The Dickinson Press featured an article this week about the businesses starting or being taken over by new owners. The focus was on that these new business owners were mostly younger people, 20 – 30 year olds. What does that tell ND Youth Forward? It tells us what we’ve always known, youth are growing North Dakota. Think about the ways you can stay and change the face of our state. Here’s the complete article for your enjoyment or you can check out at the Dickinson Press site.
Number of businesses growing in area towns
By: Beth Wischmeyer, The Dickinson Press
The number of businesses starting or being taken over by new owners is growing, officials in the communities of Bowman and Beach said Thursday.
Deb Walworth, executive director of Prairie West Development Foundation in Beach, said eight new businesses started in 2009, many of which were started by people in their 20s and 30s.
“We’re seeing more young people,” Walworth said. “I think this is just the tip of the iceberg, it’s just beginning.”
In 2008, Walworth said there were three new businesses that started.
Since 2004, Sentinel Butte has had three new businesses and the community of Golva has had two new businesses and one existing business come under new ownership, she said.
“These are really small communities that are seeing positive growth,” Walworth said.
Ashley Alderson, executive director of the Bowman Economic Development Corp., said there have been about 10 new business counsels last year, some that have started, some that are starting and others that will open in the future.
“We’ve had quite a bit of new interest lately,” Alderson said. “We’ve noticed it’s been a really busy year for small business.”
Alderson said she’s been with the corporation for about two years, and said the past year was busier than her first year with new businesses.
The Beach area is seeing people moving back of all ages, Walworth said.
“I’m just really excited about the young families that are moving back, because if they don’t have kids now, I think they plan to have families in the future,” Walworth said. “We’re also seeing the result of that coming through the schools, with kids coming through kindergarten and first grade there. That’s a benefit to the school system too.”
Kim Zachmann, who owns the photography business KZ Photography in Beach, said while photography has been an interest and a hobby for a number of years, she started pursuing it as a business last August.
Zachmann, who grew up in the Beach area, said she purchased a studio recently in town and now does photography full time.
“We haven’t had a photographer here (in Beach) since about ’03, so I knew there wasn’t anyone in the Beach surrounding area, the closest one would be Dickinson, so I knew Beach could benefit from one,” Zachmann said. “Beach is really good about supporting local businesses. I like the Beach area. I would like to live here the rest of my life it was possible with a job and family and stuff like that.”
Ed Gold, executive director of the Adams County Development Corporation, was out of the office Friday.
Walworth thinks the Beach area is a “good place to raise a family,” a draw to many young families, she added.
“The cost of living isn’t as much as it is in some of the larger places,” Walworth said. “These people are coming from Las Vegas and the West Coast. They graduated from school here; one or the other of them, or both; and I think they’re going for the safer communities to raise their family.”
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