• Survey of Rural Challenges
  • Small Town Speaker Becky McCray
  • Shop Local video
  • SaveYour.Town

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS

How to convince a building owner to host a pop-up

By Becky McCray

The Village of Homewood, Illinois, used pop-ups in empty buildings to keep downtown looking full during the holidays. Photo courtesy of the Village of Homewood.

 

A city councilmember from a town in Washington told me she was so excited about the idea of pop-up businesses that she brought up the idea of short-term 3 month leases with some building owners. They keel hauled her, she said. She just couldn’t get them to be as excited as she was and it ended up being adversarial.

Like most things that involve change, it’s best to offer people small steps they can take. Here are practical suggestions to get owners of downtown buildings to try something new and different. Most of these work whether you’re part of a group trying to create a city-wide project or it’s just you wanting to do your own pop-up.

Start with the empty buildings

If a building has been sitting empty for quite a while, the owner may be more interested. A building that rents out quickly is probably a poor target. Remind the business owner that a clean building hosting a pop-up gets more foot traffic than an empty dusty building that is locked up. More traffic means more potential renters.

Start with the holidays

If it looks like a building will sit empty through the holiday shopping season, that owner may be more inclined to talk pop-ups. You might even talk with them about how their participation will help the community. They’ll be adding another positive thing downtown rather than a blank face.

Start with one-day things

Rather than ask for a building for months at a time, ask if you can use it just for one day. That’s definitely a small step, and easier for people to consider than a long-term commitment.

Promise to clean up the building for them

We all know empty buildings attract dust and spiders. Building owners are busy just like everyone else. They don’t want to do the clean up, so this is another “what’s in it for me” you can offer them.

Start with good cause

This just makes it easier to say yes. It doesn’t matter whether the good cause is supporting the museum or promoting local art, as long as it’s a cause the building owner can get behind. Goffstown, New Hampshire, runs a temporary gallery called Local Color anytime they have an empty building available. When the building rents, they pack up. Which reminds me of this next one…

Promise to leave within a short time if they get a long-term tenant

This is more “what’s in it for me” for the owner. They’re worried that as soon as they commit to your short-term thing, a long-term well-paying renter will drop from the sky. Reassure them and agree to get out when that happens. Then honor your word if it does.

Start with kids or students

Another easy-to-say-yes option so the owner can get some positive experience with pop-ups. Who can say no to kids?? If you have a youth entrepreneur program, bring the kids downtown to do business in pop-ups.

 

Summary

Remember, you’re in a small town. That gives you an advantage in building relationships with owners. Do your homework. Find out what they care about and what is likely to get them to say yes. Include plenty of benefit to them, give them a chance to be the hero for the community and make it super easy and a small step to say yes the first time. Then it can only get easier from there.

Have you had success getting building owners to work with pop-ups? What has worked for you?

New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Get our updates.

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
  • Move Your Money and Bank Local - March 22, 2023
  • Using a building as a warehouse or storage in a small town? Put up a sign - March 13, 2023
  • How to get customers in the door of small town and rural retail stores - February 19, 2023
  • Check your small business website for outdated pandemic changes, missing info - January 31, 2023
  • Rural Tourism Trend: electric vehicle chargers can drive visitors - January 15, 2023
  • 2023 trends for rural and small town businesses - December 26, 2022
  • Local reviews on Google Maps drive enduring value - December 17, 2022
  • Extra agritourism revenue from camping, cabins and RVs with HipCamp - December 12, 2022
  • Harvest Hosts attract vanlifers and RV tourists, Boondockers Welcome - December 2, 2022
  • Holiday 2022 marketing: Tell your founding story - December 1, 2022

November 20, 2017 Filed Under: economic development, entrepreneurship, rural

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

Shop Local

Buy local buttonReady to set up a shop local campaign in your small town? You'll need a guide who understands how we're different and what really works: Shop Local Campaigns for Small Towns.

Best of Small Biz Survival

What is holding us back? Why does every project take so long in small towns?

How any business can be part of downtown events by going mobile

Concert-goers talking and enjoying the evening in downtown Webster City, Iowa.

Why do people say there’s nothing to do here then not come to our concerts?

Retailers: Fill all empty space, floor to ceiling

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2023 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in