empty buildings
Empty buildings in small towns
Why are these buildings empty and not fixed? People say “Downtown is dead. Why aren’t there more stores?” Take a good look at the empty buildings. If they were maintained and available to use your town would have a better downtown with a place for more businesses. There are many reasons like expensive code-compliance issues…
Read MoreLessons from an Idea Friendly Gift Shop in a Small Town
One of the chapters in my upcoming workbook is about using crafters as your next set of entrepreneurs. Stephanie from Canada shared her crafter entrepreneurial story with us! You don’t have to go it alone. Fourteen years ago Stephanie and her sister moved to a small town that had lots of summer tourists but no…
Read MoreEntrepreneurship in small villages in Portugal – Speaking about small businesses, entrepreneurship and sharing rural stories
In today’s global economy, entrepreneurs are always looking for new opportunities to innovate and create value. Small towns and villages are often overlooked and also can be a rich source of local knowledge and expertise. However, engaging with these communities can be challenging for people outside them, especially in areas with low population density and…
Read MoreTurning a school into apartments in a small town with adaptive reuse project
I talked about adaptive reuse in our Rural Housing webinar. In May of 2019 three young business owners, under the age of 35, bought the abandoned Bowtie School in Homestead PA, population 2800 people. It took them two years to figure out what to do with the building! They finally decided to turn it into 31 apartments. It took…
Read MoreAre you living in a small town?
Are you living in a small town? That’s a tricky question! According to a Reddit thread, a small town is around 10,000 people, while the U.S. Census Bureau defines small cities and towns as having populations of less than 5,000 people. However, a post on Newgeography.com states that the average local jurisdiction population in the…
Read More3 Ways to Make Small Towns Successful: Get the practical steps to Beautification, Good Leaders and Keeping Your Youth
We know that people who are open to new ideas and willing to let newcomers be involved in the decision making help create communities that will thrive. Iowa State University’s 30 year Sigma study conducted over 99 towns told us that. There are a few other things that can make your small town more successful.…
Read MoreThursday with Townsel in Letcher County, KY
Bad roads in Carcassonne, Kentucky I presented the Idea Friendly Method to several groups in Letcher County, KY. The group from Carcassonne talked about bad roads being a problem. By bad roads, I mean they have two lane traffic on a one lane road. In the mountains of Kentucky. There are places to pull over…
Read MoreThe Idea Friendly Method works
I read an article today about a small town in Montana putting a mural on the side of an empty building. I commented that it was a great idea and I was happy to see it. Tori Wyman responded with: We clung to your advice from the Idea Friendly Method! The Idea Friendly Method works,…
Read MoreThey put a restaurant in a roofless building
I created the Tour of Empty Buildings ten years ago, in 2013. There have been many towns that ran with the idea and host tours too. Natchez, MS, Danville, KY, Jefferson, IA, Oglesby,Il are just a few of them. The Texas Historical Commission has been hosting Imagine The Possibilities Tour in small towns state wide…
Read MoreThe Tour of Empty Buildings Long Story
I’d like to share the story of one town that suffered a huge economic blow, then kind of got stuck at the bottom, and how they got out. This is Webster City, Iowa, Population about 8,000. It was home to a factory that at its peak employed over 2,000 workers. In 2009, the corporation announced…
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