January 29, 2021 Ticonderoga, NY – The Ticonderoga Revitalization Alliance today launched a new webpage called The Opportunity Page. If you’ve ever heard someone say “if I could make a living in Ticonderoga, I’d live there”, you might want to tell them about The Opportunity Page. It is designed to bring together in one place information about opportunities that exist in the Ticonderoga Area and spark the imaginations of people that might want to live and work here. The new website will have four sections; Businesses for Sale, Businesses to Start, Affordable Housing, and Professional Jobs/ Remote Working. The sections will launch over the next four weeks, beginning with the launch of Businesses for Sale on January 29.
“Right now, people are making life changing decisions and there is a national trend of young people moving back to their rural roots from urban areas. We’re seeing it here in our area. It’s a great time to tell people about the many opportunities that exist in our community that they might not have thought about,” said Donna Wotton, Executive Director of Ti-Alliance. “We’re partnering with the Ticonderoga Alumni Association to help us roll out this new website to their members in the coming weeks. We think there might be some alumni that would jump at the chance to “come home” if they knew that there were opportunities for them right now. They are all people with family and community ties in the area. There’s that old line that the biggest export of rural communities is their youth. Maybe it’s time for some of them to move back.”
This week, the Businesses for Sale page features nine businesses for sale in Ticonderoga, Hague, and Crown Point. Most of them have owners that have made a fine living with these businesses for many years and they are ready to retire. But they don’t want to just shut the doors. The community depends on them. This dedication can be a real advantage to a new owner. Many of the owners have flexible situations and are willing to help a new owner through the transition while they learn the business.
Francine Burke is one of those owners. She has owned the Country Florist in Ticonderoga for 34 years and she’s ready to retire. But she doesn’t want to close the business. This is the only florist serving this community for every holiday and special occasion. “If this business closes, the one resource for floral arrangements in our area goes away. Think of all those weddings, valentines, funerals, and birthdays that will go without flowers. It’s a great business, a beautiful building, and it’s really connected to the people that live here.”
Wotton says this is also a good time to get small business financing. While a lot of the federal and state funds have been rerouted to COVID relief, the government recognizes that we urgently need our economy to recover, so very low interest loans are abundant for small business entrepreneurs through the SBA and other regional agencies. In addition, the Ti-Alliance Entrepreneurs Fund may be able to assist with financing.
For those that are interesting in starting a new business, the Businesses to Start page will be launched the first week of February. Marketing studies over the past two years have revealed a number of business types that are needed and could thrive year-round in our area. These businesses are profiled on the Businesses to Start page, along with links to resources for would-be entrepreneurs.
The Affordable Housing page will launch in the middle of February. Our area has an abundance of high-end housing and low-income housing, but there is a regional shortage of appropriate housing, both for sale and for rent, to support working families and professionals. Almost 60% of the people that work in Ticonderoga live more than 20 miles away, often because this middle-income housing is so difficult to find. The Housing page will help new prospective residents and existing Ti workers focus their search on appropriate listings for rent and for sale in this middle range.
Finally, the Professional Jobs/Remote Working page will launch at the end of February. Some people might be well-established in their profession but would live here if they could practice their chosen craft. The Jobs page will feature job listings of local employers to recruit workers with established skills. There are opportunities in so many areas and we’re going to help the employers promote these hard-to-fill openings.
So many people are remote working now and can live wherever they choose. Our community has more broadband coverage than ever and with the pandemic forcing the state and federal governments to address some shortcomings of rural broadband, we expect it to get even better in the next year. Ticonderoga also has the new Ti-Works Co-Working Space in downtown Ticonderoga that is serving remote workers that still have connectivity issues at their homes. This page will link remote workers to some of the resources that are available for them.
“There are great resources in our area to help entrepreneurs and new residents. The Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Development Center, the ANCA Businesses in Transition Center, and Ti-Alliance, just to name a few. We’re all here to help people realize their dreams.”
Business owners, landlords, homeowners, and employers interested in listing an opportunity at the Opportunity Page, contact Ti-Alliance.
For more information visit the Opportunity Page at www.ticonderoga-alliance.org/opportunity.Or contact Donna Wotton at donna@ticonderoga-alliance.org, 415-385-4544 to see how they can help.