tiny house community business plan

Starting a Tiny House Community: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners

Welcome to the world of tiny house living! In recent years, the concept of tiny houses has gained significant popularity among individuals seeking a simpler, more sustainable lifestyle. As a tiny house expert, I’m here to guide you through the process of starting your very own tiny house community. Whether you’re passionate about fostering a sense of community, reducing your ecological footprint, or simply exploring alternative housing options, this comprehensive guide is designed to help beginners like you navigate the exciting journey ahead.

The Rise of Tiny House Living

Tiny houses have emerged as a response to the ever-increasing size and cost of traditional homes. These compact dwellings typically range from 100 to 400 square feet and prioritize efficient use of space, sustainability, and minimalist living. The movement has gained momentum due to its numerous benefits, attracting people from various backgrounds who seek a simpler, more intentional lifestyle.

Benefits of Tiny House Communities

Tiny house communities offer a wealth of advantages that extend beyond the individual dwellings themselves. Let’s explore some of these benefits:

• Affordability : Tiny houses are generally more affordable than traditional homes, making them an attractive option for those looking to reduce their housing costs and achieve financial freedom.
• Minimalist Living : Living in a tiny house encourages downsizing and decluttering, allowing residents to focus on experiences and relationships rather than material possessions.
• Sustainability : Tiny houses are known for their eco-friendly design and reduced energy consumption. With smaller spaces to heat, cool, and maintain, residents can significantly lower their carbon footprint.
• Community Spirit : Tiny house communities foster a strong sense of camaraderie and support among residents. The shared spaces and common goals create opportunities for socializing, collaboration, and mutual assistance.
• Flexibility : Tiny houses offer a level of mobility and freedom that traditional homes lack. They can be built on wheels or on a foundation, allowing residents to easily relocate if desired.

Understanding Tiny House Communities

Before embarking on the journey of starting your own tiny house community, it’s crucial to understand the key concepts and various types of communities that exist.

Definition and Concept

A tiny house community refers to a group of tiny houses situated in close proximity, sharing common amenities and a sense of community. These communities are often founded on principles of sustainability, affordability, and social connectivity.

Types of Tiny House Communities

There are several types of tiny house communities, each with its own unique characteristics and design principles. Let’s explore some of the most common ones:

Cohousing Communities

Cohousing communities are designed to foster a strong sense of community and collaboration. In these communities, residents have private living spaces within a shared complex. Common spaces, such as kitchens, gardens, and recreational areas, are shared among the residents, encouraging social interaction and cooperation.

Ecovillages

Ecovillages prioritize sustainability and ecological harmony. These intentional communities strive to create a self-sufficient and eco-friendly living environment. Residents often engage in organic farming, renewable energy projects, and ecological restoration efforts.

Pocket Neighborhoods

Pocket neighborhoods are small-scale communities designed to create a sense of neighborliness and shared spaces. These communities typically consist of a cluster of tiny houses arranged around a central courtyard or communal area. The emphasis is on fostering relationships and creating a tight-knit community.

RV Parks and Campgrounds

RV parks and campgrounds provide temporary or permanent parking spaces for tiny houses on wheels. These communities offer the advantage of mobility, allowing residents to explore different locations while enjoying the benefits of community living.

Research and Planning

Now that we have a solid understanding of tiny house communities, let’s dive into the essential steps involved in starting your own community.

Identifying the Need and Market Demand

Before embarking on this journey, it’s crucial to assess the demand for a tiny house community in your desired location. Research local housing trends, speak with potential residents, and gauge the level of interest in your area.

Conducting Feasibility Studies

A feasibility study will help you assess the viability and potential challenges of establishing a tiny house community. Consider factors such as land availability, infrastructure requirements, regulatory restrictions, and financial considerations.

Determining Location and Zoning Regulations

Finding the right location for your tiny house community is essential. Look for areas with favorable zoning regulations that allow for tiny house living. Ensure the land is suitable for the infrastructure and amenities you plan to incorporate.

Assessing Legal and Financial Considerations

Starting a tiny house community involves navigating various legal and financial aspects. Consult with professionals who specialize in real estate, zoning laws, and financial planning to ensure compliance and secure the necessary permits and funding.

Developing a Vision and Mission

Crafting a clear vision and mission statement will guide your community’s development and attract like-minded individuals. Consider the core values, goals, and aspirations you want your community to embody.

Creating a Community Statement

A community statement is a concise document that encapsulates the purpose, values, and goals of your tiny house community. It serves as a guiding framework for decision-making and provides a sense of identity for residents and potential stakeholders.

Establishing Core Values and Goals

Identify the core values and goals that will shape your community’s culture. This may include principles like sustainability, inclusivity, collaboration, or self-sufficiency. Establishing these values from the beginning will attract residents who resonate with your community’s ethos.

Defining Community Guidelines and Rules

To maintain harmony and ensure smooth functioning within your community, establish clear guidelines and rules that all residents must adhere to. These guidelines can cover areas such as shared responsibilities, common spaces, noise levels, and conflict resolution.

Securing Financing and Funding

If you’re considering starting a tiny house community, one of the first and most crucial steps is securing financing and funding. Building a community requires a significant financial investment, and it’s essential to estimate costs and create a budget to ensure a smooth and successful project.

Estimating Costs and Budgeting

Before diving into the details, it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of the costs involved in starting a tiny house community. Here are some key factors to consider when estimating your expenses:

• Land acquisition: The cost of purchasing or leasing land for your community.
• Infrastructure development: Building roads, installing utilities, and setting up the necessary infrastructure.
• Construction: The expenses associated with constructing the tiny houses and community facilities.
• Permits and regulatory fees: Budgeting for permits, licenses, and any other legal requirements.
• Marketing and administration: Allocating funds for promoting your community and managing administrative tasks.

To create an accurate budget, it’s beneficial to break down each cost category and assign specific figures based on market research, local regulations, and your project’s scope. Consider consulting with professionals or experts in the field to ensure you cover all the necessary expenses.

Exploring Funding Options

Once you have a clear understanding of your budget, it’s time to explore various funding options available for your tiny house community. Here are some common avenues to consider:

Loans and Mortgages

Obtaining a loan or mortgage from a financial institution can provide you with the necessary capital to kickstart your project. Explore options specifically tailored to real estate development or community initiatives. Consider the terms, interest rates, and repayment schedules to choose the best fit for your needs.

Grants and Crowdfunding

Grants can be an excellent source of funding, especially if your tiny house community aligns with specific social or environmental goals. Research grants offered by local, state, or federal organizations that support community development, sustainable housing, or affordable housing initiatives.

Crowdfunding platforms also present an opportunity to raise funds by engaging a larger community. Craft a compelling campaign that highlights the unique aspects of your tiny house community and offers various rewards or benefits for different levels of contribution.

Private Investors and Partnerships

Seeking private investors or forming partnerships with organizations or individuals who share your vision can bring substantial financial support. Present a well-prepared business plan and outline the benefits and potential returns on investment. Collaborating with like-minded entities can also provide valuable expertise and resources.

Developing a Business Plan

A comprehensive business plan is crucial for organizing your ideas, outlining your community’s objectives, and attracting potential investors or funding sources. Consider including the following elements in your business plan:

• Executive summary: A concise overview of your community and its goals.
• Market analysis: Research on the demand for tiny house communities in your target area and an evaluation of the competition.
• Community design and amenities: Describe the layout, facilities, and unique features of your tiny house community.
• Marketing and promotion: Outline your strategies for attracting residents and creating awareness about your community.
• Financial projections: Present a detailed financial forecast, including expected revenue, expenses, and return on investment.

A well-crafted business plan demonstrates your commitment and professionalism, increasing your chances of securing financing and funding for your tiny house community.

Land Acquisition and Development

Finding suitable land is a crucial step in starting a tiny house community. Consider the following factors when searching for the ideal location:

Finding Suitable Land

When looking for land, consider the proximity to essential amenities, such as grocery stores, schools, and medical facilities. Accessibility to public transportation and major roads is also vital. Research local zoning laws and regulations to ensure the land is suitable for a tiny house community.

Negotiating Purchase or Lease Agreements

Once you’ve identified potential land options, engage in negotiations for purchase or lease agreements. Seek legal advice to ensure you fully understand the terms and conditions. Consider factors such as price, lease duration, and any restrictions or requirements imposed by the seller or lessor.

Conducting Land Use Analysis and Design

Before finalizing your land acquisition, conduct a thorough land use analysis to ensure the site can accommodate your community’s needs. Consider factors such as soil quality, drainage, and environmental impact. Engage professionals, such as architects or engineers, to help with site design and ensure compliance with building codes and regulations.

Preparing Infrastructure and Utilities

Preparing the necessary infrastructure and utilities is essential to make your tiny house community functional and attractive to residents. This includes:

• Building roads and pathways: Ensure the roads within your community are well-designed and easily navigable.
• Installing utilities: Connect the land to electricity, water, sewage, and other essential services.
• Landscaping and common areas: Plan and create attractive common spaces, recreational areas, and gardens to foster a sense of community.

Designing the Community Layout

Designing an efficient and aesthetically pleasing community layout is crucial for creating a successful tiny house community. Consider the following aspects when planning your community’s layout:

Determining Plot Sizes and Placement

Offer a variety of plot sizes to cater to different needs and budgets. Some residents may prefer larger lots for gardening or outdoor activities, while others may prefer smaller, low-maintenance plots. Ensure each plot provides adequate space for the tiny house, outdoor living, and parking.

Planning Common Areas and Facilities

To foster a sense of community and enhance residents’ quality of life, plan and incorporate common areas and facilities. These may include a community center, playground, gardens, or shared amenities such as laundry facilities or recreational spaces. Prioritize the needs and preferences of your target audience when deciding which facilities to include.

Incorporating Sustainable Practices

Emphasize sustainability in your community design. Consider implementing eco-friendly features such as rainwater harvesting systems, solar panels, and energy-efficient appliances. Encourage residents to adopt sustainable practices, such as composting or using renewable energy sources.

Addressing Accessibility and Safety

Ensure your community is accessible and safe for all residents. Incorporate features such as wheelchair ramps, well-lit pathways, and emergency response plans. Adhere to building codes and regulations to guarantee structural integrity and fire safety.

Building and Zoning Permits

Before commencing any construction, obtain the necessary building and zoning permits from the local authorities. Familiarize yourself with the regulations and requirements to avoid delays or legal complications. Engage with architects or construction professionals who have experience in tiny house community development to ensure compliance.

Understanding Building Codes and Regulations

Building codes and regulations play a crucial role in the establishment of a tiny house community. As a beginner looking to start your own tiny house community, it’s essential to understand and comply with these regulations to ensure a safe and legal environment for your residents.

When it comes to tiny houses, building codes and regulations can vary depending on your location. It’s important to research and familiarize yourself with the specific codes and regulations applicable in your area. Here are some key aspects to consider:

Zoning Restrictions

Zoning regulations dictate how land can be used and what types of structures are allowed in specific areas. Before starting a tiny house community, check the zoning laws in your jurisdiction to determine whether tiny houses are permitted as permanent dwellings. Some areas may have specific zoning classifications for tiny houses, while others may require special permits or variances.

Minimum Square Footage Requirements

Certain jurisdictions may have minimum square footage requirements for residential dwellings. While tiny houses are typically smaller in size, they must still meet the minimum square footage requirements set by local regulations. Familiarize yourself with these requirements to ensure compliance.

Safety Standards

Building codes prioritize safety, and your tiny house community should adhere to these standards. They may include guidelines for electrical systems, plumbing, fire safety, and structural integrity. Engage professionals such as architects and contractors who are well-versed in tiny house construction to ensure that your community meets all safety requirements.

Obtaining Permits and Licenses

Once you understand the building codes and regulations relevant to your tiny house community, the next step is to obtain the necessary permits and licenses. This process ensures that your project is legal and compliant with local regulations. Here’s what you need to know:

Building Permits

Building permits are essential for any construction project, including tiny house communities. Contact your local building department to inquire about the specific permits required for your project. The application process typically involves submitting detailed plans, specifications, and other supporting documents.

Occupancy Permits

Before allowing residents to move into your tiny house community, you may need to obtain occupancy permits. These permits confirm that the structures are safe and suitable for habitation. Building inspectors will assess your community to ensure compliance with safety regulations before issuing occupancy permits.

Business Licenses

Running a tiny house community often involves operating a business entity. Depending on your location, you may need to obtain a business license or register your community as a homeowners association (HOA). Research the local requirements and consult with legal professionals to determine the necessary steps for establishing your community as a legal entity.

Engaging Architects, Designers, and Contractors

Designing and constructing a tiny house community involves various professionals, each playing a crucial role in bringing your vision to life. Here’s how to engage the right experts for your project:

Architects and Designers

An architect or designer with experience in tiny house communities can help you create a functional and aesthetically pleasing layout. They will work closely with you to understand your vision and translate it into practical designs that optimize space and promote community living. Look for professionals who have a portfolio showcasing their expertise in tiny house design.

Contractors and Builders

Engaging experienced contractors and builders is vital for the successful construction of your tiny house community. Seek professionals who specialize in tiny house construction or have prior experience working on similar projects. Request references, review their previous work, and ensure they have a solid understanding of the unique requirements and challenges of tiny house construction.

Cost Estimation and Sample Calculations

Developing a budget is an important aspect of any construction project. Work with architects, designers, and contractors to estimate the costs involved in various aspects of your tiny house community. Consider factors such as land acquisition, site preparation, utility connections, and individual tiny house construction. Sample calculations and detailed cost breakdowns will help you plan your finances effectively.

Managing Construction Process and Timeline

Efficiently managing the construction process and timeline is essential to ensure a smooth transition from planning to completion. Here are some key considerations:

Project Management

Appoint a project manager or coordinator who will oversee the entire construction process. This individual will be responsible for coordinating with architects, contractors, and other professionals involved in the project. Effective project management will help you stay on track, address any issues promptly, and ensure timely completion of your tiny house community.

Construction Timeline

Create a detailed construction timeline that outlines the key milestones and deadlines. This timeline should consider factors such as site preparation, infrastructure development, individual tiny house construction, and community amenities. Be realistic about the time required for each phase and build in contingencies to account for unexpected delays.

Quality Control

Maintaining quality standards throughout the construction process is crucial for the long-term success of your tiny house community. Conduct regular inspections to ensure that each stage of construction meets the required standards. Engage professionals or third-party inspectors to provide objective evaluations and identify any areas that need improvement.

Community Governance and Management

Establishing a homeowners association (hoa).

A homeowners association (HOA) is an essential element of a well-organized and managed tiny house community. The HOA serves as a governing body that establishes and enforces rules, manages common areas and amenities, and represents the community’s collective interests. Here’s how to establish an effective HOA:

Drafting Bylaws

Create a set of bylaws that outline the rights and responsibilities of the community members, governing procedures, dispute resolution mechanisms, and other relevant aspects. Bylaws help maintain order, define expectations, and ensure a harmonious living environment within the community.

Electing Board Members

Hold elections to choose board members who will represent the community’s interests and make decisions on behalf of the HOA. Encourage community involvement and ensure a fair and transparent election process. Board members should be dedicated individuals who are willing to invest time and effort in managing the community effectively.

Collecting Dues and Assessments

Dues and assessments are critical for funding the operations and maintenance of the community. Establish a system for collecting dues from community members and allocating funds to meet common expenses, such as landscaping, infrastructure maintenance, utilities, and insurance. Clearly communicate the dues structure and payment schedule to all community members.

Developing Community Bylaws and Policies

Beyond the HOA bylaws, additional community-specific bylaws and policies can help maintain order and promote a sense of community. Consider the following:

Architectural Guidelines

Establish architectural guidelines to ensure that all new tiny houses adhere to certain design standards and harmonize with the existing structures. These guidelines may cover aspects such as exterior materials, color schemes, roof styles, and overall aesthetics.

Environmental Policies

Promote sustainability and environmental responsibility within your tiny house community. Develop policies that encourage energy-efficient practices, waste reduction, water conservation, and the use of renewable resources. These policies can contribute to a more eco-friendly and resilient community.

Creating a Decision-Making Structure

Effective decision-making is essential for maintaining harmony and addressing community issues. Implement a structured decision-making process that ensures transparency and inclusivity. Consider the following steps:

Regular Community Meetings

Hold regular community meetings where residents can voice their concerns, discuss important matters, and participate in decision-making processes. Establish a schedule and agenda for these meetings to ensure productive and meaningful discussions.

Consensus-Building Techniques

Encourage consensus-building techniques to foster cooperation and collaboration within the community. This approach involves actively seeking input from all stakeholders, facilitating discussions, and finding common ground to make informed decisions that benefit the community as a whole.

Implementing Communication Channels

Efficient communication is the backbone of a well-functioning tiny house community. Establish clear and accessible communication channels to facilitate information sharing, community updates, and issue resolution. Consider the following:

Community Website

Create a community website that serves as a central hub for information about the community, events, resources, and important announcements. Ensure the website is user-friendly, regularly updated, and includes contact information for the HOA and key community members.

Online Forums and Social Media Groups

Set up online forums or social media groups where community members can engage in discussions, ask questions, and share ideas. These platforms provide opportunities for networking, community-building, and fostering a sense of belonging among residents.

Newsletters and Email Lists

Develop a newsletter or email list to keep community members informed about upcoming events, maintenance schedules, policy changes, and other relevant updates. Regular communication helps create a strong sense of community and encourages resident involvement.

Marketing and Membership Recruitment

Developing a marketing strategy.

To attract potential residents to your tiny house community, a well-thought-out marketing strategy is crucial. Consider the following steps:

Identify Your Target Audience

Understand the demographics, preferences, and needs of your target audience. Are you catering to retirees, young professionals, or eco-conscious individuals? By identifying your target audience, you can tailor your marketing efforts to effectively reach and appeal to them.

Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

Highlight the unique features and benefits of your tiny house community. What sets it apart from other housing options? Whether it’s affordability, sustainability, or a strong sense of community, clearly communicate your community’s USP in your marketing materials.

Online and Offline Marketing Channels

Utilize a mix of online and offline marketing channels to reach a wider audience. Online channels may include social media platforms, paid advertisements, and community listing websites. Offline channels may involve attending local events, distributing flyers, or partnering with local businesses to promote your community.

