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Portsmouth’s Bloom Market launches incubator program to help small businesses find a permanent home
Bloom Coworking is transforming its market in downtown Portsmouth into a retail incubator, splitting the space into four subsidized retail locations for small business owners. The program, developed in partnership with Portsmouth’s Main Street Initiative and the Small Business Development Center, gives entrepreneurs a two-year window to grow their businesses, receive mentorship, and transition into permanent storefronts in the Olde Towne district. Applications are open at bloommarket.org.
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Bloom Coworking is splitting its market in downtown Portsmouth into four retail spaces to give small business owners the chance to interact directly with customers.
Delisea Nicholson is one of the entrepreneurs hoping to make that connection. The owner of Impressive Juice Bar has sold her detox juices at Bloom Market for the past couple of years and applied for one of the four retail spaces in the market’s new incubator program.
“I think it’s going to help my business exponentially,” Nicholson said. “Previous Bloom, it was just like a pick up and go and I didn’t get to interact with the customers.”
The change is a significant shift from the Bloom Market customers have come to know, where products from dozens of small businesses were sold by Bloom employees. Now, four entrepreneurs will have their own retail space, have to operate the space full time, paying subsidized rent while receiving coaching and mentorship through the small business development center.
Nicholson said the exposure at the location has already helped her business grow.
“God has been moving tremendously and he has blessed my business to go from what it was to what it is now,” Nicholson said.
Liz Pasqualini, director of Portsmouth’s Main Street Initiative, said Bloom Market has been in Portsmouth for two years. This new program is designed to help entrepreneurs take the next step.
“We took a look at that program and decided in year three it needed a little bit of a revamp and so what we’re doing is creating an opportunity for entrepreneurs who are seeking their first retail location on High Street,” Pasqualini said.
The goal is for businesses to transition out of the Bloom incubator within two years, with the aim of eventually moving into their own storefront in the Olde Towne district.
“To come in, to co-locate, to share store space, to nurture each other, to grow and eventually land out into our Olde Towne district,” Pasqualini said.
For Nicholson, that future is already in sight.
“I can see myself having a storefront because, like I said, I really want to interact with the community and the people, do community events, teach people how to juice, show health in the community,” Nicholson said.
Applications for the retail incubator are still open at bloommarket.org.
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