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Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource
  • A two-story brick downtown building has been recently rehabbed with new windows and updated paint. A small "for sale" sign is in the window.
    rural

    These small town neighbors bought vacant buildings, brought them up to code. Here’s what happened next

    ByBecky McCray April 18, 2024April 18, 2024

      Waynoka, Oklahoma, had a lot of vacant run-down buildings in their downtown. In a town of 900 people, the prospects didn’t look great. At an all-class reunion, a group of alumni got together and decided to change that. They called themselves Project Waynoka, our friend and early contributor Jeanne Cole said. They started raising money….

    Read More These small town neighbors bought vacant buildings, brought them up to code. Here’s what happened nextContinue

  • A large industrial-looking empty building
    economic development | mistakes | rural

    Huge vacant buildings: grants to renovate?

    ByBecky McCray June 9, 2020June 22, 2020

    Should we offer incentives to fill it with small retailers? How do we convince the mayor and economic development group?   The empty factory building A reader wrote in to ask about converting and dividing up a huge old building. Because my answer isn’t quite what the reader asked for, I’ve taken the details out….

    Read More Huge vacant buildings: grants to renovate?Continue

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