Creating a Website and Online Presence

In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is essential for marketing your tiny house community. Here’s how to establish an effective online presence:

Professional Website Design

Create a professional website that showcases your community’s features, amenities, and lifestyle. Use high-quality images, engaging content, and clear calls-to-action to encourage visitors to learn more about your community and express interest.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Implement SEO techniques to improve your website’s visibility in search engine results. Research relevant keywords related to tiny house living and incorporate them into your website’s content, headings, meta descriptions, and alt tags.

Engaging Social Media Profiles

Create social media profiles for your community on platforms that align with your target audience. Regularly update these profiles with engaging content, community highlights, and announcements. Encourage residents to share their experiences and contribute to the community’s online presence.

Hosting Information Sessions and Events

Hosting information sessions and events can help potential residents learn more about your tiny house community and get a feel for the lifestyle it offers. Consider the following:

Open Houses

Organize open houses where interested individuals can visit your community, tour the tiny houses, and meet current residents. This allows them to experience the community firsthand and ask questions to gain a better understanding of what it’s like to live in a tiny house community.

Educational Workshops

Host educational workshops on topics such as tiny house construction, sustainable living, or minimalism. These workshops not only provide valuable information but also position your community as a knowledgeable and credible resource in the tiny house movement.

Managing Membership Applications and Screening

Once you’ve generated interest in your tiny house community, it’s crucial to have a structured process for managing membership applications and screening potential residents. Consider the following steps:

Application Forms

Develop comprehensive application forms that collect essential information from potential residents, including their background, references, and reasons for wanting to join the community. These forms help you assess whether applicants align with the community’s values and requirements.

Screening Process

Establish a screening process that includes background checks, reference checks, and interviews with potential residents. This process ensures that individuals who join the community are a good fit and share the community’s vision and values.

Waiting List

If there is high demand and limited availability in your tiny house community, consider maintaining a waiting list. This allows you to fill vacancies as they arise and ensures a continuous pool of potential residents.

Sustainable Living Practices

Promoting energy efficiency and renewable resources.

One of the fundamental principles of a tiny house community is to prioritize energy efficiency and harness renewable resources. To achieve this, consider the following steps:

• Energy-Efficient Design : Opt for eco-friendly materials and implement passive design strategies, such as proper insulation, to minimize energy consumption.
• Solar Power : Install solar panels on the rooftops of the tiny houses to generate clean and renewable energy. Calculate the required solar panel capacity based on the energy needs of the community.
• Off-Grid Systems : Explore off-grid options like rainwater harvesting, wind turbines, and composting toilets to reduce reliance on conventional utilities.

Encouraging Waste Reduction and Recycling

Reducing waste and implementing recycling systems are essential for a sustainable tiny house community. Here’s how you can promote waste reduction and recycling:

• Composting : Educate community members on composting techniques to turn organic waste into nutrient-rich soil for community gardens.
• Recycling Stations : Set up designated recycling stations throughout the community to make recycling convenient and accessible for everyone.
• Resource Sharing : Encourage sharing of tools, equipment, and resources to minimize consumption and promote a circular economy.

Implementing Water Conservation Measures

Conserving water is crucial for sustainable living. Incorporate the following water conservation measures in your tiny house community:

• Rainwater Harvesting : Install rain barrels or tanks to collect rainwater for non-potable uses like watering plants and flushing toilets.
• Low-Flow Fixtures : Install low-flow faucets, showerheads, and toilets to reduce water consumption without compromising comfort.
• Greywater Systems : Implement greywater systems to reuse water from sinks and showers for irrigation purposes, reducing the strain on freshwater resources.

Emphasizing Community Gardening and Local Food Production

Promoting community gardening and local food production not only fosters self-sufficiency but also enhances the sense of belonging within the community. Here’s how you can encourage these practices:

• Community Gardens : Allocate dedicated spaces for community gardens where residents can grow their own fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
• Permaculture Principles : Embrace permaculture principles such as companion planting, vertical gardening, and composting to create sustainable and productive food systems.
• Farmer’s Markets : Organize farmer’s markets within or near the community to support local farmers and provide access to fresh, locally grown produce.

Creating a Welcoming Community Culture

Organizing social events and activities.

Building a strong sense of community requires organizing social events and activities that bring residents together. Consider the following ideas:

• Community Potlucks : Host regular potlucks where residents can share their culinary creations and bond over a delicious meal.
• Workshops and Classes : Arrange workshops and classes on topics like sustainable living, DIY projects, and gardening to promote skill sharing and learning.
• Movie Nights : Organize movie nights under the stars where residents can enjoy a film while building connections with their neighbors.

Fostering Collaboration and Cooperation

Collaboration and cooperation are the cornerstones of a thriving tiny house community. Foster these qualities through the following initiatives:

• Shared Spaces : Designate shared spaces like community kitchens, libraries, and recreation areas where residents can interact and collaborate.
• Task Sharing : Create a system where residents can take turns in performing communal tasks such as maintenance, gardening, or organizing events.
• Community Decision-Making : Establish a democratic decision-making process where residents have a say in community matters and can contribute their ideas and suggestions.

Promoting Diversity and Inclusion

A successful tiny house community embraces diversity and creates an inclusive environment for all. Consider the following steps to promote diversity and inclusion:

• Open-Mindedness : Encourage residents to embrace different cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives, fostering an open and accepting community.
• Accessible Design : Ensure the community is designed with accessibility in mind, making it welcoming for individuals with diverse physical abilities.
• Community Outreach : Engage in outreach activities to connect with neighboring communities and promote inclusivity beyond the borders of your tiny house community.

Establishing Supportive Networks

Creating a support system within the community is vital for the well-being of its residents. Here’s how you can establish supportive networks:

• Community Meetings : Organize regular community meetings where residents can discuss concerns, share ideas, and provide support to one another.
• Online Platforms : Create online forums or social media groups where residents can connect, seek advice, and share resources even when physically apart.
• Buddy System : Implement a buddy system where newcomers are paired with experienced community members who can guide them and offer support during the transition.

Maintenance and Upkeep

Setting up maintenance systems.

Efficient maintenance systems ensure the longevity and smooth operation of the tiny house community. Follow these guidelines for effective maintenance:

• Maintenance Schedule : Develop a comprehensive maintenance schedule outlining regular tasks, inspections, and upkeep activities for different areas within the community.
• Task Allocation : Assign maintenance responsibilities to individuals or groups, ensuring fair distribution and accountability.
• Documentation and Communication : Maintain a centralized system for documenting maintenance activities, issues, and repairs. Use digital tools to streamline communication among community members.

Establishing Repair and Replacement Protocols

Proactive repair and replacement protocols are essential to address issues promptly and maintain the quality of the community. Consider the following steps:

• Emergency Fund : Establish an emergency fund to cover unexpected repairs or replacements that may arise.
• Reporting System : Implement a reporting system where residents can easily submit maintenance requests and report any issues.
• Qualified Professionals : Create a network of reliable and skilled professionals who can provide timely repair and replacement services when needed.

Conducting Regular Inspections and Assessments

Regular inspections and assessments help identify potential issues and ensure compliance with safety standards. Here’s what you should include:

• Safety Inspections : Conduct regular safety inspections of common areas, individual tiny houses, and community infrastructure to address any safety concerns promptly.
• Environmental Assessments : Evaluate the community’s environmental impact regularly, identifying areas for improvement and implementing necessary changes.
• Infrastructure Evaluation : Assess the condition of community infrastructure, such as roads, pathways, and utilities, to plan for maintenance or upgrades.

Ensuring Community Safety and Security

Creating a safe and secure environment is paramount in a tiny house community. Implement these measures to ensure the well-being of residents:

• Emergency Preparedness : Develop an emergency preparedness plan that includes evacuation procedures, communication protocols, and first aid training.
• Security Systems : Install adequate lighting, surveillance cameras, and secure access points to deter potential intruders and enhance the overall security of the community.
• Community Watch : Encourage residents to participate in a community watch program, where neighbors look out for each other and report any suspicious activities.

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

When starting a tiny house community, it’s crucial to ensure you’re in compliance with local laws and regulations. Failure to do so could lead to legal issues and setbacks. Here are some key points to consider:

Maintaining Compliance with Local Laws and Regulations

Before diving into the details, it’s essential to conduct thorough research on the zoning and building codes in your specific area. While regulations may vary from one jurisdiction to another, certain aspects commonly regulated include:

• Zoning restrictions: Understand the zoning requirements for residential, mixed-use, or special-use areas.
• Minimum lot size: Determine if there are any minimum lot size requirements for your community.
• Setbacks and clearances: Check the setback requirements for structures within the community.
• Utilities: Ensure compliance with water, sewer, and electrical regulations.
• Accessory dwelling units (ADUs): Investigate whether tiny houses are classified as ADUs and what regulations apply.

Understanding Tiny House-Specific Regulations

In addition to general regulations, there might be specific regulations pertaining to tiny houses. Familiarize yourself with these regulations to ensure your community operates smoothly:

• Size limitations: Check if there are any restrictions on the maximum square footage or height of tiny houses.
• Foundation requirements: Determine whether your tiny houses must be on a permanent foundation or if they can be on wheels.
• Safety standards: Ensure compliance with safety regulations, including fire safety, electrical systems, and sanitation requirements.
• Minimum dwelling requirements: Some areas might have specific minimum dwelling size requirements, so make sure your tiny houses meet these standards.

Dealing with Insurance and Liability Matters

As a tiny house community owner, it’s essential to protect yourself and your residents by addressing insurance and liability concerns. Here’s what you need to know:

• Liability insurance: Obtain liability insurance that covers accidents or injuries that may occur within the community.
• Homeowner’s insurance: Encourage or require residents to have homeowner’s insurance to protect their tiny houses and personal belongings.
• Common areas: If your community has shared spaces, consider additional insurance coverage to protect against accidents or damage.
• Legal structure: Decide on the legal structure of your community, whether it’s a homeowner’s association, cooperative, or other entity, and consult with an attorney to ensure you have the necessary legal protection.

Adapting to Changing Laws and Policies

Laws and policies are not static, and they might evolve over time. Stay informed about any changes in regulations and be prepared to adapt:

• Ongoing research: Continuously monitor local, state, and federal regulations related to tiny houses and community living.
• Community involvement: Engage with local officials, attend public hearings, and join relevant organizations to stay updated on policy discussions and potential changes.
• Advocacy: Consider advocating for tiny house-friendly policies by collaborating with like-minded individuals and organizations.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Building a Tiny House Community

1. can i build a tiny house community on my own.

Building a tiny house community on your own can be a daunting task. While it is possible to do it independently, it requires a significant amount of time, effort, and resources. It involves finding suitable land, obtaining necessary permits, organizing infrastructure, and managing community dynamics. Consider reaching out to like-minded individuals or joining existing tiny house communities to share the workload and gain valuable insights.

2. How do I find suitable land for a tiny house community?

Finding suitable land for a tiny house community is crucial. Start by researching local zoning laws and regulations to ensure that tiny houses are allowed in the area. Look for properties that have adequate space and infrastructure to accommodate multiple tiny houses. Consider factors such as accessibility, proximity to amenities, and the potential for future expansion. Networking with real estate agents, local authorities, and online communities dedicated to tiny house living can provide valuable leads.

3. What are the financing options available for starting a tiny house community?

Financing a tiny house community requires careful planning and exploration of various options. You can consider the following avenues:

• Personal Savings: Utilize your own savings to fund the initial costs of purchasing land and developing infrastructure.
• Crowdfunding: Engage the community and potential future residents by launching a crowdfunding campaign to gather financial support.
• Partnerships: Explore partnerships with investors or organizations interested in supporting sustainable living initiatives.
• Grants and Loans: Research grants and loans offered by governmental or non-profit organizations that promote affordable housing and community development.

4. How do I manage conflicts and disputes within the community?

Managing conflicts and disputes is an essential aspect of maintaining a harmonious and thriving tiny house community. Establish clear guidelines and rules from the beginning, ensuring that all community members understand and agree to abide by them. Encourage open communication and regular community meetings to address any concerns or conflicts promptly. Consider implementing a mediation or arbitration process to resolve disputes impartially.

5. Are there any legal restrictions on living in a tiny house community?

Legal restrictions regarding tiny house communities vary from one location to another. It is crucial to familiarize yourself with local zoning laws, building codes, and regulations to ensure compliance. Some areas may have specific requirements for minimum square footage, utility connections, or the duration of stays in tiny houses. Work closely with local authorities to understand and meet the legal obligations associated with your tiny house community.

6. Can I rent out my tiny house in a community?

Renting out your tiny house within a community can be a viable option to generate income. However, it is essential to check local regulations regarding short-term or long-term rentals. Some areas may have restrictions on renting out tiny houses due to zoning or housing regulations. Additionally, consult with your community members to ensure that they are comfortable with the idea of rental properties within the community.

7. How can I ensure the sustainability of the community in the long run?

Ensuring the sustainability of your tiny house community requires careful planning and ongoing commitment. Consider the following strategies:

• Resource Management: Encourage sustainable practices such as rainwater harvesting, composting, and renewable energy generation.
• Community Engagement: Foster a strong sense of community by organizing shared activities, workshops, and skill-sharing sessions.
• Continual Development: Regularly assess and improve infrastructure, amenities, and common spaces to meet the evolving needs of the community.
• Resilience Planning: Prepare for potential challenges and emergencies by creating contingency plans and fostering a supportive network within and outside the community.

Related Posts

Living in a Tiny House: Pros and Cons

15 Tips for Living Comfortably in a Tiny House

How to Start a Tiny House Business

Tiny houses are all the rage. These uber-small homes have just enough space for a minimalist individual or small family. A tiny house business builds, sells and/or rents tiny houses to those looking for a place to live or stay.

You may also be interested in additional unique business ideas .

Learn how to start your own Tiny House Business and whether it is the right fit for you.

Ready to form your LLC? Check out the Top LLC Formation Services .

Start a tiny house business by following these 10 steps:

• Plan your Tiny House Business
• Form your Tiny House Business into a Legal Entity
• Register your Tiny House Business for Taxes
• Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
• Set up Accounting for your Tiny House Business
• Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Tiny House Business
• Get Tiny House Business Insurance
• Define your Tiny House Business Brand
• Create your Tiny House Business Website
• Set up your Business Phone System

We have put together this simple guide to starting your tiny house business. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas .

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

What will you name your business?

• What are the startup and ongoing costs?
• Who is your target market?

How much can you charge customers?

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Tiny House Business Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship , you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name , we recommend researching your business name by checking:

• Your state's business records
• Federal and state trademark records
• Social media platforms
• Web domain availability .

It's very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

Want some help naming your tiny house business?

Business name generator, what are the costs involved in opening a tiny house business.

The building materials are the primary expense. The construction of tiny houses requires an array of materials ranging from wood to nails, bricks, lighting, appliances, flooring and so on. An office for administrative functions will also be necessary. Your office needs computers, printers, desks, chairs and high-speed Internet. You will also need a team of tiny home builders to construct these cute little houses. Some tiny house builders buy the property upon which tiny houses are built. If you plan on purchasing such property before constructing the tiny houses, be sure to budget for these costly acquisitions of land.

What are the ongoing expenses for a tiny house business?

The cost of labor is one of the major tiny house business expenses. Your tiny house builders will require a wage of at least $12 to $15 per hour if not more. The construction foreman/manager will require a salary in the range of $45,000 to $100,000. You will have to hire a receptionist, administrator, marketing professional and accountant as time progresses. A receptionist and administrator will earn between $10 and $15 per hour. Marketing and accounting professionals typically earn between $35,000 and $55,000 per year.

You will need an office to conduct your tiny house business. This space will likely cost between $700 and $1,500 per month depending on its size and location. Utilities and high-speed Internet will cost between $150 and $250 per month. Budget in another couple hundred dollars per month for insurance. Constructing tiny homes requires building materials. The cost of these materials hinges on the number of tiny homes you plan on building. You will likely spend between $2,000 and $20,000 or more for each tiny house's building supplies. The exact cost hinges on the size of the tiny home along with its appliances and luxuries. If you plan on buying property and then building tiny homes on the land you purchase, your budget will be exponentially higher. Though tiny houses are small, the land upon which they are built can cost anywhere between $10,000 and $50,000 or more.

Who is the target market?

The ideal customer is an individual with an expansive budget and a desire for an upscale tiny home. In some instances it is possible to sell several tiny homes to a real estate investor who intends to “flip” those properties or use them as tiny house rentals/hotels.

How does a tiny house business make money?

Tiny house businesses make money by selling tiny homes to buyers. It is also possible to rent out tiny houses.

Tiny houses sell in a price range between $5,000 and $50,000 or more. The exact price depends on the size, location, and amenities within the house. These diminutive homes are quite appealing to a wide variety of audiences. If you decide to rent out your tiny home as a hotel of sorts, you can charge upwards of $100 to $200 per night. People are willing to pay good money for a brief stay in a tiny house in order to determine if this style of living is appealing and also to find out what all the fuss is over.

How much profit can a tiny house business make?

A tiny house business has the potential to make six figures right off the bat. The amount of profit your tiny house business makes hinges on overhead costs, the number of properties your team can build and the state of your local real estate market. Keep building and selling tiny homes and it is possible to turn your business in a multi-million dollar enterprise within half a decade.

How can you make your business more profitable?

If you have a tiny home on the market that few (or no) people bid on, consider renting it out. It is also possible to rent tiny houses as hotels. If you understand the intricacies of tiny house construction, you can make extra money by teaching others how to build these highly unique structures.

Want a more guided approach? Access TRUiC's free Small Business Startup Guide - a step-by-step course for turning your business idea into reality. Get started today!

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

The most common business structure types are the sole proprietorship , partnership , limited liability company (LLC) , and corporation .

Establishing a legal business entity such as an LLC or corporation protects you from being held personally liable if your tiny house business is sued.

Form Your LLC

Read our Guide to Form Your Own LLC

Have a Professional Service Form your LLC for You

Two such reliable services:

You can form an LLC yourself and pay only the minimal state LLC costs or hire one of the Best LLC Services for a small, additional fee.

