NIMBY Down the Road: Navigating Business Challenges

Several weeks ago, I delivered a presentation in Kentucky, highlighting the top issues that local businesses might face over the next twelve months. I covered the essentials, including inflation and economic volatility, tariff impacts, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, the acceleration of AI, and workforce talent constraints.

I also discussed the growing influence of the NIMBY (“Not in My Backyard”) phenomenon, which, much like Wisconsin weather, can quickly escalate into vocal opposition, forcing entrepreneurs to reconsider the risk/reward of their projects. NIMBY has long existed, driven by residents who prefer the status quo and fear the unknown impacts of new business ventures.

NIMBY can halt projects in their tracks. Entrepreneurs see the trend leading to heated public hearings, increased project costs, delays, and often the rejection of development proposals or denial of building permits. When they sense a NIMBY storm brewing, they tend to reassess their risk/reward calculations.

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