New Website Helps Businesses Start, Grow, Relocate to Bozeman and Gallatin Valley

The city of Bozeman, Bozeman Area Chamber of Commerce and Montana State University have teamed up to create a website they hope will make it easier for businesses to open or expand in the Gallatin Valley.

Gallatin Business Resource Network, www.gbrn.org, was launched Monday, said Brit Fontenot, city economic development director.

The website is intended to be a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs both here and far away to find information to help them start a business, grow an existing business or move their business here.

“The idea was that we knew that there were a lot of business resources out there locally, but there was no one place you could go to find out about them,” Fontenot said Wednesday.

The new website lists about 50 or 60 different resources such as the nonprofit SCORE, Service Corps of Retired Executives, which is a network of local business people who offer confidential, free consultations. SCORE members answer questions on topics ranging from how to develop a concept for a new business to how to get financing.

Montana State University junior John McGlenn interned for the city this summer and helped put the website together. McGlenn, a Vermont resident, is studying economics and computer science at MSU’s College of Business. He received class credits for his internship. He was not paid. McGlenn is one of two MSU interns working for the city for Fontenot this summer.

McGlenn said the new website creates a shortcut for business representatives. For example, a store owner in New York looking to open another store out West could find information about the Gallatin Valley’s economy, permitting process and more with just a few clicks.

McGlenn said plans are in the works to develop a cellphone application so business folks could access the website on the go.

The chamber helped McGlenn compile the resources to post on the website, and MSU designed and hosted the site online, Fontenot said.

Creating such a website was initially recommended by Bozeman’s Economic Development Council, formed last year to advise the Bozeman City Commission.

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Should You Move or Remodel? - Reposted by Jason Frey

By: Dona DeZube

Published: August 24, 2010

When your house no longer suits you, you can move or remodel. Find out which big change is the right investment of your housing dollars.

 

Just about everything else—remodeling costs, the hassle of living in a construction zone, or the ability to live happily without one more bathroom--is a personal preference. After all, your home isn’t just your largest investment; it’s also the place where your family lives.

1. Will remodeling make your home better than everyone else’s?

To make the right move-or-remodel decision, you have to know:

• Your home’s value. Easy. Just ask a REALTOR® to estimate it and tell you how it compares with the value of the other homes in your immediate neighborhood. Ask her what she thinks your house will be worth after the improvements, too.

• Your neighbors’ home value. Hit some open houses. Seeing the inside of area homes will inspire you; help you make good choices about finishes, room sizes, and how much to spend; and, admit it, entertain you.

• Your remodeling costs. Once you’ve got your renovation vision, get a quote from a home improvement contractor or, if you’re remodeling it yourself, tally the costs of the items on your supplies shopping list.

Then add the remodeling costs to the value of your home. If the number you get is more than 10% above the average value of homes in your neighborhood, you’re over-improving and probably won’t be able to sell for what you put into the remodel.

Here’s why: No one wants to buy the most expensive home on the block (your home) if they can spend the same money to get a similar home on a block of higher-priced homes. Would you pay $200,000 to live on a block where all the other homes are valued at $100,000? We hope not.

Make home improvements that are typical for the neighborhood. Don’t put granite countertops in a trailer, and don’t put laminate countertops in a Trump Tower condo. Your tour of open houses gives you a chance to verify that your planned remodel isn’t an over- or under-improvement for the neighborhood.

2. Do you love where you live?

Want to keep your kids in the same school district, but can’t find or afford a bigger, better house? Love the neighbors? Have an easy commute to work? Stay put. If you’ve soured on the traffic, the neighborhood’s crime rate, or the nosy neighbors, move on.

3. Do you have room to expand?

If your remodeling plans include increasing the overall size of your home, the size of your lot may be the deciding factor in whether to move or remodel. If you live in a 1,500 sq. ft. ranch on a 3,000 sq. ft. lot, you might be able to add a second story to turn it into a 3,000 sq. ft. two-story, but you’re not likely to add 1,500 sq. ft. at ground level. And if you have a septic tank and well, the location of those will limit how and where you add onto your home (or cost you a bundle to move).

4. Can you afford to move?

Consider these moving costs: sale costs for your existing home, shipping your household goods, buying window treatments and possibly furniture for the new house, costs to fix up your existing home before sale, higher utility costs (if your next house is bigger), insurance cost differences, and property taxes.

More from HouseLogic

Q&A: Author Sarah Susanka Talks Budget-Smart Remodeling

Should You Move or Improve?

Other web resources

Find your local remodelers 

Average project cost

Dona DeZube, HouseLogic’s news editor, moved across the same street twice when she remodeled two houses in Columbia, Maryland, before she moved to a house in Clarksville, Maryland. She remodeled that house and then moved back to the same street in Columbia. She despises moving, but her husband loves remodeling.

Keep Your Home Purchase on Track

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  Keep Your Home Purchase on Track

  You’ve found your dream home. Make sure missteps don’t prevent a successful closing. Read

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