Go OM Yourself Pop Up Store

Go OM Yourself Pop Up Store HOW TO -YOUR BRAND STORY

Your Brand Story is Everything

Welcome to the GO OM YOURSELF POP UP STORE HOW TO – Your brand story is everything. Know this elemental key fact, and your store builds itself. Keep your brand image and purpose front and center of each item you select. Be sure all aspects of your pop up store design, speak to your brand mission. Everything from theme to product merchandising must connect. So that your pop up will not only be successful, but will turn heads, spark conversations and most importantly, generate sales.

Create A Unified Ambient Theme

For Go OM Yourself, it is important to blend our snappy irreverent tone with our high-vibe zen intentions. Something soft and inviting (like our shirts) is a must, but to stay true to who we are as a brand, the space also needs to have an edge to it. So I curate items that speak to both. I keep the colors soft and muted (like our shirts) and add fuzzy pillows and the gentle glow of faux candles. Buddha centerpiece is a given, as are mudras statues I found at World Market for cheap!

Pull Elements of Your Brand as Store Dressings

Since we are an eco-conscious company, I focus on natural wood bins and benches. Some plants and an asian wooden screen also send the eco vibe home. A rustic looking natural-fiber Indian area rug softens and adds to the coziness of the space.

Get Creative and Crafty

Street style and culture are huge inspirations for me, so framed photographs of our shirts featured in front of urban cityscapes add a nice touch. The grittiness of metal trash cans decorated with pop culture/graffiti stickers act as storage for our hoodies. Skulls are always an edgy ” go to” and drive the rock-and-roll yogi message further.

Stimulate Their Senses

Finally, for the senses, I burn some nag champa, and stream some Pink Floyd into the space.

Giveaways and Special Promotions

The final touch…temporary tattoos as promotional giveaways. A great calling card, that punches back to the rock and roll yogi market. Some other simple ideas for giveaways are business cards, quick beaded prayer bracelets, candy, branded-online coupons or instant discounts for each immediate Instagram follow.

Be sure and include a well-place Instagram Nameplate in your store for passersby, and to implement in-store promos. Discounts for follows!

The finished product was better than I had pictured in my head…the Go OM Yourself pop up store can literally be the place where the street meets the mat…for the rock-and-roll yogi soul.

Increase Sales and Brand Interest With Meaningful Merchandising

Go OM Yourself Pop Up Store
Our best sellers displayed with a mudra on simple wood crates, creates an effective display as well as a nifty structure that complements our eco sensibilities as a brand.

Consistent Color Theme Unifies Store and Creates Brand Recognition

Go OM Yourself Pop Up Store
I found these rustic industrial garment racks on Etsy, they are sturdy and have wooden bases that fit right in with the eco part of the theme. If you are doing clothing, invest in quality racks. Sturdy and strong! Nothing worse than unstable wonky racks, when you are trying to shop. Even worse is being the embarrassed store owner who not only has to pick up a fallen rack, but also loses the customer who usually, in cases like this, cannot exit the shop quick enough.
Go OM Yourself Pop Up Store
Asian wooden screen, turns a tent into a store. Everytime I take my pop up out I get offers on the screen! This one is was well-priced from Hayneedle.
Go OM Yourself Pop Up Store

Don’t Be Afraid to Invest in Giveaways…Be Sure Yours is Unique.

Go OM Yourself Promotional Giveaways-Tattoos
You can order custom temporary tattoos online…they are inexpensive and fun!

2019 Yoga Expo Exhibitor Experience

Yoga Expo 2019 LA - Go OM Yourself Pop Up Exhibit

The debut of my Go OM Yourself pop up store is also my first Yoga Expo exhibitor experience. I am nervous and excited to finally unveil my brand IRL…into the world, outside of the safe confines of my office and computer screen.

