Pop-Up MKE Tool Kit
This tool kit is meant to be a resource for any person, neighborhood, organization, business, governmental agency, or collaboration interested in implementing a “pop-up” program, where entrepreneurs sell their products or services in a brick-and-mortar setting on a temporary basis.
Introduction
This tool kit is meant to be a resource for any person, neighborhood, organization, business, governmental agency, or collaboration interested in implementing a “pop-up” program, where entrepreneurs sell their products or services in a brick-and-mortar setting on a temporary basis. It was developed based on Pop-Up MKE, a Milwaukee-based program modeled after Motor City Match of Detroit. The Pop-Up MKE pilot created and maintained pop-up locations in three different neighborhoods surrounding downtown Milwaukee. The tool kit discusses the history of the Pop-Up MKE program and partners that make it possible, the incentives and benefits that make a pop-up model worthwhile, the best practices for making pop-ups a success, and most importantly, how a pop-up program can be organized and implemented.
Overview of Pop-Up MKE
Pop-Up MKE is a collaborative program focused on promoting economic development and entrepreneurship by creating pop-up shops along underinvested commercial corridors in three distinctive neighborhoods bordering downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The pop-up model provides a low risk opportunity for entrepreneurs to occupy commercial space on a short-term basis to operate their business, exhibit products and services, and establish their brand. In addition, Pop-Up MKE businesses gain access to potential landlords, reduced rents, business coaching, marketing support, mini grants, and an overall supportive environment. Pop-Up MKE transforms places and supports growth by:
- Supporting investments in commercial and community facilities
- Nurturing and lifting up skills that exist in communities
- Partnering with local organizations to integrate businesses into communities
- Connecting incubators, accelerators, and maker spaces to community partners