Improving Rural Housing video/audio

An Idea Friendly Approach

24 minute video to watch on your schedule
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Housing ranked the number 1 challenge to small towns in 2021 and 2023

There is no one solution to housing that works in every town, everywhere.

Your town has a different set of housing challenges and resources than any other town.

You might be most concerned about

Lack of housing
Houses sitting empty
Blight, dilapidated housing
Rental houses controlled out of state
Houses tied up in estates or with title problems
No new building or development

All of this affects the fabric of your community, and whether your town has much of a future

Affects whether young people can stay living in town
Stops new people from moving into your community
Affects your economy and prosperity, your ability to recruit

Projects that work in one town won't necessarily work for your town.

You don't have the same resources as bigger towns
Complicated case studies and best practices may not apply in your case.

You don’t need us to tell you what special housing programs and funding are available in your state or territory. You have local experts for that. That's not what this video is about.

The Idea Friendly Method is the best way to tackle this large and complicated topic, no matter what your local challenges may be.

Gather Your Crowd, Build Connections, Take Small Steps

Our Idea Friendly Method turns your big housing project into a do-able, flexible approach that involves much more of the community in creating it together.

Since your situation is different from other towns, the Idea Friendly Method helps you customize any idea, any resource to make sure it will work for your community, long before you commit to huge and expensive master plans that will be hard to change in these fast moving times.

There are no best practices

We can’t waive a magic wand to give you easy answers that will solve all your housing problems no matter where you are. What we can do is help you apply the Idea Friendly Method to make your local project easier.

The Idea Friendly Method says to Gather Your Crowd, bringing together people who are attracted to this issue. Then you turn that crowd into a powerful network for good by Building Connections. Then, you and your newly-powerful network get into action immediately by Taking Small Steps.

You’ll be building a groundswell of support to help you tackle this huge issue, and you’ll experiment and learn your way forward together.

This 24 minute video shows you how to apply the Idea Friendly Method to improving housing and shares the most promising ideas that almost any community could adapt.

You'll learn how to apply the Idea Friendly Method and make any housing project more successful and more community-friendly.

Ideas to get people talking and draw them into the housing conversation.
Two powerful questions that motivate even lukewarm supporters to take action that helps move your housing project forward.
How a duct tape and cardboard mockup could energize people around your ideas.

More practical steps you can put into action right away:

Ways to improve your existing housing, making more of what you have.

A smart mapping project that turns scattershot efforts into community wide improvement.
Ways to get started with almost no budget. You don’t have to wait until you raise millions before you take action.
The savvy way you can play economic self defense to prevent outside investors from draining wealth out of your community.

How you can add new housing in the smartest ways.

Real-world examples of second floor housing downtown ranging from low-end to high-end.
The common mistake to avoid when creating more housing downtown.
The handful of rule changes that do the most to help bring back the close-knit communities we miss.
The best ways to make those rule changes possible.

What this means for your community's future

What to do about people resistant to change or new residents.
The two big tactics that make it much easier to get officials to say yes to rule changes.

Each of the practical ideas in this video could be adapted for almost any community.

You can trust SaveYour.Town's Becky McCray and Deb Brown to share practical advice for rural communities.

They're not biased toward any specific program or solution, so they can give honest advice.

Deb Brown and Becky McCray joined forces in May 2015 to help small towns and rural communities thrive. They developed the Idea Friendly Method out of their own personal experiences in business, agriculture, entrepreneurship, nonprofits and government.

You'll get the full 24 minute video you can watch on your own and share with others in your community.

This video is perfect for:

Housing organizations, local housing authorities
Economic development
Jobs development authorities, industrial development groups
Workforce boards
Community development, community foundations
Builders, contractors
Engineers, planners, architects
Economic development consultants
Utilities, cooperatives
Banks, lenders
Real estate agents
Local governments, Tribes, planning and zoning
Councils of Government, municipal leagues, associations of governments

Not another tiresome webinar

Short, to the point video
Watch instantly on your schedule: anytime, on demand, starting now
Recorded so you can pause, stop, rewind or watch again immediately

You won't waste time waiting for everyone to sign in or sitting through long introductions. You don't have to put up with technical glitches or annoying background noise from inconsiderate participants. No one will fumble around with how to control their video or say "Can you see my screen?"

You get personal access to Becky and Deb via message, email and comment. We do answer your questions personally!

Improving Rural Housing: An Idea Friendly Approach - video with Deb Brown and Becky McCray

24 minute video
Available immediately - no waiting

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Is this video recorded so I can watch later?

Yes, the video is recorded, and you'll be able to watch it immediately as soon as you complete your purchase. You are welcome to watch the video more than once, start and stop, or go back and watch again. You're not limited to watching from a single computer or with just one group.

Can I get a copy of the slides?

We don't share slides in our videos because we're focused on connecting with you personally. You get a transcript plus an audio-only version. You also get a downloadable PDF with the links to the special housing resources we mention.

What if I have questions?

You can ask questions two ways: in the comment box or via email. We always answer you personally. You can also share stories or examples you've seen. That helps everyone!

Will the video play on my computer? Or on my phone?

Either one! If you can watch a YouTube video, you can watch this video. That means you can use any device, any screen that can load a web page for you to login. Any PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android phone or tablet, smart TV or TV with a streaming box or stick should work.
You don't need blazing fast internet.

How long is the video?

The video runs 24 minutes. For a virtual watch party, schedule 35-45 minutes. You'll want that extra time to discuss what you watched and to network and talk with each other.

Can I share the video with other people?

Yes! Once you’re registered, you can schedule more than one viewing so you reach as many people as possible. We encourage you to watch on your own or set up a virtual watch party.

Who should I invite?

Your friends who love to do things with you
Visionaries like yourself
Downtown associations, Main Streets, chambers
Positive thinkers and doers
Leaders and regular people
Community foundations
Elected officials from your local municipalities, counties or tribes
People who care about your town

What people say about SaveYour.Town videos

This video stimulated lots of note-taking and conversation between the business owners gathered at my house. Deb and Becky gave us some new ideas and several excellent examples of known models. I think some of us are thinking of pivoting our summer’s plans after participating in Wednesday’s event. Thanks for a well-thought out presentation!

Jonya Pacey, Minnesota

What a TERRIFIC marketing Video. I had 20 businesses show up to watch and they all left with new ideas and an excitement to get back and start implementing! I’ve already had 5 businesses reach out in less than 2 hours after it ended, that are already putting your ideas into action.

Mandy Walsh, City of Lampasas, Texas

There are always great take-aways from the videos that can be put into place immediately. One of my favorites is changing your store's evening vibe (different music, lighting, etc.) because evening shoppers are not the same as day time shoppers.

Diane Moore, Wheaton, Illinois

A prosperous, healthy and resilient community requires places for people to live.

You need good housing to:

attract any new residents, new industries and new entrepreneurs
retain your young people.

There’s growing interest in living in small towns and rural communities. If you don’t have good places for people to live, they aren’t coming.

Communities without housing can’t stay communities for long.

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