART 1: CONCEPT & CUSTOMER

What Are You Actually Selling?

Before you think about where or when, answer one question with brutal honesty.

• What are you actually selling? Not what you think you’re selling. What the customer is actually buying.
• You might think you’re selling handmade candles. But the customer might be buying a gift for someone they don’t know well. Or five minutes of quiet browsing. Or the story of your small business that makes them feel good about their purchase.
• We will dig into this together. You will leave knowing the real thing being exchanged at your counter.
• Who Is Buying and Why?
• Your customer is not “everyone.”
• “Everyone” is not a customer base. “Everyone” is a recipe for an empty store.
• We will build a specific customer profile together. Age. Location. Income. Habits. Where they go on a Saturday. What makes them spend. What stops them spending.
• Then we will ask the hard question: does this customer actually go where you are planning to be? If not, how will they find you?
• A pop-up with no foot traffic is a very expensive storage unit. We will make sure yours isn’t one

PART 2: SPACE & MONEY

Making a Space People Enter

Customers decide whether they’re interested within three seconds of seeing your space.

Three seconds.

You will learn the three zones every pop-up needs: the Threshold, the Hot Spot, and the Path. You will understand how lighting, sound, smell, touch, and temperature affect sales. You will see how moving one table changes the entire feel of a store.

We will mark out a real store footprint on the floor and test layouts. You will learn what works and what repels.

Pricing, Costs, and Not Losing Your Shirt

This is where most people go wrong. Not the product. The numbers.

We will complete a real cost worksheet together. Every cost. Rent. Insurance. Packaging. Transport. Payment fees. The things you forgot to budget for.

We will talk about pricing honestly. What margin you actually need. What “break-even” means and how to calculate yours.

You will leave knowing exactly how many units you need to sell per day just to cover your costs. That number will be your best friend.

PART 2: LEGAL

What You Must Get Right

This is the boring stuff that will ruin your life if you ignore it.

We will walk through a legal checklist covering:

• Business registration and permits.
• Food handling requirements.
• Music licences.
• Consumer law obligations.
• Rental terms and the fine print that costs people thousands.
• We will share real stories of things that went wrong — penalty fees, insurance gaps, bond disputes — so you can avoid them.
• The time to discover you needed a permit is not when the council officer walks in on opening day. We will make sure you know what to check.

PART 3: SETUP SIMULATION

Build Your Store. For Real.

This is the heart of the day.

• In the afternoon, you will stop talking and start doing. Working in pairs, you will set up an actual pop-up store in the room. You will have a taped-out space, sample products, a table, and basic supplies.
• You decide the layout. The sign. The pricing. The atmosphere. The customer experience.
• Then we walk through as real customers and tell you honestly what works and what doesn’t.
• You will make mistakes. Good. That’s the point. Better here than on opening day when rent is ticking.

The Run Sheet

• You will build your own minute-by-minute plan for a full trading day.
• Pre-open. Trading hours. Close. Pack-down.
• We will cover what most people forget: when you eat, when you sit down, what you do during the quiet hour when no one is around, and how to manage the physical exhaustion of standing in a store for eight hours.
• You will leave with a complete, reusable run sheet template.

PART 4: CLOSE & THE NUMBERS

Pack Down and the Numbers That Matter

Pack down is part of your day. Rushed pack down leads to damaged stock and a bad reputation with landlords. We will cover what a proper pack-down routine looks like.

Then we talk about the most important 10 minutes of your day: the numbers.

Before you go home, every single day, you will record:

1. Total sales.
2. Number of transactions.
3. Best and worst-selling items.
4. Most common customer question.

These numbers tell you the truth. Not your feelings. Not social media likes. The numbers.

You will learn how to do a full after-action review at the end of your pop-up. Was it worth it? Financially. In energy. In time. Would you do it again?

There is no wrong answer. A pop-up that teaches you a valuable lesson is not a failure. But you have to actually learn the lesson.

THE THREE QUESTIONS

At the end of the workshop, we will leave you with three questions. Answer them honestly, and you will know whether to proceed.

1. Is there real demand for my product, or am I hoping there is?
2. Can my pricing cover my costs and leave enough for me?
3. Am I prepared for how tiring this will be?

If the answers are yes, start small. Do a one-day market first. Then a weekend. Build from there.

If the answers are no, that’s okay too. Better to know now than after signing a lease.

WHAT YOU TAKE HOME

You leave this workshop with:

• A completed cost worksheet for your specific product.
• A legal checklist covering every essential item.
• A reusable run sheet template for any trading day.
• Hands-on experience setting up and running a pop-up store.
• Honest feedback on your concept and layout.
• A clear break-even number you can plan against.
• The knowledge to decide whether this path is right for you.
• No fluff. No empty promises. Just tools you can actually use.

DETAILS & REGISTRATION

Secure Your Spot

Six seats only. Once filled, registration closes.

QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE

Do I need to have a product ready?

No. An idea is enough. We will work with whatever stage you are at.

What if I realise this isn’t for me?

Then the workshop has done its job. Better to learn here than after spending thousands on rent and stock. Either outcome — go or no-go — is a success.

Is there any point where I have to present or pitch?

No. This is a working workshop, not a pitch competition. You will build things, discuss honestly, and get feedback. No performative pressure.

What should I bring?

Yourself. A notebook if you want. We provide everything else, including worksheets and templates.

Will I be able to run a pop-up after one day?

You will know what it takes, what it costs, and whether you want to proceed. That is more than most people ever figure out. From there, it’s about starting small and building.

A FINAL WORD

Running a pop-up is hard.

It is physically hard. It is emotionally hard. It is often financially marginal.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something.

But.

It is also one of the fastest ways to test a product, meet real customers, and learn whether your idea has legs. You will learn more in one weekend of trading than you will in six months of planning. The customers will tell you the truth. You just have to show up and listen.

This workshop will not promise you success.

It will promise you clarity.