Recommended: You will need to elect a registered agent for your LLC. LLC formation packages usually include a free year of registered agent services . You can choose to hire a registered agent or act as your own.

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It's really easy and free!

You can acquire your EIN through the IRS website . If you would like to learn more about EINs, read our article, What is an EIN?

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil .

Open a business bank account

Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:

• Separates your personal assets from your company's assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
• Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.

Get a business credit card

Getting a business credit card helps you:

• Separate personal and business expenses by putting your business' expenses all in one place.
• Build your company's credit history , which can be useful to raise money later on.

Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from BILL and build your business credit quickly.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate a tiny house business. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits .

Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses .

Services Contract

Tiny house businesses should require clients to sign a services agreement before starting a new project.  This agreement should clarify client expectations and minimize risk of legal disputes by setting out payment terms and conditions, service level expectations, and intellectual property ownership. Here is an example of terms and conditions that one company includes in their services contract.

Here is OSHA’s guide for the construction industry. There are particular regulations for building a home that may be relevant to building tiny houses too.

Liability Insurance

 It is recommended that you obtain liability insurance to protect yourself, contractors, and customers in the case of an accident.

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance . This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance . If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers' Compensation Coverage.

FInd out what types of insurance your Tiny House Business needs and how much it will cost you by reading our guide Business Insurance for Tiny House Business.

STEP 8: Define your brand

Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.

If you aren't feeling confident about designing your small business logo, then check out our Design Guides for Beginners , we'll give you helpful tips and advice for creating the best unique logo for your business.

Recommended : Get a logo using Truic's free logo Generator no email or sign up required, or use a Premium Logo Maker .

If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator . Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.

How to promote & market a tiny house business

Be selective when deciding on marketing methods. Tiny home-seekers tend to be young adults in their 20s or 30s. Target the mediums this age cohort is exposed to and you will maximize your marketing dollars. Of critical importance is your website and social media content. Millennials and other youngsters will almost certainly surf the web on over to your website and Facebook, and Twitter pages. Your web presence should be polished. Regularly update your social media accounts and website blog with helpful, intriguing keyword-laden content. Guest blog on other relevant websites to gain exposure.

How to keep customers coming back

It is important to hold frequent open houses. Do not lose sight of the fact that investing in a tiny house is quite the difficult decision for the average home-seeker. After all, tiny houses are quite unorthodox. Learn all the nuances of your tiny homes for sale so you can explain how a prospective buyer can live in such a small space with considerable comfort.

STEP 9: Create your business website

After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business .

While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it’s out of their reach because they don’t have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t delay building your website:

• All legitimate businesses have websites - full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
• Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
• Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don’t need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Recommended : Get started today using our recommended website builder or check out our review of the Best Website Builders .

Other popular website builders are: WordPress , WIX , Weebly , Squarespace , and Shopify .

STEP 10: Set up your business phone system

Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That’s not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.

There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We’ve reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2023 to find the best phone service for your small business.

Recommended Business Phone Service: Phone.com

Phone.com is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it's fair pricing.

Is this Business Right For You?

If you are interested in architecture, construction and/or real estate, this business is perfect for you. It is also quite appealing to those who pride themselves on staying up to date with the latest trends.

Want to know if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur?

Take our Entrepreneurship Quiz to find out!

Entrepreneurship Quiz

What happens during a typical day at a tiny house business?

A tiny house business owner orders building materials, manages builders, secures plots of land, buys/sells tiny homes and establishes relationships with suppliers. Some tiny house business owners even handle the accounting and marketing duties until the business reaches the point where professionals can be hired to handle these responsibilities.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful tiny house business?

Knowledge of home construction with a particular focus on tiny house construction will certainly help. Those who are familiar with the real estate nuances of their area will have a firm grasp on the local codes that apply to tiny houses and the best places to build these homes. It will also help to be a savvy marketer. Though many tiny homes sell themselves, making target customers aware of your tiny homes for sale is critically important.

What is the growth potential for a tiny house business?

Tiny houses are as en vogue as it gets. Just about everyone wants to spend a night in a tiny house. Plenty of millennials are interested in these diminutive homes as permanent living spaces. Even baby boomers looking to downsize are interested in tiny houses. The potential for growth is exponential. If you build or acquire tiny homes in the next half-decade, they will almost assuredly sell at a profit. Capitalize on this trend now and you will be able to grow your tiny home company into a business empire across posterity. It is likely that tiny houses will remain popular far into the future as the population increases, space becomes more limited and traditional home values continue to soar.

TRUiC's YouTube Channel

For fun informative videos about starting a business visit the TRUiC YouTube Channel or subscribe to view later.

Take the Next Step

Find a business mentor.

One of the greatest resources an entrepreneur can have is quality mentorship. As you start planning your business, connect with a free business resource near you to get the help you need.

Having a support network in place to turn to during tough times is a major factor of success for new business owners.

Learn from other business owners

Want to learn more about starting a business from entrepreneurs themselves? Visit Startup Savant’s startup founder series to gain entrepreneurial insights, lessons, and advice from founders themselves.

Resources to Help Women in Business

There are many resources out there specifically for women entrepreneurs. We’ve gathered necessary and useful information to help you succeed both professionally and personally:

If you’re a woman looking for some guidance in entrepreneurship, check out this great new series Women in Business created by the women of our partner Startup Savant.

What are some insider tips for jump starting a tiny house business?

Become familiar with your local building codes. Find out the specific regulations in your jurisdiction that pertain to tiny house construction, location and living. Hire your building team with care. Only select builders who understand the nuances of tiny home construction. If you aren't sure where to start and do not have experience with tiny houses, it is advisable to attend at tiny home workshop.

How and when to build a team

You will need a team of tiny house builders right away. You can't build all these houses yourself. Furthermore, it will help to hire a real estate agent or tiny home expert to help you show the tiny houses you have for sale. If you do not want to answer the phone calls of prospective buyers throughout the day, it will be necessary to hire a receptionist. Hold off on hiring a marketing professional, accountant and administrator until your business ramps up.

Read our tiny house business hiring guide to learn about the different roles a tiny house business typically fills, how much to budget for employee salaries, and how to build your team exactly how you want it.

Useful Links

Truic resources.

• TRUiC's Tiny House Business Hiring Guide

Industry Opportunities

• Franchise Opportunity
• Discover more Unique Business Ideas
• American Tiny House Association
• United Tiny House Association

Real World Examples

• Santa Monica Business
• Nashville Business
• Chattanooga Business

Further Reading

• Problems to Watch Out For
• Steps and Other Things to Consider

Have a Question? Leave a Comment!

Tiny House Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Everyone is trying to figure out how to start a business these days. If you're thinking about being an entrepreneur and building one from the ground up, you need a business plan. This article will guide you from start to finish as we go over the steps you need to take to write a business plan for your tiny house business.

Get worry-free services and support to launch your business starting at $0 plus state fees.

• How to Start a Profitable Tiny House Business [11 Steps]
• 10+ Best & Profitable Tiny House Business Ideas [2023]
• 25 Catchy Tiny House Business Names:
• List of the Best Marketing Ideas For Your Tiny House Business:

How to Write a Tiny House Business Plan in 7 Steps:

1. describe the purpose of your tiny house business..

The first step to writing your business plan is to describe the purpose of your tiny house business. This includes describing why you are starting this type of business, and what problems it will solve for customers. This is a quick way to get your mind thinking about the customers’ problems. It also helps you identify what makes your business different from others in its industry.

It also helps to include a vision statement so that readers can understand what type of company you want to build.

Here is an example of a purpose mission statement for a tiny house business:

Our purpose at Tiny House Builders is to provide our customers with affordable, sustainable, and comfortable tiny homes that meet their needs and preferences. Our mission is to become the leading provider of tiny homes in the region, offering a wide range of styles, sizes, and options to suit every need. We are committed to using only the finest materials and latest technology, and to providing exceptional customer service, with knowledgeable and friendly staff who can help customers understand their options and make the best choices for their needs. We aim to provide a comfortable, welcoming environment where our customers can learn about the latest trends and advancements in tiny home technology, and to deliver exceptional results that exceed our customers' expectations. We believe that everyone deserves to have access to affordable, sustainable, and comfortable tiny homes, and we strive to provide our customers with the best products and services available.

2. Products & Services Offered by Your Tiny House Business.

The next step is to outline your products and services for your tiny house business. 

When you think about the products and services that you offer, it's helpful to ask yourself the following questions:

• What is my business?
• What are the products and/or services that I offer?
• Why am I offering these particular products and/or services?
• How do I differentiate myself from competitors with similar offerings?
• How will I market my products and services?

You may want to do a comparison of your business plan against those of other competitors in the area, or even with online reviews. This way, you can find out what people like about them and what they don’t like, so that you can either improve upon their offerings or avoid doing so altogether.

3. Build a Creative Marketing Stratgey.

If you don't have a marketing plan for your tiny house business, it's time to write one. Your marketing plan should be part of your business plan and be a roadmap to your goals. 

A good marketing plan for your tiny house business includes the following elements:

Target market

• Who is your target market?
• What do these customers have in common?
• How many of them are there?
• How can you best reach them with your message or product?

Customer base 

• Who are your current customers? 
• Where did they come from (i.e., referrals)?
• How can their experience with your tiny house business help make them repeat customers, consumers, visitors, subscribers, or advocates for other people in their network or industry who might also benefit from using this service, product, or brand?

Product or service description

• How does it work, what features does it have, and what are its benefits?
• Can anyone use this product or service regardless of age or gender?
• Can anyone visually see themselves using this product or service?
• How will they feel when they do so? If so, how long will the feeling last after purchasing (or trying) the product/service for the first time?

Competitive analysis

• Which companies are competing with yours today (and why)? 
• Which ones may enter into competition with yours tomorrow if they find out about it now through word-of-mouth advertising; social media networks; friends' recommendations; etc.)
• What specific advantages does each competitor offer over yours currently?

Marketing channels

• Which marketing channel do you intend to leverage to attract new customers?
• What is your estimated marketing budget needed?
• What is the projected cost to acquire a new customer?
• How many of your customers do you instead will return?

Form an LLC in your state!

4. Write Your Operational Plan.

Next, you'll need to build your operational plan. This section describes the type of business you'll be running, and includes the steps involved in your operations. 

In it, you should list:

• The equipment and facilities needed
• Who will be involved in the business (employees, contractors)
• Financial requirements for each step
• Milestones & KPIs
• Location of your business
• Zoning & permits required for the business

What equipment, supplies, or permits are needed to run a tiny house business?

To run a tiny house business, you will need a few key pieces of equipment, supplies, and permits. These include:

• Tiny houses and trailers
• Transportation and storage equipment
• A permit to operate your business (depending on location)
• Business licenses and permits for business activities (if applicable)

You may also need to hire and train staff to manage the tiny house rentals and provide customer service.

5. Management & Organization of Your Tiny House Business.

The second part of your tiny house business plan is to develop a management and organization section.

This section will cover all of the following:

• How many employees you need in order to run your tiny house business. This should include the roles they will play (for example, one person may be responsible for managing administrative duties while another might be in charge of customer service).
• The structure of your management team. The higher-ups like yourself should be able to delegate tasks through lower-level managers who are directly responsible for their given department (inventory and sales, etc.).
• How you’re going to make sure that everyone on board is doing their job well. You’ll want check-ins with employees regularly so they have time to ask questions or voice concerns if needed; this also gives you time to offer support where necessary while staying informed on how things are going within individual departments too!

6. Tiny House Business Startup Expenses & Captial Needed.

This section should be broken down by month and year. If you are still in the planning stage of your business, it may be helpful to estimate how much money will be needed each month until you reach profitability.

Typically, expenses for your business can be broken into a few basic categories:

Startup Costs

Startup costs are typically the first expenses you will incur when beginning an enterprise. These include legal fees, accounting expenses, and other costs associated with getting your business off the ground. The amount of money needed to start a tiny house business varies based on many different variables, but below are a few different types of startup costs for a tiny house business.

Running & Operating Costs

Running costs refer to ongoing expenses related directly with operating your business over time like electricity bills or salaries paid out each month. These types of expenses will vary greatly depending on multiple variables such as location, team size, utility costs, etc.

Marketing & Sales Expenses

You should include any costs associated with marketing and sales, such as advertising and promotions, website design or maintenance. Also, consider any additional expenses that may be incurred if you decide to launch a new product or service line. For example, if your tiny house business has an existing website that needs an upgrade in order to sell more products or services, then this should be listed here.

7. Financial Plan & Projections

A financial plan is an important part of any business plan, as it outlines how the business will generate revenue and profit, and how it will use that profit to grow and sustain itself. To devise a financial plan for your tiny house business, you will need to consider a number of factors, including your start-up costs, operating costs, projected revenue, and expenses. 

Here are some steps you can follow to devise a financial plan for your tiny house business plan:

• Determine your start-up costs: This will include the cost of purchasing or leasing the space where you will operate your business, as well as the cost of buying or leasing any equipment or supplies that you need to start the business.
• Estimate your operating costs: Operating costs will include utilities, such as electricity, gas, and water, as well as labor costs for employees, if any, and the cost of purchasing any materials or supplies that you will need to run your business.
• Project your revenue: To project your revenue, you will need to consider the number of customers you expect to have and the average amount they will spend on each visit. You can use this information to estimate how much money you will make from selling your products or services.
• Estimate your expenses: In addition to your operating costs, you will need to consider other expenses, such as insurance, marketing, and maintenance. You will also need to set aside money for taxes and other fees.
• Create a budget: Once you have estimated your start-up costs, operating costs, revenue, and expenses, you can use this information to create a budget for your business. This will help you to see how much money you will need to start the business, and how much profit you can expect to make.
• Develop a plan for using your profit: Finally, you will need to decide how you will use your profit to grow and sustain your business. This might include investing in new equipment, expanding the business, or saving for a rainy day.

Frequently Asked Questions About Tiny House Business Plans:

Why do you need a business plan for a tiny house business.

A business plan is a document that outlines the goals and objectives of a business, as well as the strategies and tactics that will be used to achieve those goals. It is important to have a business plan for your tiny house business because it helps to focus the efforts of the company, communicate the business's goals and objectives to potential investors, and provide a roadmap for the business to follow. Additionally, a business plan can be used to help secure funding from investors or lenders, who will want to see that the business has a solid plan in place before they provide funding.

How to write a business plan for your tiny house business?)

To build a business plan for your tiny house business, start by researching your industry, competitors, and target market. Use this information to define your business's goals and objectives, as well as the strategies and tactics that you will use to achieve those goals. Next, create a financial plan that outlines your projected income, expenses, and profit. This should include a projected income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet. Once you have all of this information, you can use it to create a comprehensive business plan that outlines the goals and objectives of your business, as well as the strategies and tactics that you will use to achieve those goals. A well-written tiny house business plan contains the following sections: Purpose, Products & Services, Marketing Plan (including Marketing Strategy), Operations/Management Plan (including Operations/Management Strategy), Financial Plan (including Financial Forecasts), and Appendixes.

Can you write a tiny house business plan yourself?

Yes, you can write a tiny house business plan yourself. Writing a business plan is a valuable exercise that can help you clarify your business idea, identify potential challenges and opportunities, and develop a roadmap for success. While there are many resources and templates available to help you write a business plan, the process of creating one is ultimately up to you.

Related Business Plans

Home Inventory Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Home Inspection Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Home Decor Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Health And Wellness Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Hauling Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Hardware Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Handyman Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Hair Extension Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Handbag Business Plan Template & Guidebook

I'm Nick, co-founder of newfoundr.com, dedicated to helping aspiring entrepreneurs succeed. As a small business owner with over five years of experience, I have garnered valuable knowledge and insights across a diverse range of industries. My passion for entrepreneurship drives me to share my expertise with aspiring entrepreneurs, empowering them to turn their business dreams into reality.

Through meticulous research and firsthand experience, I uncover the essential steps, software, tools, and costs associated with launching and maintaining a successful business. By demystifying the complexities of entrepreneurship, I provide the guidance and support needed for others to embark on their journey with confidence.

From assessing market viability and formulating business plans to selecting the right technology and navigating the financial landscape, I am dedicated to helping fellow entrepreneurs overcome challenges and unlock their full potential. As a steadfast advocate for small business success, my mission is to pave the way for a new generation of innovative and driven entrepreneurs who are ready to make their mark on the world.

Starting A Tiny House Business: Advice From A Guy Who’s Done It

When I first got interested in tiny houses, I never dreamed that it could grow to be a thriving business. But after a decade of success, it’s pretty clear to me that it’s not only a good business to be in, but one that has proven itself to be a profitable and meaningful line of work.

The tiny house movement is growing faster than ever and that has led many to be interested in starting a tiny house business. There is a lot that goes into starting any business, but the profitable niche of the tiny house market makes it a worthwhile venture.

Hi, I’m Ryan

When I started The Tiny Life, my only real intention was to share my experiences with other tiny-living enthusiasts. I quickly realized that there was so much potential to be uncovered in the space, and never looked back. Still, if I were to start all over again, here’s the advice I’d share with my younger self.

Market Data About Sales In The Tiny House Industry?

Even through economic downturns and pandemics, the tiny house industry has been growing consistently for many years.

Tiny House Market Size

Studies estimated the tiny house market size to be worth $20.47 billion last year. Projections over the next 10 years have predicted the tiny house market size will be worth $25.16 billion with a CAGR of 3.5% during the review period. Year over year, there has been a 67% increase in tiny house sales.

10 Steps To Start A Tiny House Business

There is some standard advice that you’ll see offered around starting any business, and while it can be tempting to skip ahead, planning can go a long way for one major reason.

But I have lost count of the business concepts I’ve considered that I realized weren’t going to produce enough profits to be worth it after going through this process!

1. Utilize Business Model Templates To Validate Your Idea

A business model for a tiny house business lets you flush out the core ideas involved with the business before you develop further plans. What I like about this step is that I can review the key elements, which helps me do some “back of the napkin” math to see if the venture is even worth pursuing.

Sometimes you get into the numbers and realize you’ll need so many sales that it’s not practical, or that the profit margins are so slim, it’s not even worth starting. Other times, it helps you get clear on what needs to be achieved in order to make the business successful.

