Have you counted your empty buildings? 

ByBecky McCray

Counting your empty buildings is the first step to filling them. And filling those empty buildings boosts the prosperity of your town: more businesses, more activity downtown, more people with jobs. 

So how do you do that in a small rural town? We have a dozen ideas for you, all tested in small rural towns. 

  • Even when the building owners are a real pain.
  • Even when buildings are in bad shape. 
  • Even when no one knows what business to start.

Deb Brown and I are sharing all this and more next week in a webinar. Except it isn’t like a webinar. It’s like a live class or workshop that we stream via video to you. No slides. No charts. You get live video of Deb and I instead. The juicy info and links come in a separate handout. 

And if you’ve been waiting for us to talk about the Tour of Empty Buildings, this is it! That’s just one of the ideas, though. Expect to hear more about shared spaces, pop-ups, and even figuring out the real reasons buildings are empty in the first place.

The live event is Tuesday, August 16, 6pm CDT, but you don’t have juggle your schedule to catch the live broadcast, because you get access to the recording for two weeks from August 17 – 30.

You don’t have to watch alone, get excited, and then never get going. You can schedule a watch party with other people in your town. Get a group together. Make notes. Talk about what you can do together. Schedule as many watch parties as you like between Aug 16 and Aug 30. 

The cost is US$20, and that includes the live event and two weeks of access to the recording.

Keep shaping the future of your town, 
Becky

Thanks to our sponsoring organizations, who help bring our webinars to you:

  • Michigan Rural Council
  • Tourism Currents
  • Dakota Resources
  • Iowa Small Business Development Centers
  • North Dakota Department of Commerce, Tourism Division
  • Texas Downtown Association
  • Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
  • North Dakota State University Center for Community Vitality

Oklahoma Main Street Communities can earn Quality Assurance Points by participating.
Special thanks to Wisconsin Cooperative Extension and Wisconsin Main Street for spreading the word. 

PS –  Still debating? Remind yourself how many empty buildings you have, then get more information here