Draft
Facilitate and encourage (1) more home businesses and (2) small businesses appropriate for a small business/non-profit cluster.
Create a low impact home business designation that actively encourages these businesses. Remove existing barriers. Create health care pooling, easy micro-business licensing, and business training. As a mechanism for change, use “Enterprise Facilitation” similar to what the Sirolli Institute offers. Also see the “Moab Small Business/Non-Profit Cluster” Initiative.
This initiative helps our underutilized, under employed human resources. These small footprint businesses help diversify our economy.
Moab generally encourages small, home businesses. However, home businesses need an advocate to help them thrive and expand in Moab. Many of these businesses are very low impact on their neighbors, but face barriers to setting up and conducting business. Micro-businesses vary from bed-and-breakfast facilities, a veterinarian pathologist, artists, technology workers, and consulting businesses.
In fact, having a home based business means someone is in he neighborhood during the day and can help watch out for the other neighbors away at work. Some high traffic, noisy businesses need to be limited, but many low impact businesses are an asset to the neighborhood and community. A telephone based home business should be treated differently from someone who wants to repair diesel engines in their backyard.
There are a number of micro-businesses barriers:
v Traditional economic development are geared toward much larger businesses with greater resources
v Many barriers discourage micro businesses in Moab such as permitting, petitioning neighbors, business licenses, zoning, etc.
v Micro businesses lack the accounting, marketing, business planning expertise they require.
v Lack of credit history
v Lack of collateral
v Lack of capital
v Affordable, quality office space
v Lack of resources to be professional