2. Develop A Tiny House Business Plan (Free Download)

Once you’ve nailed down the basics in your business model template, it’s time to start developing a tiny house business plan. This brings more details to the high-level ideas you identified in your model.

Broadly speaking, a tiny house business plan is going to be very similar to any other business plan, but it helps you define what you’re going to sell, who you’re going to sell it to, how much you’ll price things at, and how you’ll market to people so they’re aware of you.

Below I get into more details on the different parts of a tiny house business. Each of these areas are fairly complex, but I’ve put together a free download for you to make the process simpler.

Free Business Plan Template Download

Advice: Define What You’re Going To Sell

You need to gain clarity on what specifically you are going to offer as a product or service. I’ve learned a few key things here:

What you think people want and what people actually want may be two different things, so you’ll need to adapt along the way. Focus on your strengths and build your offerings around those. Do a few things well and market to a select group of customers — being everything to everyone leads to failure.

Advice: Determine Your Pricing, Costs and Profit

On its face it seems simple: cost – price = profit. But getting a true sense of your cost, being realistic with what people will pay, and having a profit that doesn’t just pay the bills but also grows the business is harder.

It’s easy to make numbers work on paper without the realities of the market. Make sure that you have a realistic path to profitability, that you can actually sell the amount you need, and the customers are actually willing to pay that price for it.

Keeping all of your ideas, documents, and strategies organized in a way that maximizes your efficiency is key to creating a successful business model. There are tons of tools I put to use when managing The Tiny Life.

Throughout my time running The Tiny Life and working in the corporate world in general, I’ve learned that any business move you make leads to sacrificing one or both of your most valuable tools: time and money.

When running a business, you want to set yourself up to increase revenue while using less of your time. This means you need efficient business tools to help your company move from idea to execution more quickly without sacrificing quality.

3. Come Up With A Memorable Tiny House Business Name

The name of your business is one of the most important elements of your business model. A company name is the backbone of a business and the first word potential clients or paying customers will associate with you and your product.

I wanted a company name that not only spoke to house size, but also encapsulated the idea that life can be simple, small, and self-made. This brought me to the name The Tiny Life.

When searching for your tiny house business name, think about the things that make your company unique. What about your company’s mission, backstory, location, or origin could be turned into a meaningful, eye-catching business name?

“Check to see if your business name is available as a domain name before deciding. If it already exists, consider other names or try alternative spellings, add a modifier, put an adjective in front of it, etc.”

I’ve known several business owners who have named their company after something special about their history with tiny homes — why they matter to them or even where they build their properties.

4. Create A Website For Your Tiny House Business

To make sales as a tiny house business owner, you’ll need a good-looking landing page where customers can find out more about you and get in contact. You don’t have to be tech savvy to make this happen — it doesn’t have to be fancy, just effective.

The biggest mistake I see often is businesses trying to use a Facebook page as their website. A single-page site built on the Google Site platform or Squarespace will serve you much better. Have your logo and name at the top, one single header image that makes an impact, list your contact info, and then include samples of your work in a gallery.

Small Business Website Builders

• Squarespace
• Google Sites

“Don’t skimp on photos! They say a picture is worth a thousand words — in business, a picture is worth thousands of dollars. Consider working with a professional photographer to make sure your product photos are well lit, properly staged, totally finished, and polished.”

After setting up your tiny house business website, you’ll want to register your own domain name. Websites with URLs like thetinylife.wix.com or thetinylife.wordpress.com look far less professional than thetinylife.com.

Where To Buy A Domain Name For Small Business

• Google Domains

5. Set Up Social Media Accounts And Forms Of Contact

One of the worst moves you can make as a small business owner is neglecting to set up an easy way for customers, partners, or clients to get ahold of you. You want to make it as simple as possible for people to reach you.

I have an email that is specifically for The Tiny Life as well as a personal email address that I manage completely separately. For a small monthly fee, you can attach your email address to your domain name, which looks more professional than an address connected to Gmail or Yahoo.

In addition to a company email address, you should also set up a company phone number that is separate from your personal phone. This way, you know when a customer is trying to get ahold of you verses your in-laws calling you up to chat. For this I use Google Voice or Ring Central to have a virtual number just for the business.

Social Media

You should also create a handle for any forms of social media you want to actively associate with your business. Even if you aren’t going to post, go ahead and secure those names now on the major platforms so no one else can take them — or worse, impersonate you.

It is much more effective to funnel your time and energy into the kinds of media you enjoy and are good at than to waste your time on something that may not bring you any reward. In my case, I absolutely despise Instagram, so I don’t deal with it. Simple as that.

Focus on the forms of social media that you enjoy and that reflect the demographic you’re trying to serve. The type of people who find my content are often seeking minimalism and simplicity , thus they don’t have a huge social media presence. However, I find they do use Pinterest fairly often because of the DIY nature of my market, so I focus a lot of my media presence there.

6. Focus On The Visual Elements Of Your Tiny House Business

The visual elements of your tiny house business are far more important than you might initially assume. I think a lot of business owners get it in their head that as long as the product they offer is high quality, the visuals don’t really matter that much. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

In the first few seconds of interacting with your website, logo, or image, potential customers are making an assumption in their minds about whether or not your brand is one they can trust and want to work with.

This means visual representation is extremely important. But that doesn’t mean you need to pour a ton of money and fancy resources into your branding. There are tons of resources out there that can help you with fonts, logos, color schemes, graphics, and more for a low price.

It is possible to create a website and logo that look professional without breaking the bank.

Small Business Logo Makers

• Tailor Brands

Color Scheme Designers

7. Get Your Finances Straight For Your Tiny House Business

The financial aspect of owning a business is a huge can of worms that could be an entire blog post of its own. I won’t claim to be an expert on financial management, but I do think I’ve learned a ton over the past decade about what to and what not to do when managing money on such a large scale.

Go In With A Plan

Get comfortable with using a spreadsheet to document all the costs that go into your business. Then estimate your income from sales and map out how many sales you actually need to cover costs. The difference between your cost and income is your profit.

Know Your Costs

The Rule Of Three

For every dollar I need to pay myself, I need $1 to sink back into the business to grow it (think supplies, tools, etc.). I also need $1 to spend on marketing to continue to build my sales pipeline. So, if I needed $3,000 to pay myself per month, I would price my products and services at a profit margin that will yield a total of $9,000 per month.

Be Smart About Your Budget

You also need to have a budget and keep records of all your financials. This is important to understand true costs of your business, manage and plan cashflow, handle payroll, and make all the appropriate tax deductions.

The last thing I’ll say on this is that you should have both a personal rainy day fund and an emergency fund for the business, and avoid accruing debt where possible.

8. Make Your Tiny House Business A Legal Entity

Forming a legal entity for your tiny house business is a must in order to protect you from being held personally liable if your business is sued. It is also a much wiser financial move to establish yourself as a legal entity when managing your bank account and taxes each year.

There are multiple business types that you can register your company as. The most common business structure types are the limited liability company (LLC), a corporation, a sole proprietorship, or a partnership. When I was first setting up The Tiny Life, I decided to go with an S Corp as my company type, but there are advantages and disadvantages to each choice.

9. Define Your Processes: Sales, Marketing, & Operations

Process is boring. Until you realize that it makes you more money, produces happier customers, closes sales easier, keeps your team engaged, and allows the business to thrive. There isn’t anything boring about having customers clamoring to work with you, a team that is excited to do the work, and work that is low stress.

There are key aspects of your business that you should build a plan for

• Product Or Service Delivery
• Marketing/Sales
• Finances And Budgeting
• Internal Operations

10. Determine How You’ll Market To Your Target Customer

Too many tiny house business owners think that if they set up a website, hand out a few business cards, and post occasionally on social media, customers will just magically appear.

What really needs to happen, though, is you need to go out and get those customers.

The task of marketing is a huge part of what makes a business successful. You can’t be profitable without customers, you can’t get customers without making sales, and you can’t make sales without having effective marketing.

In the planning phase of your marketing strategy, you need to answer

• How are you going to make people aware of your business?
• How will you foster that awareness into them considering your offering?
• How do you move them from a casual browser to a paying customer?

Bonus: Define Professional Partnerships To Achieve Your Goals

Paid partnerships or sponsorships are another awesome way to create mutually beneficial business relationships, or relationships where both parties end up winning in some way. These kinds of relationships are built on the fact that both parties are able to bring value to the table.

Broadly speaking, it can be difficult to find monetary partnerships where the two parties are not inherently equal sized players.

Tiny House Business Ideas: Types Of Tiny House Businesses

It’s important to note that there are many different ways you can make a profit within the tiny house industry. This includes designing, building, selling, or flipping homes, creating rental properties, and more. All of these types of tiny house businesses can be profitable when executeed well.

Business Ideas Section Navigation

How To Start Building And Selling Tiny Homes

Building and selling tiny homes is the most common type of tiny house business. Of course, this can take on many different forms.

As the tiny house movement has increased in popularity, more design and build companies are popping up all across the U.S., particularly in high-interest states like California , Texas , Florida , Oregon , and Colorado . If you’re hoping to start this kind of business, consider what your needs are to execute.

Take a look at the team you’re building your business with. Do you have someone on your team who can help with construction, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, interior design, or painting and finishes?

Will you be able to manage your own finances and legal documents or will you need help? Consider the vital roles you’ll need to hire out when budgeting as a new building company. How are you going to conduct sales and market your services?

Is Building And Selling Tiny Homes Profitable?

For all the reasons described above, building and selling tiny houses is a highly profitable investment. The average wholesale cost of a tiny home is around $23,000 when considering materials, labor costs, utilities , and everything else that goes into the tiny house building process.

Say you’re able to build a basic tiny home for the price of $23,000, then sell it for $56,000 — an extremely reasonable asking price in today’s market. With this system, you’ll earn a net profit of $33,000 per sale.

If you’re able to make this happen a mere five times a year, that brings you to a net profit of $165,000 annually selling tiny homes. That’s a fairly large profit considering the resources invested.

*Note: Figures are estimates

Of course, your average annual income will depend on how successful your tiny house building business is. The amount of homes you are able to sell will determine whether or not your business is a worthy investment. Data reflects that the average annual income for a tiny house design and build company is around $274,000, which reflects about 8.3 tiny house sales.

Tiny home building businesses also scale very well. Tiny homes can be built in a production environment without being affected by common things that negatively impact traditional building.

There are no rainy days when you build inside a workshop — you can climate control the space to ensure productivity of your workers and considerations like being warm enough for paint to dry. You can also optimize production lines for efficiency without having to break down a job site at the end of every day. Lastly, the scale of tiny houses means you can likely maintain a small inventory of materials on site to avoid delays.

How To Start A Tiny House Design Business

Right up there in popularity with building and selling tiny houses is consulting and design. There are several tiny house businesses across the U.S. that, instead of undertaking the build process, help their clients design their tiny homes, get connected with builders, and navigate the legal ramifications in order to build their tiny house.

Is Tiny House Design Profitable?

Many of these tiny house design businesses end up partnering with builders directly. This is a wise way to establish a professional partnership where you both can benefit financially.

I’ve based the estimated profit in the chart above on the average cost per consultation of several U.S. tiny house consultation companies . Remember that this estimate is purely based on legal and design consultations and does not include building or selling tiny houses.

How To Start A Tiny House Rental Business

The travel industry is booming due to the increase in remote work. A decade ago, Airbnb was hardly on the map, but now it is an extremely lively marketplace and profitable business — so much so that they launched a company-wide upgrade in 2021 focused on the increase in remote workers.

While there are hundreds of thousands of tiny homes on Airbnb and other rental sites for frequent vacationers, the uptick in remote working has also increased the number of long-term stays needed across the country. Workers and families alike are renting condos, apartment spaces, accessory dwelling units , and even eclectic stays like trailers or RVs.

All this to say, there has really never been a better time to start a tiny house rental business.

Are Tiny House Rentals Profitable?

Again, the net profit that you are able to gain here will depend heavily on how much you pour into building your tiny house as well as what price you rent it out for.

Keep in mind that this chart does not include the initial building costs of the tiny home . It does, however, include the annual supply cost of upkeep, utilities, and repairs.

Additionally, this is the estimated profit for renting out a single tiny house that performs well in the traveler’s market with frequent bookings, borrowed from the Robuilt company . If you have multiple properties or are not able to gain customers as readily, that will heavily affect what you’re able to earn.

How To Start A Business Flipping Tiny Houses

Flipping tiny house properties is a whole different financial ballgame than building them yourself or renting them out. The idea of starting a property-flipping business is often highly attractive to people who enjoy bringing older properties into their full potential.

If you’re looking to break into this kind of business, you’ll want to evaluate what skills you’ll need to be successful and whether or not you already have access to those or will need to hire help. You’ll also want to ensure you have someone on your team who understands property values and can accurately assess repair expenses.

Is Flipping Tiny Houses Profitable?

When it comes with flipping homes, I think there’s a common misconception that it’s going to be far easier and cheaper than building a house from the ground up, but this isn’t always the case. Sometimes the cost of repairing an older property can skyrocket just as quickly as building a new home.

That said, many people are able to turn flipping homes into a business or side hustle. These businesses often succeed with THOWs because they can find a good deal anywhere, bring it to their own facility to update, then sell to anyone with a delivery fee.

Data from Smart Asset reveals that house flipping continues to be a highly profitable endeavor. The average invested cost reflects the price of the property as well as anticipated repairs and renovations. These earnings are based on data from businesses, though, and would look very different if you were just planning to flip a single property.

What Other Small Businesses Can You Run Using Tiny Homes?

Not only are tiny homes a valuable commodity for selling, renting, or flipping, but they can also be used as an office space for a myriad of other small businesses. Tiny houses on wheels, van conversions , cargo trailers , and teardrop shops are some of the best options if you own a traveling business and need to transport your goods and services across state lines.

Business Ideas For Tiny Houses

Boutique Business

Mobile Tavern

Coffee Shop

Pet Grooming

Barber / Hairdresser

Acupuncture / Massage

Mobile Clinic

Mobile Sauna

How Will You Market Your Tiny House Business?

Just because you build it, doesn’t mean they’ll come. In fact, they’re not coming — not even one customer — unless you go out and get them.

Here’s the best way to think about this: If you’re trying to make one single sale, you’ll need to have 10 calls with potential customers. To get those 10 calls, you’ll need 100 people to email you inquiring about buying your product or service. To get those 100 emails, you’re going to need 10,000 people to visit your website. To get that kind of traffic to your website, you’ll need to use every trick in the book: social media, email campaigns, paid ads, and paid partnerships to drive those people to you.

A general rule of thumb here is that each level will convert 1% to the next one. That means to have a lot of sales, you need a lot of attention at the top of your funnel.

That’s where partners like The Tiny Life come in, but more on that soon.

Marketing is typically seen as a series of channels. Channels are just different methods you’ll use to build awareness of your business, then nurture that awareness into sales.

Common Tiny House Marketing Channels

The challenge with all of these channels is that you might not have the skill set to operate effectively within them, and they’re not cheap when you crunch the numbers.

Even channels like social media that are seen as “free” take time and effort, and those platforms increasingly will not show your posts to potential customers unless you pay them. Long gone are the days when you could post and people would automatically see it — it’s all pay to play now.

What’s more — when you’re a business owner, you have a lot on your plate. You need to focus on what you’re good at and partner with people that are good at other parts of the business.

This Is Where I’ll Make My Pitch

Working with The Tiny Life as part of your marketing can drive customers to your door, bring credible awareness to your company, and get you to your sales goals faster. We’ve done it time and time again with our partners to great effect.

I love talking shop with tiny house business owners. Please feel free to reach out so we can talk about your tiny house business plans or how we might work together! My contact info is in our free tiny house business guide, which you can get here:

Ryan’s Personal Tips For Starting A Tiny House Business

I thought I’d also include some less practical and more personal tips for managing a tiny house business that I’ve picked up over the years. At the end of the day, your mindset and your attitude as a business owner is just as important as checking all the more practical boxes.

Understand The Strengths Of Your Team

Analyzing the strengths of yourself and the people on your team is more important than trying to overcome weaknesses. I can’t stress this enough.

Welcome Failure, Then Get Back To Work

Being willing to fail is vital. A lot of times, what I see from new business owners is a sense of pressure to do everything right from the very beginning. This is deeply unrealistic. If you don’t give yourself room to fail and practice overcoming dips and obstacles, there won’t be any way to learn and get better as your business begins to expand.

There’s an analysis I love about the difference between pessimism and optimism. The saying goes that the pessimist views challenges as personal and permanent while the optimist views challenges as situational and temporary.

For the pessimist, failure is tied to their identity and feels unresolvable, while the optimist sees failure as specific to a singular mistake that can be overcome in time. Successful businesses are led by optimists who let setbacks roll off their shoulders and start their comeback immediately.

Don’t Forget To Enjoy What You Do

I see too many business owners who forget to give themselves permission to enjoy their work, which is sad to watch. Sure, the entrepreneurial path is no small feat and won’t be all sunshine and rainbows, but you have to stay connected to the parts of the work that you love.

Losing sight of this will suck the joy from your work. You might even realize you’ve been pouring money, time, resources, and energy into something that doesn’t give you life back, which isn’t ideal for anyone.

Best Books For Starting A Tiny House Business

In wrapping up, I wanted to include a few books and other resources that can help you get your foot in the door when starting a tiny house business. When I was starting my business back in 2010, there really weren’t a ton of resources out there in the tiny house world. Thankfully there are many more today.

Starting A Tiny House Business Books

The $100 Startup

by Chris Guillebeau

The 1-Page Marketing Plan

by Allan Dib

Profit First

by Mike Michalowicz

• What kind of tiny house business do you want to start?
• What tiny house companies will you try to make connections with?

Hi Ryan, What do you know about Hair Salons in the tiny house movement? I really enjoy your postings. The Tiny house living is really a dream. I hope one day it will come true. Thank you for your informative emails. Respectively, Peggy Christianson

Here in the UK the tiny house scene is quite small in comparison to the US. What’s your advise on starting up regarding building first concepts yourself vs outsourcing the builds? I have good hands on experience so was looking at which might make sense. Thank you, your post was very informative.

