The Downtown Entrepreneurship Project

Downtown Retail Incubator Services

For several years now incubators have been an increasingly popular way for small businesses to start small and grow.   Firms share space and services, thus reducing initial overhead.   Once a firm has gotten its feet on the ground and started to grow, the ideas is they will look for their own space elsewhere—no longer needing the incubator.  However, incubators are usually used to grow manufacturing firms and emerging technology companies.  On a large scale they occupy entire Science Parks affiliated with Universities and other research institutions.

There have been relatively few downtown incubators or retail incubators around the United States.  There are several reasons cited for the lack of such incubators.  It's difficult to house several retailers under one roof without cheapening the effect.  When a retailer or related business is ready to move on to other space how do you keep them in the downtown, are retailers and related businesses able to afford the initial “buy in?”

Yet despite all of the obstacles and objections, indeed there are retail incubators that are thriving in downtowns and other commercial districts.  The Downtown Entrepreneurship Project has studied the factors contributing to successful downtown incubators and is now ready to share that information with the downtown community across the country.

Some of the DOWNTOWN AND RETAIL INCUBATOR SERVICES we offer are:

Feasibility Studies—Do you have a location and other relevant factors to contribute to the success of an incubator?

Development Plan—We will develop a top- to- bottom plan for the creation of an incubator in your downtown or commercial district

Incubator Seminars— We will explain to the community, the downtown and potential tenants the basics of an incubator.

Building Owner Seminar—Many building owners may be interested in opening an incubator.  We offer an honest and unvarnished look at incubators and what they can mean to a building owner.

Incubator Management—Should you decide to proceed with  a downtown or retail incubator the Downtown Entrepreneurship Project can develop a management plan and remain active in the management of the project

Customized Incubator Program— We will happily tailor an incubator program for your community that is custom designed to meet the needs, questions, and concerns of the community. 

Please understand, that we believe in entrepreneurship training and support to create vital, active and thriving downtowns.  That is our primary mission. Frankly we will try to build it into any incubator with which we are involved—we think it's that’s important.  If you believe an incubator makes sense for your downtown, we will be happy to discuss it with you.