10/14/2026
Today I had the opportunity to speak at the Northeast Georgia Mountains Tourism Association lunch, hosted right here in Commerce.
I was asked to share a few minutes on downtown investment, opportunities for local businesses, and how those spaces can support tourism. I spoke as both a broker and an owner, because I'm in the middle of redeveloping a building downtown that dates to 1900.
A few things I shared:
🔹 The purchase price is the easy part. The real work is behind the walls: utility taps, sprinklers, code requirements. Plans change. You adjust and keep the goal in front of you, which is getting the space open and producing.
🔹 Experiences drive downtowns. The tenants calling me today want to host classes, run workshops and give people a reason to stay for two hours, not twenty minutes. That's exactly what a visitor is looking for.
🔹 Character is the asset. Open ceilings, big storefront glass and old brick are things nobody can replicate out by the interstate.
🔹 Let businesses grow in place. When a local business proves itself and expands next door instead of leaving, the whole street wins.
I also asked the room for three things:
1. Market the experiences and not just the destination
2. Help make costs predictable early
3. Keep sending people downtown.
Downtown projects are slower and more expensive than most people expect, and not every building pencils out. But when one does, it pays back for decades, for the owner, the business and the town.
Thank you to the Northeast Georgia Mountains Tourism Association and the City of Commerce for having me.
SmallBusiness