I love your article so straightforward and articulate. I’m a handyman/ contractor who’s gotten older and now wants to leave a legacy or establish something like tiny homes in my community.

I like your article how to start tiny house business.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

name (required)

email (will not be published) (required)

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Username Or Email

Remember Me

Lost Password

Reset Password

Building a Tiny Home Community A Step-By-Step Guide

To start building your dream tiny home community, you'll first need to zero in on the perfect piece of land that complies with all zoning laws—engaging with city officials and the local community early on is crucial. Once you've got your land, navigating the maze of permits and understanding local building codes are your next big steps. Design-wise, it's all about creating efficient, sustainable spaces that encourage community bonding and shared responsibility. Implementing thoughtful construction practices not only ensures the longevity of your homes but also promotes a lifestyle that's in harmony with the environment.

Finally, establishing a strong governance framework will keep everything running smoothly, promoting an inclusive, supportive community atmosphere. Stick with us, and you'll discover how every tiny detail contributes to the bigger picture of community living.

Main Points

• Identify and secure land that complies with local zoning laws for tiny homes.
• Engage with city officials and the community early to gain support and necessary permits.
• Design the community with thoughtful layout, shared spaces, and sustainable practices.
• Focus on constructing tiny homes with efficient utilities, safety features, and sustainable materials.
• Establish a governance structure for maintenance, community engagement, and conflict resolution.

Planning Your Community

When planning your tiny home community, the first step is to identify land that's zoned appropriately and meets all essential requirements for such a project. You're not just looking for any plot of land; you need a space that embraces the freedom and simplicity your tiny house community aims to represent. This means delving into zoning regulations to ensure your dream doesn't hit a snag with legalities.

Next, it's crucial to outline the amenities your community will offer. Think about what makes a tiny house village more than just a place to live but a place to thrive. You're crafting a lifestyle, so consider communal spaces , green areas , and utilities that align with that vision.

Engaging with city officials early on is key. Presenting a professional plan shows you're serious and have thought through the project. This initial dialogue can open doors and smooth the path ahead.

Building a supporting constituency is equally important. You'll need a group of enthusiasts and potential residents who share your vision. This community isn't just your dream; it's a collective endeavor . They'll be pivotal in fundraising efforts, turning the vision into reality. Remember, collaboration with governmental agencies can provide additional support, making your tiny house community a model for sustainable living .

Securing Land and Permits

After planning your community and engaging with officials, it's time to focus on securing the right land and obtaining the necessary permits. The journey towards freedom in your tiny home community begins with due diligence in land acquisition and navigating the maze of zoning laws, land regulations, and permits. This step is crucial; without the right location and legal permissions, your dream remains just that—a dream.

Understanding local building codes, submitting detailed site and infrastructure plans, and conducting environmental impact assessments are all part of the permits process. It's about proving your tiny home community won't just be a place to live, but a responsible addition to the area. Remember, every step forward in securing land and permits is a step towards the freedom of communal living, crafted by your hands and guided by your vision.

Design and Construction

How do you transform a piece of land into a thriving tiny home community ? It starts with thoughtful design considerations that emphasize shared spaces , fostering a strong sense of community through the layout. You'll need to plot out common areas like gardens, fire pits, and community centers that invite social interactions and bond residents together.

Infrastructure planning can't be overlooked. You're not just building homes; you're creating a functional community. This means installing efficient utilities, roads, and waste management systems that meet everyone's needs. And with the growing concern for our planet, sustainable construction is a must. Opting for eco-friendly materials and energy-efficient designs reduces your community's carbon footprint and sets a precedent for responsible living.

Safety is paramount in your design and construction plan. Incorporating safety features , emergency exits , fire prevention measures, and disaster preparedness plans ensures your community isn't just a beautiful place to live but a safe one too. By focusing on these key aspects, you'll turn your vision of a tiny home community into a reality, offering a haven for those craving freedom and connection.

Community Building Strategies

To build a thriving tiny home community, it's crucial to implement strategies that foster a sense of unity and shared responsibility among residents. By emphasizing the importance of community building, you not only create a supportive network but also pave the way for sustainable living and efficient land use.

• Leverage Shared Common Spaces : Maximize the use of shared buildings and outdoor areas to reduce living costs and promote bonding. This approach encourages residents to engage in shared activities, from cooking to entertainment, creating an engaging environment that fosters a strong sense of belonging.
• Encourage Sustainable Living Practices : Focus on sustainable living by sharing resources and expenses. This not only helps in reducing the overall living costs but also promotes an eco-friendly lifestyle, making efficient and sustainable use of the land available.
• Cultivate a Supportive Community Through Shared Activities : Establish regular community-driven activities that promote bonding and a supportive atmosphere. Whether it's group gardening, communal dinners, or DIY workshops, these shared experiences contribute to a stronger, more cohesive community, ensuring everyone feels part of a larger, supportive family.

Maintenance and Governance

Ensuring your tiny home community thrives involves establishing clear maintenance responsibilities and governance structures . You're not just building homes; you're fostering a neighborhood where everyone plays a part. Maintenance in tiny home communities isn't just about keeping your own space in tip-top shape; it's about **shared responsibilities for the well-being of common areas like gardens and pathways. Imagine everyone chipping in for landscaping, waste management, and keeping communal spaces sparkling. It's community living** at its finest.

But it's not all about the physical upkeep. A solid governance structure is key to a harmonious environment. Think about creating a framework where decisions are made together, where every voice has the chance to be heard. Regular community meetings and elected committees ensure that everyone's on the same page, making decision-making processes smooth and inclusive.

Conflict? It's inevitable. But with clear conflict resolution mechanisms in place, you'll navigate those waters with ease, preserving a sustainable community culture . This isn't just about living in tiny homes; it's about building a lifestyle where governance and maintenance are shared responsibilities, ensuring your tiny home community isn't just surviving, but thriving.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to build a tiny house step by step for beginners?.

To build your tiny house, start by crafting a clever floor plan that uses every inch wisely.

Then, secure a trailer or foundation, ensuring it's up to code.

Next, frame your home, insulate it well, and get your plumbing and electrical systems in place.

Focus on the interior by choosing space-saving fixtures and appliances.

Is a Tiny Home Community a Good Investment?

Absolutely, investing in a tiny home community is a smart move!

With the rising trend in minimalistic living , you're not just buying property; you're investing in a lifestyle that many are seeking.

These communities offer sustainable living options and a tight-knit atmosphere, factors that significantly boost their appeal and potential value.

Plus, the demand for unique, eco-friendly housing solutions is skyrocketing, making it an investment that's likely to appreciate over time.

How Much Money Do I Need to Build a Tiny House?

To build a tiny house, you'll need between $30,000 to $60,000 for an average build. If you're eyeing a DIY project , you might spend as little as $10,000 to $20,000. Prefab kits are even cheaper, costing between $4,000 to $10,000.

However, if you're dreaming of a custom-built tiny home with all the bells and whistles, be prepared to shell out over $150,000. Remember, location and additional costs like permits and land can add up.

How Many Tiny Houses Can You Fit on 1 Acre of Land if Building a Small Community?

You're likely wondering how many tiny houses you can squeeze onto 1 acre for your dream community. Well, depending on local laws, design, and how much communal space you're after, you'll fit between 6 to 10 homes .

It's all about smart planning and consulting with experts to ensure you're on the right track. Remember, creating an efficient layout and respecting green spaces are key to maximizing your tiny slice of paradise.

In building your tiny home community, you've journeyed through planning, securing land, designing homes, fostering connections, and establishing governance. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day. This endeavor requires patience , persistence, and passion.

As you move forward, maintain your community's spirit, manage it wisely, and watch it flourish . You're not just building homes; you're crafting a legacy . So, cherish every moment, learn from each challenge, and celebrate your collective achievements.

Here's to creating something extraordinary, together.

Share This Post

Related Posts

Solar-ready tiny homes living off the grid, organizing your tiny home efficiently, the role of 3d printing in the tiny home movement.

Share More. Live Better.

Home » Housing » How to create a tiny house village

How to create a tiny house village

Photo: Boneyard Studios, a demonstration tiny house village in Washington, D.C. (CC)

When we rounded up Shareable’s Top 10 Stories of All Time , tiny houses were a runaway favorite. Among the top tiny house stories were several pieces on tiny house villages — an exciting branch of the tiny house movement that combines tiny living with a focus on community.

To find out more about tiny house villages and get some insights into creating one, we connected with several people who are active in the movement. They shared with us some of the benefits of tiny house villages, advice for overcoming regulatory hurdles, and their best tips to create a tiny house village of your own.

Respondents are Timothy Ransom, president of Panza, the nonprofit behind Quixote Village , a self-governing tiny house village of formerly homeless people in Olympia, Washington; Chelsea Rustrum , a sharing economy author, consultant, and tiny house community builder ; and Claude Trepanier, COO at Habitat Multi Generations, a social enterprise that builds sustainable development tiny house projects in Québec.

Why are tiny house villages a good idea?

Timothy Ransom : Our tiny house village provides its residents with their own dry, warm and secure places that are also part of a larger, self-supporting community. A multi-purpose common building is crucial for fostering community.

Chelsea Rustrum : Tiny house villages create community, which is something that we all need, regardless of location. With tiny houses, in particular, people are the focus, so having space to live outside and with others becomes paramount. They also provide shared spaces. We plan to have an outdoor kitchen, firepits, a stage, working areas, an indoor community center, a black bottom hot tub, a shared garden, etc.

Tiny house villages promote shared activities, such as cooking and meals, and entertainment. When you only have to cook once or twice a month and can come home to a home cooked meal every weekday, I’d say that’s a win! They also reduce living costs. As costs would be shared amongst the community members, you can do more with less.

Claude Trepanier : Tiny house villages optimize the use of scarce land, make housing affordable, and bring a sense of community.

What’s the first step to get a tiny house village project started?

Timothy Ransom : For Quixote Village it was building a constituency, through engaging volunteers, that would support fundraising efforts and the political work that would engage governmental agencies as partners.

Claude Trepanier : Identify a suitable land area with a zoning suitable for small house construction. Define clearly the requirements appropriate for a successful tiny house community (affordable land space, road, drinkable water supply, wastewater disposal, common infrastructures to decrease costs). Meet the city officials involved in urban planning and secure them with a professional presentation taking into consideration every concern.

Free ebook from Shareable.net: “ Library of Things: A Cornerstone of the Real Sharing Economy ”  A special series covering the past, present, and future of libraries of things.

What are the biggest challenges in creating a tiny house village, and what are the best ways to overcome them?

Timothy Ransom : Money, money and money. NIMBY-ism when siting facilities for poor and homeless neighbors. Burnout of volunteers.

Chelsea Rustrum : Every parcel of land is governed by city, county, and state agencies, with laws that limit the potential of a tiny house village. The planning department cares about the use and density of the land, public works is concerned about access, traffic, and environmental impact, environmental health wants to makes sure that there is adequate water and sewer requirements that are met, and the building department is concerned with structural safety, which is where the wheels/no wheels on the tiny home creates a gray area between being considered a mobile home, RV, and a typical residence.

For many, the idea of a tiny house village sounds too much like a trailer park, which is something many don’t want to stand behind. That’s why having a strong vision and communication of what the village looks like, who will inhabit, etc. is so important.

Claude Trepanier : Finding suitable land and laying out a comprehensive landscape plan taking into consideration every concern (bylaws, infrastructures, resident’s community needs.) To have tiny houses accepted in a municipality, they have to change their bylaws significantly, not only the dwelling’s footprint—the allowed building materials and infrastructures—but also the zone usages, what one can or cannot do in their house and on their land.

Tiny houses are very different from existing large footprint houses. Municipalities have the responsibility to lay out coherent and good looking dwellings and living spaces which will yield a sustainable market value, so they can continue collect taxes based on dwellings market value. That is why it is very difficult for municipalities to change their bylaws for a small number of residents with specific needs or requirements.

What if every resident in the municipality asks to have a tiny house on wheels in their backyard?

What will be the reaction of a large footprint house owner to have a tiny house next door? The most elegant solution, which looks realistic in order to preserve harmony across different zones in a municipality, is to set-up a zone laid out specifically to tiny house characteristics as well as to suit tiny house owners preferred lifestyles.

What kind of regulatory concerns are there? Any advice for working with local officials and regulators?

Timothy Ransom : Many local building codes no longer allow for Single Room Occupancy types of development, and often, tiny houses cannot meet the codes created for apartment buildings or shared houses. Get local officials (electeds and staff) to buy in on the goals of the project before issues of zoning etc. come up.

Chelsea Rustrum : The basics are this: zoning prevents tiny houses from being considered livable based on square footage and a number of other factors, including density limitations. Each parcel of land is different in that way, and finding specific land that fits within the legal strata of density and price is difficult on its own. The zoning codes can also specify a minimum square footage requirement for a livable unit, which most tiny houses less than 200 square feet do not meet.

Accessory dwelling units (ADUS) on an existing piece of property are more likely to be legal, but are not necessarily legal depending on the location. This is the law that just passed in Fresno, allowing people to have an ADU that’s a tiny house. However, most of the time, ADUs are required to be on a foundation, which tiny houses, by design, typically are not. Regardless of ADU regulations, having a property with 10-20 houses, would not fit under this regulation.

Mobile home and RV parks are really the only legal places to park tiny houses, but even then the houses must be approved by RVIA or MHBA standards, which most tiny houses are currently not built for. Interesting to note: Tumbleweed is now building certified RVs because as a recreational vehicle, you can more easily get loans, insurance, etc. and there’s a set of standards by which these are built, which meets those requirements in order to be legal. However, there are also many laws on how long and where you can park a lived-in RV, so that doesn’t solve the problem for long-term residence.

The bottom line is that any changes to zoning must go through an approval and request process, which requires the notification of the neighbors, who can prevent changes from going through due to their interest in property values, noise, etc.

To get a tiny house village off the ground would require a deep relationship with the given city or county bureaucracies in question, a parcel to build a model off of, and an approval process that we’re told could take 1.5-2 years.

Claude Trepanier : Regulatory concerns are density, private land and dwelling value which will yield tax revenue per square foot, wastewater disposal. Advice for working with local officials and regulators: show success stories in similar municipalities.

What type of land do you advise people to build their tiny house village on? Who owns it? What type of amenities or facilities are needed?

Timothy Ransom : For Quixote Village, the land is public, leased to Panza, a nonprofit, for 40 years at $1 a year. For the folks we are serving (the chronically homeless, with physical and mental health and substance abuse issues), the housing needs to be permanent and, by funders’ requirements, must have toilets and sinks, heat, etc.

Chelsea Rustrum : Water for sure (good enough water pressure for the number of residents or public water), sewer or septic plan, flat land without marshes, away from other residential properties so there isn’t concern of noise or loss of property value, and, personally, I like land that has a grove-like appeal where the community is surrounded by light and a meadow in the center and trees around the edges. Also, zoning, zoning, zoning! It’s a big deal. Get on the ground and talk to regulatory individuals in the planning and building departments about what you plan to do and the best way to get it done.

Claude Trepanier : For the type of land, anywhere municipalities accept. Who owns it? For-profit real-estate promoter, not-for-profit real estate promoter, cooperative, or a community land trust. What type of amenities or facilities? Collective garden, greenhouse, community center, food cellar, etc.

How did you raise the initial funds to create your village? How do you recommend others approach fundraising?

Timothy Ransom : Thanks in large part to our constituency, we were beneficiaries of a quite significant grant from the state Housing Trust Fund for Quixote Village as a model project. We were able to leverage these funds to tap into federal dollars for housing the homeless, as well as donations from tribes, foundations, the faith community and private donors. A fundraising approach depends on targeted users (homeless, millennials, the elderly).

Chelsea Rustrum : Have a clear financial model that’s sustainable over time and raise funds by talking to people who are interested. There is so much excitement in tiny houses and village-like communities at the moment that funding will not be difficult if you are a reasonably well-connected person and have a solid business and operational plan.

Another way to do it is to crowdfund, but that would come with its own set of challenges. The best recommendation I can make is to find as few funders as needed that are in alignment with the village, but do not intend to live there. Other villages in-process are looking to operate on more of an ownership model, where each person owns their own plot of land, but I see this is as troublesome if you only have 10-25 people in a community—each person counts. And the legal ramifications of ownership are much different than membership. I want the community to thrive and I think part of that is giving people the option to easily leave if it’s not a fit or no longer works for the community at large.

Claude Trepanier : We pre-sold land lots and sold community bonds of the not-for-profit organization. Our recommendations for fund raising: pre-sales, community bonds, crowdfunding.

What type of tiny houses do you recommend? On wheels? Permanent? Where did your houses come from?

Timothy Ransom : For long term support of the homeless, permanent structures are required to secure public funding. Our houses were designed by a local architect with input from the residents of Camp Quixote and were constructed onsite by our contractor.

Chelsea Rustrum : Each person will be responsible for their own house, which will be on wheels.

Claude Trepanier : We do not see the cost-benefit value to owning a tiny house on wheels if you plan to move often since it costs so much in gas. If you plan to move often, do so in mild climates. We recommend permanent tiny houses. If well insulated, they can be just laid out on a concrete slab, and put on a flatbed truck for transport.

We purchased tiny house plans and we modified them. We then rented a house building shop, hired carpenters, and instructed them to build our houses.

What tools, including apps, legal forms, and processes, are essential for people starting a tiny house village?

Timothy Ransom : People starting a village will have to deal with the whole world of site acquisition, including land use and permitting requirements of the local jurisdiction; the world of financing, which might include relationships with funders, including governments, bankers, loans etc.; and finally the world of relationship to the residents of the village—financial and lease agreements, management plans, rules and regulations for behavior and interaction and, if necessary, hiring and management of staff.

Chelsea Rustrum : Here’s a good wrap up of all of these issues: Government’s HUD Rule Prohibits Use of a Tiny House as Your Primary Residence . I’m not sure about apps and tools. I think it’s still a pretty new space.

Claude Trepanier : You need a lot plan: how the land lots will be laid out on the land, as well as the road, alleys, water wells, septic tank, electric power lines, parking spaces; rules for the residents: how they will be governed, what materials are accepted, how common infrastructures are managed, how decisions are made amongst residents on which topics, who will take care of the road, etc. Request to the municipality to approve the lot plan and make modifications to any municipal bylaws, then go to tender to hire a contractor to build the infrastructures.

