Recently, as part of my series, Incentives In Greensboro, I published Part 39: One Man's Dream, in which I included New Businesses And Ideas Greensboro Needs To Grow. Included on those lists were suggestions from others.
One of the suggestions most recently given to me was for more home based businesses. Greensboro needs to ease restrictions on home based businesses so that more new businesses can get a foot hold, get their start and eventually out grow their locations and move to bigger locations in commercially zoned areas.
You see, for many, the $14 to $25 per square foot that one must pay to rent commercial properties is simply to big a cost to bear for boot-strap start-ups.
Take for instance the mechanic who wants to start his own business. He's gone to trade school, worked for years and has the tools but over the years got married, has 2.3 children and a mortgage or rent to pay. Now he wants to make a better life for those children. But starting a new business is tough and paying the lease on a 10' x 20' shop space (200 sq feet) will run him from $2800 to $5000 per month. And that's only enough room to work on 1 car at a time.
Correction: In the comments below, Marty Kotis states: "The per square foot numbers are per year, not per month. Though you run into minimum square foot ages and minimum rents." As one of Greensboro's most prominent developers I've no reason to doubt he knows what he's talking about. It's still a lot of money though only 1/12th of my figure. Return to original post.
So what does he do? Does he give up on his dream of owning his own garage business? Hell no, he moves his family to an unincorporated and un-zoned area of the county outside of the Greensboro City Limits and starts his business there, meaning the City of Greensboro never collects a dime in taxes from him or his family again. And all of his customers who might shop in Greensboro while they're waiting on him to change the oil or repair the starter on their cars? They're in the kitchen having coffee with the mechanic's wife or getting their hair and nails done in her salon which is also outside of the city limits in a tiny building next door to the garage.
Again, as these home based businesses grow and become successful they will move out of their homes into commercial locations. They will hire workers, expand, grow and contribute to Greensboro's overall economy. But not if we push them out of town before they open their doors.
Certainly, the City would want to limit how many cars could be parked at any home based business at any time and not every business is right for every neighborhood but does anyone really believe Irving Park is in danger of becoming the next garage zone in Greensboro where everyone takes their cars for repair? Seriously? And it's not just garages, there are dozens of other types of businesses that are prohibited by blanket restrictions that could be lifted or changed for our most challenged neighborhoods in order to further economic development in said neighborhoods.
And yes, I'll concede there are some things that simply do not belong where people live but restrictions in Greensboro go far beyond what they should be. Also, a loosing of restrictions would bring any number of under the table businesses out into the open where they could more easily be regulated and taxed. You see, not all are under the table to avoid taxes, many are under the table simply so they can remain open for business.
So go ahead, Greensboro, keep listening to the status quo as you've been doing for the last 50 years as we've watched Greensboro die while following their advice or dare to do something different.
