Basics
What is a pop-up? I explain more here.
Tip #1: Group your pop-ups
When you’re planning to add pop-up businesses or shed businesses to your small or rural community, concentrate them in one area.
Better to have four sheds or pop up businesses together on a single lot, than fourteen vendors spread out all over.
Your goal is to make it feel like a concentrated burst of new activity. If your pop ups are too spread out, people will never notice them. Remember that nothing draws a crowd like a crowd, and put your vendors close together.
Tionesta Pennsylvania clustered 10 sheds into one market village along contiguous empty lots.
Wolfforth Texas clustered a set of sheds to use as a farmers market.
Hyannis Massachusetts spread their sheds within the port area which is popular with tourists. Their artist shanties don’t stand shoulder to shoulder, but they are all within a very small area.
Get more ideas to turn your empty lots into bustling commercial spaces with SaveYour.Town’s video Empty Lot Economic Development.
Tip #2: Pop-up during the holidays
Homewood, Illinois, made their downtown feel more full with pop-ups during the holidays.
Tip #3: Pop-up inside other businesses
Here’s how to get merchants to host pop-ups inside their businesses.
Tip #4: Start small on an empty lot
Deb Brown walks you through how a town added pop-ups to an empty lot.
Tip #5: Start in the empty buildings
Here are some ways to convince building owners to get on board with pop-ups.
Get more guidance in the Pop-ups Toolkit
Pop-Up Fair Toolkit from SaveYour.Town
- About the Author
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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.