Are there successful tiny house villages have you looked to as models? Which ones and why do they appeal to you?

Timothy Ransom : The villages in Portland ( Dignity ), Madison ( OM Village ) and Eugene ( SquareOne ) are the ones we paid a lot of attention to when it came to developing/building and operating Quixote Village. They have been testing different ways of going about providing support to the homeless and much can be learned from them.

Chelsea Rustrum : Lemon Cove looks like it’s working, although, I haven’t been to it. The closest thing I’ve seen is something Tony Hsieh of Zappos and the Downtown Project built in Las Vegas. I believe it’s called Airstream Park (there are Airstreams as well as tiny houses). Although its more urban than I envision our village being, the outdoor spaces and entertainment areas are the closest thing I’ve seen as a model.

Claude Trepanier : The [planned] Tiny House Village in San Francisco, California is close to what we are designing. We plan 4,000 sq.ft. lots, large enough to benefit from intimacy and to grow food, either in vegetable garden or in greenhouses.

Can you offer any tips for group decision making regarding the tiny house village, both before and after it’s built?

Timothy Ransom : At Quixote Village, the organizational tradition and practice of self-determination by a council of all residents and an elected executive team, that was begun in Camp Quixote, continues. The council meets weekly—attendance is mandatory—and the executive team meets weekly with Quixote Village staff.

Now that Panza is the legal landlord of the Village, we (through the staff) are responsible for decisions regarding the admissions process, with advice from the current residents; otherwise the Resident Council (RC) makes decisions regarding the life of the community—chore rotations, planning meals and events. The existence of the RC is critical to maintaining a culture of community at the Village.

Chelsea Rustrum : Vision is important. Sometimes groups get together to try to do consensus for vision of a community. I find that just takes a lot longer than someone coming up with a strong plan, idea, and articulated vision that matches or matches closely enough to what other people see themselves, but don’t have the language to communicate.

From there, our group has gone on several land scouting adventures, talked to the city of Santa Rosa, and learned about the zoning hurdles in many places north of San Francisco. At this point, we’ve formed a small working group to get to the next step, which is the village having a clear cut plan for legally building the vision. Once that’s complete, financing through investments will start. I have some ideas about that, and frankly, I think the community should be backed by people interested in the village, but not by the residents themselves.

Once the vision is agreed upon by the working group, and the general community and zoning and financing are figured out, the community itself will have a membership model whereby each resident has a vote and say in who lives in the community as well as what’s done with the space, shared meals, gardening, etc. Much of that foundation will be initially laid, but if it doesn’t work for some reason, the people who live there will be empowered to change it.

The organizational structure will likely be some form of a non-profit and the membership dues will be used to pay a community manager as well as for general upkeep and short-term guest management (We’ll have a few houses to rent for short-term visitors to come check out and learn about tiny house living and our community.). The membership will cover community upkeep, use of tiny house plot of land, utilities, and parking. And there will be checks and balances with the membership costs as to alleviate longer term residents from being priced out of their own community.

Claude Trepanier :  A.) Learn as much as you can, set-up a multidisciplinary team of experts in zoning and municipal bylaws, civil engineer, architect, biologist, real estate lawyer and land surveyor. B.) Plan the governance model as light as possible to prevent costs and delays, but as strong as possible to foster conlict prevention and a feeling of belonging to a community.”

How do you determine how the community will manage future costs such as maintenance, upkeep on houses, and shared spaces?

Timothy Ransom : Panza has a $230,000 annual budget for operating and maintaining the Village that is funded by federal and state grants, HUD Section 8 rental assistance, and donations.

Chelsea Rustrum : Good question. This is why the village needs to charge a membership: to cover ongoing costs such as maintenance, community building, governance, etc.

Claude Trepanier : Assess needs, prioritize them, ask for commitment to a budget.

What advice would you give to those who want to create a tiny house village?

Timothy Ransom : Take the time to build a constituency based on shared values and mission, and make sure that decision-makers and those with resources are included. It takes a village to build a Village.

Chelsea Rustrum : First and foremost, have a strong vision of what you’re actually trying to create. Second and importantly, get on the ground. Look at land, talk to city planners, building planners, environmental health people. Find a champion in your community or surrounding area that wants to spearhead making the legal aspects of making a village possible.

Understand what your model is for the sustainability of the village. In other words, have a financial model in addition to a vision, which will end up looking a lot like a business plan in the end. Once you have an idea of the parcels of land that are the closest financial and zoning fit for your village, do some visual modeling on the village, which you can use as designs to articulate what you intend to build.

In tandem to all of this, build a community of interested parties around you and find people who can and want to help. I think if you’re building a community, you’re doing it for the love of it, so I try to see it as an experiment to make life better for more people, but treating it like a business with a sustainable financial plan is what will ultimately get the village off the ground.

On the community building side, I created a website, a meetup group, a Google group for document sharing, and a Facebook group for social and article sharing. Another tool I found useful in the beginning of rallying interest was Neighborland , which helps you get other people in your city on board with ideas that could improve the area.

Claude Trepanier : Visit one first. Four out of five ecovillages fail due to inexperience, long delays, and lack of money. Do not overestimate the capacity of people who do not know a thing about tiny houses and community living, to succeed easily in a short period of time.

For more tiny house goodness, check these out:

• 11 Tiny House Villages Redefining Home
• Interviewed: The World’s First Tiny House Hoteliers
• New Documentary Explores Tiny House Living from the Ground Up

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cat Johnson | Twitter | Facebook

Cat Johnson is a content strategist and teacher helping community builders create strong brands. A longtime writer, marketing pro and coworking leader, Cat is the founder of Coworking Convos and

Cat Johnson is a content strategist and teacher helping community builders create strong brands. A longtime writer, marketing pro and coworking leader, Cat is the founder of Coworking Convos and The Lab marketing club. She speaks and teaches around the world, offers regular workshops, and has a shop full of resources, challenges, courses and coaching sessions. Learn more and schedule a Clarity Call with Cat at catjohnson.co

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest sharing news:

• Name First Last
• Phone This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

*Required field. We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

• Mission & Values
• Recent Stories
• Special Editorial Series
• SolidarityWorks
• Social Cooperative Academy
• Library of Things Co-Lab
• Emergency Battery Co-Lab
• Emergency Battery Network Toolkit
• The Response
• The Response podcast
• The Response Documentary Film
• The Response Book
• Cities@Tufts
• How To Guides
• Publications
• Sharing Cities
• Next Economy MBA
• Community Maps
• Submit an Event
• Book a Speaker

How to Write a Tiny House Business Plan

How to write a tiny house business plan and template.

The tiny house-building industry has emerged as a relatively new and thriving concept.  Merely five years ago, tiny houses were perceived as RVs or truck campers, but today, the demand for these compact dwellings seems boundless.

Several factors contribute to this phenomenon, with affordability being a key driver.  Research conducted by our tiny house business plan writer reveals that these homes can be acquired for under $8,000, a mere fraction of the cost of a traditional new home.  Moreover, the convenience of constructing tiny houses in factories or other locations and their cost-effective delivery to various homesites across America further enhances their appeal.

The unexpected surge in the tiny house market creates a remarkable opportunity for entrepreneurs seeking to capitalize on this trend.  To support these aspiring tiny home business owners, our dedicated tiny home business plan writer has compiled invaluable tips and tricks for crafting a professional and comprehensive tiny home business plan.  We offer a readily available tiny house business plan template to streamline the planning process and help entrepreneurs seize this promising market (7/23).

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT OUR TINY HOME BUSINESS PLAN TEMPLATE!!

Executive summary for a tiny house business plan.

When developing the executive summary for a tiny house business plan, it is essential to cover specific components that offer a comprehensive overview.  Our business plan writer suggests incorporating the following elements: discussing the range of sizes available for the tiny houses, highlighting unique features and design options, clarifying whether the business will focus on developing communities or individual sites, explaining the advantages and market potential of the chosen business structure; specifying the construction approach, whether on-site or off-site manufacturing, and outlining the associated benefits and cost-efficiency; and summarizing the anticipated startup costs, encompassing expenses like land acquisition, construction, permits, and marketing.  This comprehensive approach allows tiny house business owners to depict their operations and expected financial outcomes in the executive summary, enabling readers to understand the essence of the business plan and make informed decisions regarding investment or collaboration opportunities.

Need Help Writing a TINY HOME Business Plan?

Call or Text Paul, Doctoral Candidate, MBA.

321-948-9588

Email: [email protected]

Click HERE to Contact US Today!!!

Company Information and Location .

In the company information and location section of a tiny home business plan, it is crucial to provide a comprehensive explanation of the organization’s services or products about tiny homes.  This section should clearly outline the specific role and offerings of the company within the tiny home industry.  For instance, some organizations may focus on constructing or installing prefabricated tiny homes, showcasing their expertise in delivering ready-to-use housing solutions.  Others may specialize in transportation services, providing efficient and reliable means of moving tiny homes to desired locations.  Additionally, organizations may excel in services related to decorating and optimizing the limited space within tiny homes, catering to homeowners’ unique needs and preferences.  Whichever segment the company operates in, it is essential to explicitly state its specialization and offerings within the company information and location section of the business plan (7/23).

Service Description and Competitive Advantages.

When developing the competitive advantage section of your tiny home business plan or template, it is essential to start by identifying your competition.  Depending on the location, your competition may consist of local homebuilders, RV sellers, or module home dealers.  Once you have identified your competitors, conduct thorough research to gather facts and statistics comparing the benefits of tiny homes with those of your direct competition.

For instance, if your competition primarily includes local homebuilders, you can highlight the competitive advantages of your tiny home business.  These advantages may include the significantly lower cost of your product compared to traditional homes, making it more affordable and accessible to a broader market.  Additionally, emphasize the transportability aspect of your tiny homes, as this feature may appeal to potential buyers who value flexibility and the ability to move their homes to different locations.

While stating your competitive advantage, explaining why it is essential for your company is crucial.  This discussion allows you to highlight the specific benefits that set your business apart and address the needs and preferences of your target market.  By clearly articulating the value and significance of your competitive advantage, you can demonstrate the unique selling points of your tiny home business and differentiate yourself from the competition in the eyes of potential investors and stakeholders.

Target Market for a Tiny House Business Plan or Template

The target market for a tiny house business plan or template continuously expands, with new demographics emerging regularly.  While previously, the target market primarily consisted of environmentally conscious individuals or couples seeking to reduce their carbon footprint, it has now evolved to include a broader range of potential customers.  Today, your target market for a tiny home could encompass college students, cost-conscious buyers, and individuals or couples looking for the flexibility to relocate their homes periodically due to work or travel needs.

Given the diverse demographics of individuals and couples interested in purchasing tiny homes, there may be multiple target markets to consider.  This opens up opportunities for your organization to tailor its offerings and align with niche market segments.  You can develop unique value propositions and marketing strategies to appeal to these distinct customer groups by identifying and understanding different target markets’ specific needs and desires.

As the tiny house movement continues to gain popularity, it is crucial to regularly assess and adapt to the evolving target market.  Staying attuned to emerging trends and preferences will enable your business to stay competitive and capitalize on niche market opportunities that align with your organization’s strengths and capabilities.

Industry research for a Tiny House Business Plan Template.

Industry and market statistics for tiny homes are relatively scarce.  However, some quality sites provide tiny home statistics that may be reliable.  For example, iproperty management has done some seemingly good research on the benefits of owning tiny homes.  On their site, the organization noted that New York City leads the country in the tiny home-share market.  A close second would be San Francisco and San Diego.  Also, Los Angeles ranks in the top five for tiny home sales.  Just from the statistics, an argument may be made that the West Coast, specifically California, could be ready to lead the country in tiny home sales.  This is just one source to establish a foundation for tiny home builders and a supporting cast.

Owner and Management Section

A tiny home business plan’s owner and management section should start with insights into why the owner wishes to enter the tiny home industry.  Our tiny home business plan writer has found that some entrepreneurs wish to enter the market because of their personal experiences with tiny home living.  Other entrepreneurs have significant construction experience and wish to exploit niche opportunities in the construction marketplace.  Start the section with a brief explanation, regardless of your passion or drive to enter the industry. 

Funding Request for a Tiny House Business Plan

The funding request section for a tiny house business plan should start with stating the dollar amount needed to start your business.  Once a dollar amount needed to start your tiny house organization is identified, follow up this specific amount with categories showing how the funds will be divvied up.  For example, if your organization builds tiny houses, common categories may include working capital, construction equipment, advertising, budget for purchasing land, building materials, and other relevant costs.  Once these categories are identified in dollar amounts allocated, show the total for startup costs at the bottom of the bulleted list.  Also, ensure the total amount needed for startup operations is the same as the top-line dollar amount.  In doing this, tiny home entrepreneurs can show explicitly the dollar amount needed to start the organization upfront.  However, by breaking the funding into categories, the business owner can have some wiggle room and startup cost allocation.

Financials and Pro Forma Financial Projections for a Tiny House Business Plan.

The pro forma financial projection section for a tiny house business plan template or pro forma financials should start with identifying when the first home sale will occur.  Once this is done, use the variable cost section of your financial model to include land purchases, impact fees, and subcontractor costs.  Next, your financial model for your financial projections should list your various fixed costs that will be paid monthly, like executive wages, advertising, utilities, office expenses, smartphone bills, and other prevalent monthly wages.  Once your fixed costs are identified, deduct this from your gross profit margins, simply your variable cost subtracted from your revenues.  This number will give you your estimated monthly profits for your tiny house business. It’s a pretty simple process but an excellent starting point for your financial projections.

Hopefully, these insightful tips and tricks for writing a business plan were helpful.  Email or call us for help with a business plan or financial projections. 

Author: Paul Borosky, Doctoral Candidate, MBA., Author

Owner of: Quality Business Plan  and  Quality Business Consultant.

Updated: 7/2/2023

• Cost of Living by State (Updated 2024)
• Maintenance
• Building Better

How to Start a Tiny House Community: Thrive Off-the-Grid

We are reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Tiny home communities continue to grow in popularity, and they are likely to stay on this track for the foreseeable future. The cost of housing has increased precipitously, and many areas lack affordable options. It’s no surprise that tiny houses are seen as an affordable and eco-friendly alternative to other housing options. This trend has given rise to small tiny house communities that thrive off the grid. 

Finding, fixing up and securing land for building a tiny house community isn’t a straightforward process. However, the red tape shouldn’t stop dedicated homesteaders or others seeking to live this dream. You do need to follow several legal steps — but here’s how to start a tiny house community and make it successful. 

Table of Contents

Most tiny houses cost between $30,000 and $70,000 to complete, but you can reduce these costs down to less than $10,000 if you follow these directions and have some luck on your side. It’s typically cheaper to build one from scratch rather than buy a prebuilt home, so this guide will cover everything from square one.

This guide will take you through the five essential checkpoints – and many steps in between – to start a tiny house community:

• Find a suitable location
• Abide by all requisite zoning and building code requirements
• Install the requisite utilities
• Gather a community of interested individuals
• Craft CC&Rs

How to Start a Tiny House Community: Land and Utilities

Find a suitable location .

Before you can start building a tiny house community, you need to find the right place to plant your roots. Some states, like Florida, Oregon, Texas, and California, are more flexible with building ordinances needed to build a tiny house. You might have to search beyond your neighborhood to find a suitable location. Therefore, you may need to locate your property far from services like hardware stores that you’ll need to replenish your supplies. 

If you are building each tiny home on wheels, you can begin construction before locating a suitable plot . Talk to friends and neighbors who have acreage on their property if you don’t have a place to work. You can also consider this route for your final project. If you find a farmer who is selling off a portion of their acreage, ask them about a direct purchase to start your tiny home community. 

Otherwise, you’ll want to contact a real estate agent with expertise in rural land development. Make sure you ask them about their knowledge of zoning and building codes and explain your project in detail. You don’t want to waste time driving to remote regions to discover they aren’t zoned for your purpose. 

Abide by All Requisite Zoning and Building Code Requirements 

Where you live determines if you can start your tiny house community near services, or if you’ll have to search outside your comfort zone. Wherever you establish your base, you’ll need to abide by building and zoning codes. Make sure that you understand the difference between the two:

• Building codes: These tell you how to construct your home and what materials you can build with. Here’s where you run into size restrictions. They may mandate that bathrooms take up 70 square feet, for example, which could significantly alter your design — if you can use it. 
• Zoning ordinances: These regulations deal with where you can build. Don’t automatically assume that metro centers are off-limits. While rare, some tiny home communities start on city property that’s too expensive to renovate but too valuable to sell. It could take some negotiation, but you can approach the city council about your idea. 

To build a tiny home on a foundation, you must often do so as an accessory dwelling to get around building codes . You will need to construct a formal home that meets the standards. Then, you can build your tiny house community on your property. 

Therefore, if you want to know how to start a tiny house community to cut costs, you might consider a mobile option. You can construct such structures on wheels that you can park on an amenable friend’s property. Having them certified as recreational vehicles (RVs) presents additional problems, as some cities prohibit individuals from living in RVs. However, relatively few enforce these rules unless someone complains. 

Install the Requisite Utilities 

If you build your tiny house community on rural land for which you have obtained the requisite okay you will need to install utilities. Those located far from city water supplies will need to dig a well and a septic tank for waste. If you are a survivalist looking to do this by hand, make sure to call 811 before digging to avoid hitting buried gas lines. 

When it comes to electricity, always rely on a certified professional. Electrocution poses a severe risk — don’t try to DIY, no matter how competent you believe you are. 

What about internet and phone access? While these may have been considered fluff once upon a time, and still may be for diehard off-grid enthusiasts, the novel coronavirus pandemic proved that many people rely on these amenities to work. Unfortunately, many areas that make for appealing tiny home locations — such as the wide, open spaces of the American Southwest — lack adequate infrastructure to deliver quality service. 

Once billionaire Elon Musk and his team get their Starlink satellite internet up and running to snuff, things will improve. In the meantime, do your research to find the best provider in your area — and understand that you may have limited download and upload speeds. A Wi-Fi extender can help in some cases, but these devices can’t make up for a lack of wires running to homes in the middle of nowhere.

