selophane.blog

I think I may have a reason why this recovery is floundering, and it all has to do with housing.  Now stay with me a second, this is not subprime loans, nor predatory markets, or anything else that has already been blamed, this is a simple shift in how America lives and how that has affected our abilities to innovate and recover.  Yes, I am talking about the shift from single family residences to Condo and Town home living, and the lovely association rules that come with both of those housing styles. Last year, when I decided to start my own architecture firm (studiosml.com) I, like many prospective small business owners, hit upon a major stumbling block – my condo association bylaws.  Specifically, they prohibit operating any business out of your unit.  At the time, this felt like just  another hurdle to get over, but now that I’ve had some distance and i’ve wathced our slow recovery, I have to wonder  whether rules like this are impedeing others as well. Let me explain. I wanted to start my architecture firm, and at least in the beginning, operate it out of my house. This is one of the very common and traditional [...]