“Buy a Home, Build a Business” offers down payment and closing cost assistance to recent SU graduates hoping to start and headquarter a business in Salisbury. Legal guidance, business development advice and startup money is available for entrepreneurs to get their business off the ground, and up to $5,000 of closing cost and down payment assistance is available to facilitate the purchase of a home within City limits.
35 comments:
So who is paying for this?
Free Money
Bribe a SnowFlake.
Better name for it is "PLEASE STAY!"
Another Democrat boondoggle! Use taxpayer money to get someone who never ran a business or owned a house in a City that has no manufacturing base, has been bleeding major companies and jobs for 10 years and expect something other than failure, another shuttered business and another foreclosure.
Real smucking fart!
Yay, more "come build a bar downtown" incentive!
I can tell you first hand, starting a business in Salisbury is absolutely ridiculous.
Allow me to explain. I owned a building, (as many of you know) on the Downtown Plaza. At one point the taxes were as much as $12,000.00 a year between the City and County. Not one parking spot. No trash pickup. NOT ONE service offered by the City for ALL of those taxes.
So no matter what happens, if you rent a space in the City, your rent is already high based on the taxes alone.
Then if you are to buy a home, your taxes are ridiculous right out of the gate.
Now I want you people to understand something here. The mass majority of business owners in Salisbury DO NOT live in the City. They are not stupid. Salisbury simply isn't SAFE. You can build new multi million dollar schools but you will NOT get a great education for your children.
SO, what will taxpayers get IF the City is able to convince a SU Graduate to stay and open a business here? More coffee shops? A hot dog stand? Seriously, think about it. This is flat out yet another FEEL GOOD proposal by Mayor Day and quite frankly is a JOKE!
This is what you get when you have a Boy Mayor with no business experience. He's simply filling in space in local news outlets so they might drop all the CRIME stories instead. Unbelievable!
Finally, didn't we recently bring you a story about Brainwave Computer Repair who also graduated from SU and started a business and even after all those years COULD NOT survive because of the TAXES and OVERHEAD for rent????? Jake is an Idiot!
To those that are being negative about this post please consider the following. Younger people are our future and the DelMarva peninsula is an aging population. Younger people who graduate college make excellent business owners. They don't fear failure or see a failed attempt as an end. They are hungry to make money and they know how to market in today's business environment. There is nothing wrong with giving grants to students that would like to stay in the area and open a small business. There is no large manufacture coming to Salisbury Maryland. Small businesses will provide the economic growth to help Salisbury recover. I just don't understand the negativity giving to anyone who is trying to do something to better the area. I would much rather give money to the newly graduated college student to start a business then most of the 30 and 40-year-old people in the area. And read the article to see where the money is coming from. There is nothing wrong with giving a little incentive to someone to start a business. That business can provide extra tax revenue and jobs for local citizens.
Unless Jake has run a business of his own he will never know how tough it is here,I would advise him to surround himself with business owners and listen to their challenges.
This inexperienced mayor would cut a deal with the devil if there's a mug shot involved. The good sheriff doesn't have a chance anymore.
He has to like looking at himself because he doesn't appear to be swift enough to be using these opportunities to promote himself like our great POTUS. (not comparing him to this great president)
I for one am just relieved that we got another press release from The Boy Mare . Was afraid I might suffer withdrawl if we didnt hear from him until next week.
Jake Day is clueless! Their is absolutely NO INCENTIVE to stay in Salisbury. The only new businesses that open are Bars, restaurants, and small retail. The taxes and buracracy that you must deal with in Salisbury is ridiculous. Salisbury is an example on how not to run a municipality. SU graduates get your diploma and run as fast as you can out of the area. Salisbury is not a business friendly environment. Don't listen to liberal politicians like Day. Salisbury has NOTHING to offer but headaches.
Why is everything aimed at SU students? Many of the homes in South Salisbury and Fruitland are student only housing. Companies buy up cheap homes, make them barely livable, then rent them out to 3-4 college students at 5-600 each, making a killing because SU helps them out.
Where is the help for families? How about people who didn't go to college and had to get right to work after high school to make a living and survive in this crappy economy.
But don't worry, SU will buy another chunk of land and build a new shopping center.
Perhaps Jake and Janet should give these "entrepreneurs" a brand new car so they have transportation to go between "MY" new home to "MY" new business.
8:15 has it right - just another program for "another shuttered business and another foreclosure." The government needs to stop these "give away program, IMO.
It is a proven fact people take pride when they are required to pay for what they own, through blood, sweat and tears. When the Government hands it to you, it becomes just another throw away.
