get the lead out -- part VIII

But what do I want the store to look like?
I want to be practical about this part. I’ve been visiting local bird seed stores for pointers. In this area of the country, they are typically in strip malls with a grocery store. And though there’s a strong pro-environment profile in the franchise’s mission statement, it’s not marketed in this area. Most of the stores here focus on the backyard birdwatcher, and finding them the best products for their needs. The retail space, therefore, is your basic rectangle, stocked from floor to ceiling with all kinds of product. Is that going to be my store? Maybe. But for right now, while nothing is set in stone or subject to the limitations of reality, I’ll describe what I’d like my store to look like. And for this exercise, I’ll be specific and refer some to Longmont.
During my April visit, I walked downtown quite a bit. It would be foolish at this point to set my sights on any one building. Downtown is littered with many buildings which could suit my purposes, even small homes converted to office or retail space like I’m familiar with in Helen, Georgia. One great advantage of this downtown area, however, is that it’s a primary north-south artery through town; not the only one, to be sure, but it receives significant traffic each day.
Within the 242 acres, there are nearly 300 businesses of all varieties and sizes. While I visited, I also compared Longmont’s Downtown with the nearby town of Loveland. Loveland differed in two respects, both I consider important. First, it had a split downtown, with the north and south roads leading through it acting like the legs of a ladder. It almost seemed as though it had been designed to keep the traffic clogging businesses off main street, situated on the perpendicular steps. It gives a divided feel the to the downtown area. I can see some advantages in terms of parking, on the diagonal, directly in front of the store you want to visit, but on the day I visited both, the downtown Longmont area was buzzing, even on a weekday, while downtown Loveland was deserted, and I was panhandled twice. Second, the residential area surrounding Loveland’s downtown is pretty shabby looking. I think that might have fed the decision to have Work/Play condos built as the main jewel in the center of Loveland’s downtown. I’d be interested in seeing if that development is going to take off as the economy improves – when I visited in April, the entire retail space was empty, beyond a salon and a pizza joint. As a resident, why would I buy into the Work/Play concept if there are no shops in the development? The answer is that, no matter how cute it is, I’m not going to buy there until things pick up.
And to be safe, I also walked around Twin Peaks Mall, also located in Longmont. For a year, I’ve been reading their local paper, the Times-Call. One thing I’ve learned from reading it is that there are MANY readers who LOVE to complain. However, they have a point when it comes to Twin Peaks Mall. With weeds growing through the concrete sidewalks and empty parking areas, you can feel the deterioration. From my reading, I gather there is some push and pull over using city money versus developer money to revitalize it. Regardless of your opinion, the development needs a facelift.
Main Street through Longmont is one of the primary arteries through town. Parking is located on the street, with parallel parking. Additional diagonal spots are located on the side streets. There are lots at various places behind the Main Street stores, with open, paved walkways from the rear to the front. And if you travel a few blocks back, there’s additional parking, but you’d have to take a few sidewalks back to Main.
So in the interest of being specific, here’s my favorite building. But there’s a problem with it, one I think is a deal breaker. There is no main floor. There are two units in this space, but both require climbing. It’s a shame, because while the downstairs unit would be darker, it has some nice exposed beams in the ceiling, and I could definitely work with it. But unless it could be made handicap accessible, I wouldn’t feel comfortable using it.
But now that we’ve established that it’s not ideal, let’s use it as a template, shall we?
The location is nice for a few reasons. Parking is close, from either side of the street. It’s also near a corner, where there’s additional diagonal parking, giving people choices. That’s not all. It’s positioned between popular restaurants, and near a coffee shop. Right across the street, there’s a church. It’s not a church anymore, but I suspect it won’t become retail anytime soon, so I wouldn’t need to worry about competition. It’s a historical landmark, and is currently being used as the St. Vrain Historical Society building.
One thing about renting retail space is to find the most square feet for your needs, but not too much. I want to have guest speakers and crafts for the children, but I won’t need that space all the time. Luckily, there are two nearby facilities which rent space: The Old Firehouse Art Center, and the Longmont Rec Center on Quail Road.
What else is good about the place? I think it positions me for outreach to the community, as it’s a block away from a daycare facility known as Our Center, which you can read about here. I would like my store to partner with them, if possible. I think they do a valuable community service. I’d also like to offer opportunities to local schools, for birdwalks. I’d also like to model a fundraising activity after something being done at another downtown restaurant, Abbondanza, described in this article.
Inside the store, I want to have some room to show off the merchandise. I don’t just want rows of feeders in boxes, but places to hang feeders. I don’t just want some bird baths, I’d like to have a few pumps working to make a water feature in the store. I want the kid’s area to be hands on, a place where kids aren’t afraid to touch things. I’d like to have a few comfortable chairs in the reading area, to entice people to browse. At the shade grown coffees and teas display, there should be hot tea and coffee to sample. I also want a wall with a large map of the state. During the year, I’ll use it to mark where my customers have spotted the first hummingbird of the season, or outline great trails for birding. I want to print out pictures that my customers email me with birds they’ve spotted at their feeders, or in the wild. I want to hold contests for amateur photographers. I want to make it easy for them should they want to get prints done of their birds. I’d also like to feature our contest winners through the year on a series of printed cards for sale in the store, with proceeds benefiting local wildlife organizations. I’d like to carry the work of professional local photographers, consignment style, with prints for purchase.
In downtown, I’d like to team up with the local downtown businesses. I think when you’re a small business owner, you hang together or you hang separately. There are lots of stores in the downtown area doing interesting things, and even as a bird store, I could support them. During the summer I’d like to get a local expert in, say from Audubon, and have him give a talk about urban birdwatching. But why contain that to my store, when the birdwatching is outside? Why not charge a nominal fee and have a progressive stroll through downtown? Each stop could be at a different gallery (there are 10), where there’s a selection of wines and appetizers from local restaurants. Some of the restaurants in the area feature locally grown produce and locally produced cheese from nearby dairies. If the group of us teamed up, I think we could easily be our own advocates for the Buy Local movement. At the end, I’d give each customer a LODO Gift Card, for use at any of the downtown businesses, so as a group we could track how successful the events were by how many cards were redeemed. The progressive lecture series could be geared for adults, teens or children, depending on need. That, coupled with participation in the events already ongoing in the area (Artlink, Second Fridays, the Outdoor Film Festival, parades, etc), should go a long way toward establishing a strong profile for my store.
I guess that doesn’t tell you much about the inside of the store, does it? Well, maybe it does. I’m a lot less concerned with which building I choose right now. I think that will ultimately be a decision based on the most favorable business factors I find when the time is right. But what goes into the store, and its profile, that’s up to me.