You’re going to need to venture into town for supplies somehow. Will you require residents to have all-terrain vehicles? If you go far off the beaten path to build your dream, you’ll need to learn how to oil a dirt road so everyone can safely stock up on food and fuel. 

How to Start a Tiny House Community: the People

Gather a community of interested individuals .

Some groups want to know how to start a tiny home community to start a collective or neighborhood of those with shared interests. Often, tiny homes serve as housing for disenfranchised individuals. Tim Ransom, president of the nonprofit Panza, started Quixote Village to give formerly homeless individuals a permanent address. 

Going the nonprofit route opens doors to potential funding sources for your community. Check with your state’s department of housing and explain your project. They may have available funds and suggestions to help you bring your dreams of building a tiny house community into reality. 

Don’t overlook potential crowdfunding sources for your project. Sites like GoFundMe may have become famous for helping folks with medical bills , but they can also raise money for other causes — like building tiny home communities for the homeless. 

Is there a shortage of affordable housing near you? Offering to become a part of the solution could garner the support of your local community. Why not start a petition to see who would be interested in donating cash, materials or even labor for such a project? 

Consider approaching local businesses, too. Companies get significant tax benefits for donating to charity, but if you want to succeed in this avenue, you need the correct entity structure. Investigate how to set up a 501(c)(3) organization for your venture. You and donors both will reap considerable tax advantages. 

If starting a nonprofit organization sounds intimidating, it isn’t. You will need to follow eight steps to keep everything legal. You can shop around to see if you can find a local attorney willing to look over your paperwork pro-bono or for a nominal fee. 

Craft CC&Rs 

Because of the zoning and building requirements, many tiny home and small house communities consist of memberships, not individual ownership of each unit. As such, you will need to draft codes, covenants and restrictions (CC&Rs) regarding use.

If you are launching a charitable project, you might exercise primary control over the regulations. However, you’ll have the highest chance of happy inhabitants if everyone has some say. 

Many tiny home communities provide needed shelter for homeless individuals, but you need the right temperament and a generous dose of empathy. Many of these folks have known no agency in the past several years, if they ever have in their lives. 

Most of their existence consists of being shuffled around from place to place. Many have had law enforcement confiscate what meager belongings they have for survival, never to get them back. They’ve lost everything and are terrified it will happen again. They need to regain a sense of power and direction over their lives. 

Therefore, holding a collective meeting and gathering everyone’s input is vital when creating your CC&Rs for this type of tiny home community. It may be the very first time some individuals have had any say in the forces governing their lives. Doing so is the first step in setting them back on the road to independence.

Learn How to Start a Tiny House Community

Now that you know how to start a tiny house community, you have your work cut out. Begin your search for land and research local regulations, and make your dream a reality.

Did you enjoy this post? Join the Renovated community!

A house is more than just where you live. it's where you build a community. we'll give you all the latest trends you need to make your home your haven. subscribe and never miss out, about the author.

Evelyn is the founder and editor-in-chief of Renovated with over 5 years of experience researching and writing about home living. Her passion project is writing about the real estate market and home staging. Her other passion projects include reading and exploring Lancaster for the best coffee shops.

Evelyn's work has been featured on National Association of Realtors, McKissock, Insights for Professionals, Appraisal Buzz, and Commercial Truck Trader.

For more articles from Evelyn, you can follow her on Twitter at @renovatedmag.

Popular Now

Can I Break My Lease Because of Roaches? (Updated for 2023)

What to Do When a Contractor Does Poor Work (Updated for 2023)

The 10 Snowiest Cities in the U.S.

Stay up to date.

Enjoy your Inbox again

More Like This

5 Steps to Building the Ultimate Granny Flat 

Tiny House vs. Trailer Home: Making the Right Choice for Your Lifestyle

Infrastructure Construction and Sustainability

Beyond Summer Yields: The Benefits of a Greenhouse Garden

Tiny House Floor Plans that Redefine Compact Living

Tiny House Benefits: Advantages of Going Small

Everything You Need to Know About the Tiny House Movement 

How Green Roofs Could Reduce the Heat Island Effect

Start a Tiny House Business

Turning Small Spaces into Big Dreams with Tiny House Business

TINY HOUSE BUSINESS

Related business ideas, discover your perfect domain, tiny house mini business plan, expected percent margins:, earnings expectations:, actions to hit those numbers:, product and materials:, marketing and customer acquisition:, sales and customer experience:, cost control:, business operations:, not what you had in mind here are more ideas, grab your business website name, step 1: determine if a tiny house business is right for you, breakdown of startup expenses, breakdown of ongoing expenses, examples of ways to make money, step 2: naming the business, step 3: obtain necessary licenses and permits, step 4: create a business plan, step 5: obtain financing, step 6: market the business, step 7: build the tiny house, step 8: sell the tiny house, step 9: manage the business, step 5: secure financing, step 6: find a location, step 7: purchase supplies, step 8: market the business, step 9: launch the business, explore more categories, take the next steps.

How to Start a Business From Your Tiny House

While advertisers would have you believe that we all want bigger, better, and more, more, more, there is a growing segment of the population that’s more interested in downsizing. These people live by one philosophy: Less is more!

There’s another trend — one that’s been trending upward much longer than tiny-house living: home-based businesses. When you combine the two, something magical begins to happen. You realize that you can live with less, thereby reducing expenses and the amount of money you need to make in order to live.

Nearly any home-based business can be started from a tiny house, so long as there isn’t a need for more space. Even RVers can get in on the action , as being mobile isn’t going to be a deterrent for the online businesses.

Tiny homes themselves are also big business, but you’ll need to have some DIY skills like carpentry at the least. This also won’t make our list as the business of making and selling tiny houses isn’t mobile and will require more space. Though, we do have much love for the tiny-home builders out there, as we wouldn’t exist without them.

Embrace the Cloud

There’s a great exchange in the movie Creed when Donnie, played by Michael B. Jordan, asks Rocky, played by Sylvester Stallone, for training tips. Rocky takes the time to write them down, but when he hands the paper to Donnie, he just takes out his phone, snaps a quick photo, and hands the paper back to Rocky, which leads to this:

Rocky: Wait, don’t you want this?

Donnie: Got it right here. (Donnie holds up his phone.)

Rocky: What if you lose that there or it breaks?

Donnie: It’s already up in the cloud.

Rocky: (Rocky looks up to the sky.) What cloud? WHAT CLOUD?

Rocky aside, anyone looking to start a home-based business in 2019 needs to embrace cloud-based resources . For those who are technologically challenged, like the famous southpaw from Philly, let’s quickly define the cloud.

Cloud computing involves shared pools of resources and services that can be accessed economically and rapidly with minimal effort. This includes hardware and software. Cloud computing allows users to access the cloud with devices like phones, laptops, and tablets, and it allows the users to do things like store information, retrieve information from shared databases, and collaborate and communicate with others.

Anyone who has posted something on Facebook or Instagram is already using the cloud. This collaboration means multiple people are able to work in the same documents, software, social media accounts, and more, simultaneously or at different times of day. With this comes another level of responsibility, however, with so many hands involved in one thing, so you might consider brushing up on your digital courtesy skills .

E-Commerce Tips for Tiny-House Owners

Have you ever seen those lists ? 99 ideas for businesses you can start from home? But then you scroll down and realize that many have been reworded and repeated, and many more are just plain dumb. We’re not going to do that.

Instead, we’re going to give you some simple tips and maybe a few ideas, because for every person that you read about who made it rich selling things on Amazon, there are thousands of others who are confused by the logistics of e-commerce , and their businesses are stagnant.

Entrepreneur.com has five secrets of success for running a home-based e-commerce business. Also, keep in mind that you don’t need to keep a physical inventory, but you do need to find a good dropshipper .

• Treat it like an offline business. It’s not a hobby, so don’t treat it like one. Make the same kind of decisions you would for a brick-and-mortar business, including setting goals and objectives before doing anything else.
• Use the right software. Your software is the foundation of your business. Susan Delly of Zippy Cart recommends software that is “scalable, secure, and user-friendly.” Not sure what’s best? Check out this resource .
• Location, location, location. With your business online, location doesn’t matter, but you still need to find your audience — and don’t say everyone is your audience unless you sell toilet paper. First and foremost, figure out where your audience likes to hang out online.
• Let your customers sell for you. Not literally. Make it easy for customers to leave reviews and seek them out with gusto. Your customers are your greatest asset, particularly in the social media age we live in where social proof will encourage more sales.
• KISS. In sales, this means Keep It Simple, Stupid. Have you ever been frustrated by the checkout process when shopping online? This is what you want to avoid. Make it a simple, stress-free experience for your customers.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of items you can sell online, but if you skip these basic steps when setting up your e-commerce business, you better be selling geese that lay golden eggs, and they better be on sale.

Service-Based Businesses for Tiny-House Owners

As long as your service-based business doesn’t take up much room, you can easily run your business from your tiny house .

Entrepreneur.com has a list of 105 service businesses you can start from home , and most of those can be done regardless of space. The categories that those fall into include:

• Personal services
• Business services
• Marketing and sales
• Home services
• Computer and technology
• Children’s services
• Event services

The main thing to keep in mind is that while experience isn’t always a necessity, skills probably will be. So, you need to ask yourself, what am I good at?

The area of marketing and sales is especially promising when it comes to home-based service businesses. This area includes everything from cold-calling to acquire leads and social media marketing, to graphic design and freelance writing.

These types of service businesses can earn great money, and the overhead is low to nonexistent. Plus, platforms like Upwork make it very easy to enter the market and begin earning immediately. Though, keep in mind that no business is built overnight, so patience and grit will be required.

Then there are businesses that aren’t quite from home, like lawn maintenance, painting houses, automotive detailing, and carpentry. The list is practically endless. One important thing to keep in mind is supply and demand or, in other words, Economics 101. You’ll need demand, there’s no way around it. So, scope out your market, as in your general area, and see what it needs.

There are a lot of traditional brick-and-mortar service businesses that can easily be moved offline, like working as an accountant, bookkeeper, tax preparer, and others. So if you have the skills and experience in one of those roles, why not cut your overhead, or venture out on your own if employed by someone else, and give it a go?

This list of ideas is long to be sure, and getting paid in 2019 is as easy as setting up a PayPal account . You can send invoices through PayPal, too, making your little business look big and professional. Just remember, it all begins with a business plan. Plan your work and work your plan.

Image Source: Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/wood-tree-outdoors-house-nature-3238640/

1 thought on “How to Start a Business From Your Tiny House”

Starting a business from your own home can save you lots of money and it may be easier than you think.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

• Wheelhaus Models
• Our Process

How to Profit and Develop a Tiny Home Community at the Same Time

For those developers out there, a tiny home community is a great way to make a profit if done correctly. As builders of tiny homes, we know a thing or two about managing tiny home communities and have a few tips to share with you. Here are 5 strategies to remember when considering whether to develop a tiny home community.

#2. Start small and expand as finances permit. While you will want to start with an overall site plan for your property, consider purchasing only a handful of tiny homes to ensure the demand meets the supply. Furthermore, you will have to put a lot of your initial revenue into marketing to build your tiny home community. Hence, we would suggest starting with a small tiny home community and expanding as you go.

#3.  Be prepared to get your hands dirty. As with any start-up business, you will need to spend several hours working the business yourself. As the tiny home community grows, you will be able to hire more staff. To start, however, you will need to get your hands dirty, whether it’s managing the books, making beds, mowing the lawns, etc.

#5. A strong, happy staff can help ensure a profitable tiny home community, and any venture for that matter. We recommend building and nurturing a strong staff and work environment. When your employees are happy, they will go out of their way to help your clients, which in turn improves their experience and your ratings. You will have less turnover and spend less time training new staff. Furthermore, you will eventually be able to trust others to manage the business while you move on to new ventures.

A tiny home community, like any hotel or resort destination, can be an extremely profitable development. With careful planning and patience, you will be able to manage your costs and eventually generate enough revenue where you will be able to hire qualified staff that will help you manage the company. In the short term however, you may need to put in just a “few” hours. Trust us, we know.

• 0 Shopping Cart $ 0 -->

Business Ideas for Tiny Houses

BUSINESS IDEAS FOR TINY HOUSES

When you hear the word tiny house, one instantly thinks of shows like ‘Tiny House Nation’ and ‘Tiny House, Big Living’. Where those wholesome families and adventurous individuals design and build their very own unique homes atop a trailer. We see these people living tiny all over the world, creating an entire community of tiny dwellers. However, what if these tiny houses that have garnered so much love, can be more than just houses? At B&B Micro Manufacturing we allow this concept to grow into unimaginable innovative solutions for more than just the housing crises. The need for shelter is prominent across a wide array of fields, from healthcare, hospitality, retail, education, and so much more. We have laid out a number of business ideas for tiny houses that may just be your next big move as an entrepreneur, small business owner, investor, educational system, etc. 

At B&B Micro Manufacturing we want to break the mold of what tiny houses can be and who they can be for. Let us help you take that crazy idea written in your notes (or on a napkin if your old school like that) and turn it into a life-changing endeavor.

Boutique Clothing

Pop-Up Shops

Tate’s Bake Shop

Lickety Split Ice Cream

EVENT PLANNING

Interactive Design Elements

ARTIST STUDIO

Photography

Woodworking

Dog Grooming

Acupuncture

Mobile Clinics

Traveling Nurse Residences

Mobile Classrooms

Disaster Relief 

Share this entry

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on WhatsApp
• Share on Pinterest
• Share by Mail

KEEP READING:

Types of Sheathing

Find The Right Tiny House Size For You

The Future of Portable Restrooms

Tiny Offices

How To Find Tiny House Land: Resources and Knowledge You’ll Need

How to Start a Tiny House Hotel Business

Why Tiny Houses Can Be for Almost Anyone

The Brodie in the DownStreet Art Festival

How to get started.

Learn more about our process or fill out the form below and one of our tiny house experts will reach out to you.

• Name * First Last
• How Can We Help? *
• Email This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Year End Bundle Deal: 95%+ off! *only 100 available

The tiny house blog, a tiny house builder's guide to llc formation.

Many startups prefer the LLC business structure for its simplicity and flexibility. If you want to start a tiny house business, consider forming an LLC. It offers many advantages, including tax benefits and asset protection.

It secures your personal assets from business-related liabilities and taxes. This way, you don't have to lose other investments when your LLC becomes bankrupt. The best part is that they combine the excellent attributes of corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships to give the best structure. Forming a tiny house LLC requires careful planning and research, which may be challenging without the right professional help.

With that said, here are the steps to follow when forming a tiny house LLC:

1. Research and Plan

According to Northwest LLC reviews , the first order of business is researching and planning before you start the formation. You must understand the pros and cons of choosing an LLC structure for your tiny house business. It may offer asset protection and tax benefits such as deductions on business expenses, pass-through taxation, and flexible tax classification, but it also has its advantages. These include ownership transfer restrictions, limited lifespan, and formation complexity in some states.

Also, research the legal requirements for tiny house LLC formation as they differ from state to state. Many states are becoming stricter with the tiny house business as the number of people choosing small homes increases. Some require more paperwork and documentation while others charge higher formation fees.

For instance, Colorado's tiny home rules and regulations categorize these homes as recreational vans. However, the construction must meet the local building code standards. Therefore, ensure you understand the zoning rules and regulations in your state of formation and fees to get your finances in order.

2. Name Your LLC

You can name your business once you're satisfied that forming an LLC is the best move for your tiny house startup. It's a crucial step when forming an LLC in any business niche. You must choose a name representing tiny houses, ensuring you abide by the state's naming guidelines. The requirements in most regions include the following:

• You must include ‘Limited Liability Company’ or the abbreviation ‘LLC’ in the name
• The name must be unique in your state of formation, with an available URL (the URL will come in handy when creating an online presence for your tiny houses)
• It must be distinguishable from government agencies such as the State Department and the Treasury.

You can check the name's availability on the Secretary of State's website. Also, ensure you confirm with the local authority for any additional guidelines.

3. Hire a Registered Agent

The next step when forming your tiny house LLC is appointing a registered agent. It's a requirement by all states to have a registered agent to form an LLC. They're the bridge between you and the state where all documentation and paperwork get through. They send and receive crucial documents like tax statements, government correspondence documents, and lawsuits on behalf of your LLC.

You can appoint an individual or business entity the state acknowledges. You can also be your own agent. However, this isn't advisable as it may divert your attention from focusing on your tiny houses.

For one to qualify as a registered agent in any state, they must meet the following:

• They must be over 18 years
• The agent must have a physical address in the region of formation
• They must be a resident registered in your state of formation 
• The registered agent must be available during working hours to receive and send official documents 

Remember to look for an experienced, reputable agent who understands zoning laws and other tiny house LLC formation regulations.

4. File Articles Of Organization

Filing the articles of organization or certificate of formation will be a walk in the park with the right professional help. They're official formation documents you must file with the State Department when forming an LLC for your tiny house business.

You can file them in person, online, via email, or fax. Depending on your state, you must also pay a specific filing fee. However, you must provide your business details like name, address, members, purpose, and the management structure to create your LLC. Therefore, this is probably the best time to decide whether your tiny house LLC will be member or manager-managed.

A member-managed LLC is one with fewer members who are willing to participate in business operations. On the other hand, a manager-manager LLC contains many members who don't want to engage in decision-making. Instead, they appoint a person or a few members to do it on their behalf.

5. Establish An Operating Agreement

After filing the articles of organization, the next step is creating an operating agreement. It may be optional in most states, but having one is always advisable. This may be because they outline your tiny houses' operating procedures, including the following:

• Ownership and leadership
• Profit and loss sharing ratio
• Duties and responsibilities of each member
• Dissolution terms

This helps minimize conflicts among members due to miscommunication or unclear instructions. Therefore, regardless of it not being a legal requirement, creating an operating agreement for your tiny house business is crucial.

