Today we’d like to introduce you to Asha Holloway.
Asha, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started the pop up connoisseurs because I got tired of going to the same bars and clubs seeing the same things over and over again. While being in my hometown of Chicago I visited a Christmas pop up bar known as “SANTA BABY” and I sat in awe of the venue and how amazing every detail from the menu to the ceiling everything screamed Christmas. While most people sat in amazement, I took out my phone and started researching pop up bars and it’s popularity, spoke to the owner of the bar and had heard how much revenue they earned in a short period of time for a nostalgic moment. I went home and woke up in the middle of the night and simply said I’m going to do just that but on a larger scale. So I created two dummy social media pages with photos etc and gained followers and started taking polls to see if people agreed with me about not going out. From the overall studies, I saw that people were no longer going out anymore, and preferred to stay inside and drink/cook however they would go out to an exclusive themed event.
So from there, I got to work in January 2019 I started creating my first themed pop up bar which was based around Valentine’s Day with a team of three creatives after several meetings with venues we got turned down by all of them and sadly enough we all just stopped communicating. At the end of January 2019, I had lost my new job earning over six figures just 18 days in and from there I knew it was time to formulate a plan. I told myself if I wanted this to happen I would make it happen no matter what. Houston had never heard of pop up bars before I told myself that I would be the first person to create something innovative.
So from there I started I wanted my first pop up bar to be so creatively amazing that it would grab everyone’s attention. So I decided that Willy wonka and the chocolate factory was something that was nostalgic for myself and kids and adults of all backgrounds and ages and I got to work. I emailed/ called 100 bars to set up meetings out of 100 bars only 20 responded and out of those 20 meetings only one bar gave me a shot.
I started the groundwork of researching everything pop up related and immersed myself within the movie watching it over and over again. Taking pictures of inspiration and screenshots ect. I then hired a small business event rental space called Perfectly Posh Event Rentals and told them my vision, from there we met at the bar location worked out the overall vision/ for the venue and set it for memorial day weekend.
I completed all of my marketing by myself and via the support of family and friends! I sold 200 tickets to my first event! My feedback was absolutely amazing, from there I got tons of feedback from people back in my hometown and I Then received a new team of people publicist, creative directors ect and over 30k backing me for my next event that will be happening this summer. My company the pop up connoisseurs represents connecting the everyday consumer which is you to exclusivity with brands and nostalgic themes no matter big or small. This is the first of many pop up bars that will be hitting Chicago and Houston this fall.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
NO. One thing I’ve learned is that MARKETING IS KEY TO SUCCESS & marketing an event is not something that you take lightly, and there needs to be a major investment in marketing as a whole. Also always UNDERPROMISE To OVER DELIVER. I struggled with overpromising tons of features that would be included in my event and I did not meet every single requirement of what I exactly promoted. It did cause customer service issues but being transparent and a huge lover of amazing customer service and letting people know that it was my first event helped a lot.
I also didn’t have the funds to pay for my first event until a week before the event! (I’m a firm believer in the law of attraction and I manifested the funding however that’s a different story for another day)
Please tell us about The Pop Up Connoisseurs.
I’m an experiential marketer and the owner of the pop up connoisseurs that specializes in themed pop up bars/ brand activations for new and existing companies. What a pop up bar simply is (is that I take over an existing bar/venue for a short timeframe and create a nostalgic moments for adults with specialized drinks and eats.
I’m most proud of my ability to think out the box and create nostalgic iconic moments in adults lives to relate to that inner child that’s within all of us consistently over and over again.
What sets me apart is simple. I’m not your standard party promoter/ or typical event creator. I create dope moments aesthetically that most people don’t have the time or patience to create. What I do is ART it’s exciting to know that I’m creating the next Instagram worthy setting with a tasty beverage in hand with amazing music following.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have planned out my first event carefully and would have made sure everything that I promoted would be offered alongside with I would have invested thousands of dollars into marketing.
Contact Info:
Image Credit:
Cristobal Zelaya
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