I helped my children get started after college, but my help was not free. Never thought I'd live to see me pay the way for others to have homes, businesses through my tax payer dollars - when my children had to pay me back for my financial help. (I did not charge them interest) Now my kids are tax payers supporting these "entrepreneurs". What is wrong with this picture?
I am not a recent SU graduate but would like to start a business, but I do not qualify for any of this money, which is complete BS.
After much planning, we decided to open it in another state, in another community, where we know we would be successful.
There is no future here, other than poverty, drugs, and crime. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.
Yeah right, like this is going to work... I actually personally know several SU grads (Friends and Family) that graduated, built/renovated homes in Salisbury and started HIGHLY successful businesses in Salisbury. By highly successful, I'm talking they make anywhere from $100K-$280K per year, pay their employees extremely well and have a very low employee turnover rate. Where are they now? NOT IN SALISBURY! They have relocated to DC, Annapolis, Easton and other more business friendly areas. The business atmosphere in Salisbury is TERRIBLE and the City does nothing to promote the businesses that are already established here. They want to promote new business but do nothing to maintain and retain those businesses after they are established. The City completely forgets about the loyal businesses that have been here all along paying the bills. They farm out contracts and sell off City properties to businesses and investors from out of town for pennies on the dollar. Look at Downtown Salisbury, how many businesses there now were there 5 years ago? Obviously, the lawyer offices are still going to be around due to proximity to the Courts, but look at the restaurants and shops that constantly change names. Look at the vacant residential units downtown. All this time, money and energy has been spent on downtown "revival" and the improvements are not reflective of the efforts. Are there more businesses downtown than there were 5 years ago? Honestly, I do not think so - any new businesses are just there to replace one that just went out of business.
Now they are selling of parking lots to build these "arts and entertainment" projects. That is not revival or redevelopment - that is simply DEVELOPMENT. Sure, businesses will move into these new fancy storefronts, but they will be vacating other storefronts down town. Prime example is Morgan Stanley and Angelo's Unique gifts relocating to Brad Gillis' new Feldmans building. That didn't decrease the vacancy rate downtown - it simply relocated the vacancy. I personally know two of the most successful redevelopers on the downtown plaza with a residential and commercial vacancy rate of nearly ZERO over the l0 year and guess what... THE CITY HAS NEVER ONCE CONTACTED THEM FOR INPUT! No "how do you do it?" No "do you have recommendations for redevelopment?" No "how can we promote future projects to be as successful as yours?" Nope, the City and these "Arts and Entertainment" whack jobs think that they are experts in business even though most of them have never ran a business or done so successfully. This "arts and entertainment" approach is a bunch of BS - these millennials crafting in their parents' basement and having band practice in their parents' garage aren't businesses that are going to dig out downtown. And let's face it, these arts and entertainment hipsters aren't exactly loaded with spare cash to spend downtown. Just look at how much has been spent on "arts and entertainment" compared to the revenue that it has brought back to Salisbury. Key trying Jake Day, but hopefully sooner than later you'll realize that the juice ain't worth the squeeze with your current approach...
"..didn't we recently bring you a story about Brainwave Computer Repair who also graduated from SU and started a business and even after all those years COULD NOT survive because of the TAXES and OVERHEAD for rent?????.."
End of discussion.
Amazing post. But because they are young, these Shorebillies would rather call them snowflakes and not patronize their businesses out of spite. Who cares if it's a coffee shop or a hot dog stand so long as it's successful?!? This area needs as many small businesses as it can get.
Joe @ 8:39AM,
EXACTLY!!! The businesses being started and failing downtown are not substantial not sustainable. You also hit the nail on the head with services and you are 100% correct. The City needs to learn that there is a value in providing free services; or moreover, actually providing the services that the property owner already pays for. There should be no paid parking except for those lots in front of public service buildings like the courts, post office and government office building so that those parking spots are reserved for the convenience of those people using those facilities and not government employees. Sure the City will lose revenue if it stops killing businesses with parking fees and lost business due to lack of parking, but it will gain revenue in new business and business income. Unfortunately the City wants have its cake and eat it too.
Safety is a big key to success as well. There is ZERO police presence downtown at night. I was recently on a renovation job on the plaza - I worked nearly every evening for a month and never once saw a single City police officer. How is a woman or even a grown man supposed to feel safe downtown at night? I can certainly tell you this, if I didn't have my concealed carry permit, you best believe that I wouldn't want to be down there at night in this crime infested city - especially given the rowdy and rude crowd that Roadie Joe's has attracted on the weekend.