Be prepared to be prepared

I am up before the sun on my way to to the Expo with two hours of sleep. My goal is to get there by 6am, set up my pop-up store and roll in the money. Because this is my first ever pop up event, I have a brand new untested structure. Also, I still need to package some of the merchandise. Although I am going on two hours of sleep, I know I’m pressed for time. But, I figure four hours will be enough time to get everything done. All I know, is the doors open at 10am, and I need my Go OM Yourself pop up to shine.

What not to do

I arrive to the venue, back into the loading dock and run into the Expo to check in, get my credentials and borrow a dolly. Then I race back to the van in the loading dock and pull on the back door handle to begin unloading. It’s locked. Next, I walk around to the driver’s side pull the door handle, it’s locked. On cue, my stomach rises into my throat, as I peer in the window and see the keys on the driver’s seat.

After a three-hour setback, and hiring a locksmith, I am weirdly calm, as I unload and start set up. There is only one hour for me to set up. Before I know it, it’s 10am. I begin to perspire and am the “opposite of calm” when the doors open. Then people start to wander into the venue. When my corner booth, right up front by the entry, is the first thing they see. It’s a complete disaster.

To really make it special, the Expo producer finds his way to my space and lectures me on set up protocol. “This needs to be cleared away, set up started at 6am…this is not..” I block out his voice. I want to cry. But there are no crybabies in business. So I push on, with my messy clump of a pop up. At this point I am ready to quit my yoga expo vendor experience…as it is turning out to be a nightmare.

When all else fails refer to yoga tools

I dig deep into my psyche and remember my yogi tools. I start with deep long inhales and slow exhales. Then I repeat my “go to” mantra “I can do this” and set my intention to simply just get the booth together. I manage to help a few customers while I assemble my space. By 11:30 my booth looked amazing! Better than I could have imagined!

Go OM Yourself shines. People love the look and feel of my store and adore the merchandise. I am exhausted, but adrenaline has me running on high. Oh Man, as the day progresses I am have a blast, make new friends, share my work and make a some sales.

The vibe on the Expo floor

The yogis at the Expo are amazing. Which makes the energy on the floor supportive and just overall bright. As the day progresses, I meet lots of really interesting people. As the new girl on the scene, I feel welcomed when some business savvy women share the “what” and “how” with me…thank you ladies.

There are lots of creatives: photographers, yoga teachers, writers, artisans and clothing designers. The thing that all of them have in common is their energy. There is a sense of “mutual support” that permeates the space. There is no competitiveness or judgey noses. It is quite a beautiful vibe…a total safe space.

The crowd’s willingness to spend…

We experience a lot of traffic in the store, and give away a bunch of promotional Go OM Yourself temporary tattoos. Sales are okay, but the overall feel of the crowd is that they don’t have money to spend. And if I’m being absolutely honest, I didn’t come close to breaking even. The 10×10 booth was about $1100, and I sold about $600. After accounting for the costs of renting a van, and the cost of my tent, racks, rug, photos, tattoos…I am beyond deficit for this venture. Not to mention the freaking expense of the locksmith.

Attendance

I expected a much better turn out. Vendors were told there would be 10,000 attendees. Actually, there were only about 2000 maximum. Perhaps the Miami Yoga Expo has a bigger turnout. Because I am very proud to announce that, Go OM Yourself was INVITED to set up space in Miami for their show in March. I am honored Miami, and I sincerely hope I can make it happen. More on that front later.

Is Yoga Expo 2020 on the agenda?

Would I come back to Yoga Expo LA?…I’m not sure. Am I considering Miami Yoga Expo…more to revealed after I do some major research. For now I need to focus on markets that cap out at $150 for the day for the booth space. There are many factors that need to be examined to determine where the problem was with this event. For example: Are my prices too high? Lack of attendees?

Was it a bad idea to pay out $1100 for my first time out…most definitely.

The takeaway…

The good news is I made some excellent contacts. Also, landed an interview with a Yoga influencer. Another thing is that I know the best way to put my booth together. And, that I absolutely love my setup. The experience allowed me to test how my brand is received by other yogis, and I learned I definitely like being “in the mix” selling my shirts. Talking to people and connecting with like-minded business women and yogis was the real takeaway here.