{"id":12303,"date":"2026-01-25T20:35:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T00:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/in-defense-of-popups\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T20:35:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T00:35:49","slug":"in-defense-of-popups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/in-defense-of-popups\/","title":{"rendered":"In defense of popups"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Profit<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

One friend recently opened a bookstore instead of a bookmobile.<\/p>\n

Another is investing two years of his life to open a restaurant instead of a series of pop up dinners.<\/p>\n

And a third is buying a boat instead of chartering one.<\/p>\n

It’s easy to see why. A real bookstore has a lease. They post their hours. It’s solid.<\/p>\n

And a real restaurant, the kind we’ve all been to, looks, feels and smells like a restaurant.<\/p>\n

Leaving the ridiculous economics of boat ownership aside, it’s worth taking a look at the first two.<\/p>\n

The key questions are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. what asset are you building?<\/li>\n
  2. what is the purpose of the thing you’re building?<\/li>\n
  3. who is taking a risk and who is getting the upside?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If the asset of the future is trust and attention, then it’s easy to do a new calculation. The purpose of getting a lease and a place on Main Street was to momentarily get the attention of passers by–and to earn their trust. After all, you’ve got a building.<\/p>\n

    But when we shift to a permission asset, when we cherish attention and use it to build trust over time, being on Main Street might not be the best way to achieve this.<\/p>\n

    The landlord gets paid regardless of whether the space does the job, and the upside is limited by the size of the space.<\/p>\n

    What happens to the life of a chef when they have 6,000 people who eagerly read their popup updates? When each person comes to two or three dinners a year, each held at a fascinating location, rented just for the night…<\/p>\n

    Instead of finding diners for their restaurant, they could create dining experiences for their diners.<\/em><\/p>\n

    The bookstore? Imagine a route, a series of partnerships with 50 or 100 organizations that value information and exploration. A curated selection of 400 books, ready to roll out at a community center, church or school… <\/p>\n

    In both cases, the hard work is earning attention and trust. It’s easy to avoid that when you’re passively sitting in a leased space waiting for people to come to you. <\/p>\n

    This applies to musicians, filmmakers or anyone who seeks to create magic.<\/p>\n

    Earn attention and trust. Spend time and money on that, and the rest will take care of itself.<\/p>\n

    \"Profit<\/a>
    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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