8:42, you obviously didn't read my comment. Opening any business in City Limits is doomed to fail.
Borrowing funds from your Family to survive is not good either. Look how many businesses opened on the Plaza and shut down.
Our mayor is a clueless kid - thats what is wrong with picture
Anon 8:42 AM,
You think millennials are "hungry" and the ones that are going to be our economic saviors? Apparently you see a group of different young people than I do. I see lazy, unmotivated, entitled brats that have had everything given to them by mommy and daddy. I see kids that don't even know what failure is because they have been taught their entire lives that losing is winning because they get a participation trophy for coming in last. I see a bunch of people who need that $5,000 because they don't have the motivation to go out and earn that start-up money themselves.
I was born and raised in Salisbury. I graduated from SU with ZERO student debt because I worked 30-40 hours every week on top of going to class full time. I had excellent credit because my parents instilled in me the importance of good credit since the day I turned 18. I drove a cheap car because I wasn't frivolous with my money. I realized that renting was a waste of money so I had bought a house by the time I was 21 and my roommates paid my mortgage. By the time I was 24 I had a $1.2M loan to buy a building and start up my own company. Twelve years later, I own it all clean and clear with no debt. I had ZERO assistance from anybody except for the encouragement from my family, a car loan that my parents cosigned for me on my 18th birthday to establish my credit and the loyalty of my employees who I treat very well. The rest was on me.
$5,000 wouldn't even be a drop in the buck compared to what I have invested. Giving away money doesn't make somebody a better business owner - if anything it makes them worse because they didn't earn it thus they don't appreciate it as much. Money doesn't make you a good entrepreneur. Motivation, experience and innovation makes you a good entrepreneur. I can spend somebody else's money a lot faster than I can spend my own so personally, I'd rather see this $5,000 be given away as an interest free loan for business start-up. At least that way the City isn't "giving" anything any and there is a sense of responsibility and pride these potential entrepreneurs.
what about people who don't go to college that want to start a business
shouldn't they have the same chance? college doesn't make you a better
business person. thanks sjd
Most small businesses won't survive due to overhead. We don't need more restaurants either. Need good paying jobs. This idea is a joke and I don't want to government to hand out more free money, which is really the taxpayers. Downtown will fall with more section 8 housing. There is nothing up there now and parking is horrible.
This is funny. While Salisbury had a TON of small businesses i the past, the WalMart's, Home Depot's and other big box stores started coming to the area and were strongly encouraged by LIBERAL elected officials, the SMALL businesses failed and shut down.
Now you Liberal Idiots want to come back and say it's the small business that keeps the local economy strong.
Make up your damn minds!
I don't believe a word of this garbage. Lies and fantasy.
Prime example of a lack of strategic thinking, let alone a strategic plan for the future of Salisbury.
Asking no true life experience graduates to stay and build a future business? This coming from the President of the University? HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA Such a hoot!
It does have to be cheaper for those students to live on the Eastern Shore than to go back to the city where they are from. (New Jersey, Baltimore, New York) Also, a slower pace of life which they may be attracted to. I wouldn't want to live in those places, either. Nowhere is perfect.
if you want to have a successful business in Salisbury I recommend selling ak47's and bullet proof vests. or if you can get a spot on the s u campus you could sell snowballs and cupcakes
My kids are leaving the area for college and im encouraging them to move else where. You are right, people dont support the small businesses here and unless you have a loyal following of clientele you are doomed
8:42 is the standalone on this issue. I admire him/her with their positive input, all the rest is doom and gloom. I agree taxes in the Bury are way too high, but with the right product or service with hard work and a workable business model.
"Salisbury Mayor Jake Day and Salisbury University President Janet Dudley-Eshbach" --
So there you have one major problem. Leftist university educrat working with government so-called leadership to pick winners and losers .. They like to call them "incentives". But there's a problem folks. They are not real incentives. A real incentive occurs naturally and is not prescribed by the powers that be.
Socialism has insidiously gotten into every little nook of our lives and there it does its damage. Scrape that stuff out !!
Salisbury University's slogan has been, for the past ten or more years, "Live, Learn, Lead."
What the reality of it has been, though, is "Live, Learn, Leave."
That is your Tax Payers Money going to
support this crap-----Do you think Day
cares if it fails, heck no , he just
wants it to look like Huge progress
is going to be made.
I think it's a step in the right direction and I congratulate the mayor for taking positive action.
Post a Comment