6. Get EIN from IRS

Your tiny house LLC isn't wholly formed without an Employer Identification Number (EIN). It's a requirement by all states to obtain. The EIN is the social security number the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issues to businesses. It allows the IRS to track business operations and their tax status easily. You'll need this number to file taxes, open a business bank account, and obtain insurance. Therefore, ensure you get EIN for your tiny house LLC to be operational.

7. Obtain Additional Licenses and Permits

You'll also need permits and licenses, including zoning approvals, construction permits, and contractor licenses. Ensure you check with the local authority and federal agencies to know the permits you need to be operational. And if you're working with a qualified registered agent, obtaining these licenses can be easy as they know their way around the processes.

8. Insure Your Tiny House LLC

Insuring your tiny house LLC isn't part of the formation process but is crucial for all businesses. Accidents are bound to happen, and you'll need insurance to protect your LLC against liabilities. Some insurance types you want to consider are: 

• General Liability Insurance: This covers public property damage and injury. For instance, it offers protection when one of your tiny houses on the move hits a dog crossing the road or when one of your staff damages public properties. Such liabilities can be expensive, and you'd want the right insurance.
• Commercial Property Cover: You'll need commercial property coverage to cover losses from natural disasters, theft, and fire. It'll be unfortunate to invest your finances in tiny houses only to lose them in a flood simply because you want to save some money on insurance.
• Workers Compensation: These are compensations offered to your team for lost wages or when they get injured or sick from a work-related cause. It also provides death and disability benefits as some injuries result in death or physical disability.
• Commercial Auto Coverage: As mentioned, tiny houses are considered recreational vans, and all commercial vehicles should have commercial auto insurance. It covers damage and losses when your tiny house gets into an accident.
• Professional Liability Insurance: This coverage protects you from negligence claims from your clients when they're unsatisfied with your tiny house's stability and functionality.

Remember, the limited liability protection the business liability protection the LLC offers is for your personal and not business assets. Therefore, ensure you insure your tiny house company.

Forming an LLC for your tiny house business is a worthwhile investment. It has many benefits, including tax deductions and personal asset protection. However, it's crucial to do your due diligence to understand the rules and regulations in different states. Also, consider hiring a registered agent to help you navigate the formation process easily, from filing articles of organization to obtaining business insurance. Generally, you can make informed decisions and get through complex situations by following this guide.

Need more info? Get

Subscribe to get the latest news.

This is a new way to communicate faster than any communication platforms

Get free resources, updates, tips & tricks, and special offers by joining the Tiny House Plan Newsletter.

More Related Posts

Managing Smells in Composting Toilets

5 Things to Consider to Save More Power in Your Tiny Home

How to Design an Energy Efficient Tiny Home

Frequently asked questions.

Find answers — straight from the author — for the most common questions about this article.

More Related Articles

DIY Off Grid Solar and Wind Power Systems with Patrick Hiebert

Join the tiny house community.

• svg]:stroke-primary"> 826K
• svg]:stroke-primary"> 622K
• svg]:stroke-primary"> 246K
• svg]:stroke-primary"> 45K

15 Tiny House Communities That Are as Efficient as They Are Charming

By Tony Carrick

Updated on Aug 5, 2022 9:55 PM EDT

6 minute read

Photo: istockphoto.com

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn More ›

Although a global pandemic and strict zoning laws stymied tiny house purchases in recent years, the popularity of these downsized alternatives to traditional homes continues to grow.

Communities of tiny houses can be found in parts of the country with tiny home-friendly zoning laws. They’re also popping up in other places, too. Many redeveloped RV parks are home to lovely tiny house communities, and some small towns are embracing tiny homes as a way to spur population growth. Several communities are even using tiny houses as a solution for homelesness. Below are 15 tiny home communities that are currently thriving in the United States.

RELATED: Our 25 Favorite Tiny Houses of All Time

1. Escalante Village – Durango, Colorado

The tiny home community of Escalante Village is nestled among Colorado’s La Plata Mountains at 6,500 feet above sea level. The homes average 400 square feet and sit on lots that are 20 feet wide and 40 feet deep—enough for the home, two parked cars and a patio. In keeping with the area’s rustic feel, these tiny homes are built with knotty wood pine floors, walls, and ceilings. Amenities include access to onsite storage (for those not ready to fully downsize their belongings to tiny home size), river trails, a community garden, and award-winning fly fishing within walking distance.

2. Tiny Home Village – Bernalillo County, New Mexico

New Mexico’s Tiny Home Village is dedicated to making a home for people who previously had none. Consisting of 30 120-square foot tiny houses, the community also provides support, counseling, and more for unhoused people. A common building in the village features a living room, kitchen, dining room, and bathrooms.

3. Tiny House Block – San Diego, California

If you see downsizing to a tiny home as a means of getting close to nature, then you might like Tiny House Block , which is located in the mountains surrounding San Diego, right on the famed Pacific Crest Trail. There are opportunities to add your own tiny house to the community, or you can rent one if you want to try out the experience before diving in. Anyone wanting to live there normally has to act fast, though, as vacancies go quickly.

4. Cedar Springs Tiny Village – Cedar Springs, Ohio

Ohio’s first tiny house village has 30 lots where you can park your tiny home. Cedar Springs Tiny Village comes fully equipped with amenities that include a community garden, walking paths, WiFi, and cable connections. It’s also just a short walk to Natural Spring Resort, which offers a pool, beach, fishing, and even scuba diving (yes, the lake water is that clear). Sites are available for short stays or for leases of 13 months and longer.

5. Canoe Bay Escape Village – Canoe Bay, Wisconsin

If you’ve ever dreamed of living in a tiny home deep in the woods, Canoe Bay Escape Village in Wisconsin may be for you. Escape Village is next to Canoe Bay, a lakeside resort. The tiny house community sits in the middle of over 100 acres of forest and wetlands and includes two private lakes. Its tiny houses come in various open floor plans with queen- and king-sized beds, full-size appliances and lots of windows for viewing nature.

RELATED: 19 Kit Homes You Can Buy and Build Yourself

6. Community First! Village – Austin, Texas

Located in Austin, Texas, Community First! Village is one of many programs throughout the country using tiny houses to tackle homelessness. The 27-acre tiny housing development consists of tiny homes (along with RVs and mobile homes ) for local unhoused people. Established in 2015, the village has more than 250 residents and features a market, movie theater, organic farm, laundry facilities, and walking trails.

7. Orlando Lakefront – Orlando, Florida

Florida is full of old trailer parks, and many of them are being converted to tiny house communities. That’s the case with Orlando Lakefront . This RV park, which dates back to the 1950s, was recently revamped to include 40 tiny houses on wheels. The community has 50 spots for lease, sits on the shores of Lake Fairview, and is a short drive from downtown Orlando and, of course, Disney theme parks . Orlando Lakefront also has 14 tiny homes for rent for vacationers and those who want to try out tiny home living.

8. Lemon Cove Village – Lemon Cove, California

With many states’ zoning laws restricting where a tiny house can be parked, many RV parks are opening their doors to these smaller homes, and Lemon Cove Village is one of them. Located near California’s Sequoia National Park, you can park your tiny home on the property for as little as $450 a month. In addition to its beautiful location at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the village’s amenities include a swimming pool, onsite laundry, and high-speed internet.

9. Tiny Homes Detroit – Detroit, Michigan

Tiny houses aren’t just for those looking to downsize from more spacious full-sized houses. Many communities have found them to be a great option for those who may not otherwise be financially able to own their own home. Such is the case with the Tiny Homes Detroit community, which consists of 25 houses ranging from 250 to 400 square feet owned by qualifying residents. Occupants rent their tiny house for seven years, after which they have the opportunity to own it.

10. Spur, Texas

In the face of a shrinking population, the small North Texas town of Spur decided to “spur” growth by proclaiming itself the “first tiny house-friendly town.” Where other municipalities spurned tiny houses, Spur invited them to boost its population size and tax base. The small town is now home to dozens of tiny homes, many of which are big-city transplants looking for a simpler and slower pace of life.

RELATED: 5 Things to Know Before Adding an Accessory Dwelling Unit to Your Property

11. WeeCasa – Lyons, Colorado

If you’re considering tiny house living but aren’t sure if it’s for you, then you might want to try out WeeCasa Tiny House Resort , a community of rentable tiny homes in the Colorado Rockies. The resort’s 22 tiny houses are available for nightly rates, range in size from 165 to 400 square feet, and sleep up to five. All of the units are in close proximity to the St. Vrain Creek and a popular wedding event center. And if Lyons, Colorado, is too far away, there are also WeeCasa locations in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Rapid City, South Dakota.

12. Lake Walk – Greer, South Carolina

The large Lake Walk Tiny Home Community boasts 43 sites on 15 acres of land on the shores of Lake Cunningham in South Carolina. You’ll find high-end features in these homes , including hardwood floors, large decks, full-size appliances, and solid countertops in the kitchen. The community has a variety of attractive amenities in addition to the lake, including nature trails, community gardens, and sweeping views of the surrounding mountains.

13. Palm Canyon Mobile Club – Palm Springs, California

Palm Springs is well known for mid-century modern homes that connect with Southern California nature thanks to large windows and airy open floor plans. Most of those homes also come with hefty price tags, but not all of them. The mid-century modern tiny houses of Palm Canyon Mobile Club offer elegant style at a more affordable price than many other homes in the area. The community’s not-so-tiny floor plans range from 600 to 1,100 square feet and include sizable decks.

14. Cottage Estates – Acme, Michigan

These high-end tiny houses are located on an RV resort that sits on one of Lake Michigan’s bays. Cottage Estates’ tiny homes have about 400 square feet of living space and feature full-size appliances, hardwood floors, and large decks on 5,000-square-foot lots. You also get all the amenities you’d find in a resort, including a pool and spa, tennis courts, clubhouse, and fitness center.

15. Park Delta Bay – Isleton, California

Park Delta Bay bills itself as the only legally zoned tiny house community in Northern California. Located on the banks of the San Joaquin River, Park Delta Bay includes a mix of tiny homes on wheels as well as a dozen permanent tiny houses. There’s a community clubhouse and bathhouse along with tennis courts and volleyball courts. Park Delta Bay has openings, but your tiny home will need to be mobile if you want to move there, as the community only homes that are on wheels are accepted.

RELATED: These Are the 10 Best Cities for Downsizing

Anker’s New Home Battery Tower Is a Sleek, Modular Step Toward Complete Energy Independence Anker’s New Home Battery Tower Is a Sleek, Modular Step Toward Complete Energy Independence

By: Chase Brush

The 20 Best Lawn Care Products for a Lush and Healthy Lawn The 20 Best Lawn Care Products for a Lush and Healthy Lawn

By: Deirdre Mundorf

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

JavaScript appears to be disabled on this computer. Please click here to see any active alerts .

• Headquarters | Office of the Administrator (AO)

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $7 Billion Solar for All Grants to Deliver Residential Solar, Saving Low-Income Americans $350 Million Annually and Advancing Environmental Justice Across America

EPA announces 60 selectees under Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grant competition to deliver solar to more than 900,000 low-income and disadvantaged households nationwide through the President’s Investing in America agenda

April 22, 2024

Contact: EPA Press Office ( [email protected] )

Washington – Today, April 22, as the Biden-Harris Administration celebrates Earth Day, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced 60 selectees that will receive $7 billion in grant awards through the Solar for All grant competition to deliver residential solar projects to over 900,000 households nationwide. The grant competition is funded by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda through the Inflation Reduction Act, which created EPA’s $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The 60 selections under the $7 billion Solar for All program will provide funds to states, territories, Tribal governments, municipalities, and nonprofits across the country to develop long-lasting solar programs that enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed residential solar, lowering energy costs for families, creating good-quality jobs in communities that have been left behind, advancing environmental justice and tackling climate change.

“Today we’re delivering on President Biden’s promise that no community is left behind by investing $7 billion in solar energy projects for over 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “The selectees will advance solar energy initiatives across the country, creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, saving $8 billion in energy costs for families, delivering cleaner air, and combating climate change.” 

“Solar is the cheapest form of electricity—and one of the best ways to lower energy costs for American families,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy. “Today’s announcement of EPA’s Solar for All awards will mean that low-income communities, and not just well-off communities, will feel the cost-saving benefits of solar thanks to this investment.”

“Residential solar electricity leads to reduced monthly utility bills, reduced levels of air pollution in neighborhoods, and ultimately healthier communities, but too often low-income and disadvantaged communities have been left out. Today’s announcement will invest billions to ensure that affordable housing across the U.S. can access solar and increase energy efficiency and climate resilience,” said U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “HUD is honored to have played a key role in today’s monumental announcement, which will provide meaningful household savings to households in low-income and disadvantaged communities, reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs, and deliver electricity during grid outages for low-income households.”

“Sunlight is powering millions of homes across the nation, and we're working hard to ensure Americans everywhere can benefit from this affordable clean energy resource,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “DOE is proud to work alongside our partners at EPA and across the Federal government to help communities access the limitless energy of the sun to light their homes and power their businesses.”

“The United States can and must lead the world in transforming our energy systems away from fossil fuels,” said U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (VT). “The Solar for All program – legislation that I successfully introduced – will not only combat the existential threat of climate change by making solar energy available to working class families, it will also substantially lower the electric bills of Americans and create thousands of good-paying jobs. This is a win for the environment, a win for consumers, and a win for the economy.”

EPA estimates that the 60 Solar for All recipients will enable over 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed solar energy. This $7 billion investment will generate over $350 million in annual savings on electric bills for overburdened households. The program will reduce 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions cumulatively, from over four gigawatts of solar energy capacity unlocked for low-income communities over five years. Solar and distributed energy resources help improve electric grid reliability and climate resilience, which is especially important in disadvantaged communities that have long been underserved.

Solar for All will deliver on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to creating high-quality jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union for workers across the United States. This $7 billion investment in clean energy will generate an estimated 200,000 jobs across the country. All selected applicants intend to invest in local, clean energy workforce development programs to expand equitable pathways into family-sustaining jobs for the communities they are designed to serve. At least 35% of selected applicants have already engaged local or national unions, demonstrating how these programs will contribute to the foundation of a clean energy economy built on strong labor standards and inclusive economic opportunity for all American communities.

The Solar for All program also advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative , which set the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. All of the funds awarded through the Solar for All program will be invested in low-income and disadvantaged communities. The program will also help meet the President’s goal of achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and net-zero emissions economy by no later than 2050.

Solar for All will expand existing low-income solar programs and launch new ones. The 60 selected applicants will serve households in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and territories, as well as increase access to solar for Tribes. EPA has selected 49 state-level awards totaling approximately $5.5 billion, six awards to serve Tribes totaling over $500 million, and five multistate awards totaling approximately $1 billion. Solar for All will deploy residential solar for households nationwide by not only providing grants and low-cost financing to overcome financial barriers to deployment but also by providing services to communities to overcome other barriers such as siting, permitting, and interconnection. A complete list of the selected applicants can be found on EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Solar for All website.

The 60 selected applicants have committed to delivering on the three objectives of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: reducing climate and air pollution; delivering benefits to low-income and disadvantaged communities; and mobilizing financing to spur additional deployment of affordable solar energy. Solar for All selected applicants are expanding existing low-income solar programs and launching new programs. In at least 25 states and territories nationwide, Solar for All is launching new programs where there has never been a substantial low-income solar program before. In these geographies, Solar for All selected applicants will open new markets for distributed solar by funding new programs that provide grants and low-cost financing for low-income, residential solar.

To date, many of the 60 selected Solar for All applicants have supported low-income and underserved communities in installing innovative residential solar projects. With this new funding, selectees can launch thousands more projects like these throughout every state and territory in the nation:

• The threat of storms is a major reason Athens, Georgia resident Delmira Jennings and her husband John used selected applicant Capital Good Fund's Georgia BRIGHT leasing program to install a 13-kilowatt solar and 10-kilowatt-hour battery system in February. “Last year, we spent two days without power after what seemed like a mini tornado,” Jennings said. After a recent outage, Jennings noted that she didn't even know she lost power. “The batteries kicked in and all the power items we were using were on battery backup.”
• Last year, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, whose successful pilot initiative served as the basis for selected applicant Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara (MHA) Nation’s Northern Plains Tribal Solar for All program, took major steps toward a clean energy future with the completion of the first phase of the White River Community Solar project. This project will deploy 15 solar systems at the homes of elders while piloting a groundbreaking approach to solar ownership and management that is intended to set an example for Tribes across the nation.
• Through its existing Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program — a model for equitably providing solar to low-income renters in disadvantaged communities — selected applicant GRID Alternatives’ team in San Diego installed a solar energy system at Trolley Trestle, home to youth transitioning out of the foster care system. Energy cost savings estimated at over $600k over ten years, will be reinvested to provide additional services to those who call Trolley Trestle home, including more job and life skills training.

Review and Selection Process Information

The 60 applicants selected for funding were chosen through a competition review process. This multi-stage process included review from hundreds of experts in climate, power markets, environmental justice, labor, and consumer protection from EPA, Department of Energy, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Treasury, Department of Agriculture, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Labor, Department of Defense, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Department of Energy’s National Labs – all screened through ethics and conflict of interest checks and trained on the program requirements and evaluation criteria. Applications were scored and selected through dozens of review panels and an interagency senior review team.

EPA anticipates that awards to the selected applicants will be finalized in the summer of 2024, and selected applicants will begin funding projects through existing programs and begin expansive community outreach programs to launch new programs in the fall and winter of this year. Selections are contingent on the resolution of all administrative disputes related to the competitions.

Informational Webinars

EPA will host informational webinars as part of the program’s commitment to public transparency. EPA has scheduled a public webinar for the Solar for All program, and registration details are included below. Information on other GGRF webinars can be found on EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Engagement Opportunities webpage .

• Solar for All webinar: Monday, April 29, 2024, 4:00pm – 4:30pm ET. Register for the April 29 meeting

Release updated to reflect minor changes. 

Trump Association Health Plan Rule Axed by Labor Department (1)

By Sara Hansard

The US Department of Labor has rescinded a Trump-era rule that made it easier for small businesses and self-employed people to use cheaper association health plans that don’t comply with all the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.

The final Biden rule ( RIN:1210-AC16 ) on association health plans was issued by the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration Monday after clearing White House review, and will take effect 60 days after its April 30 publication in the Federal Register.

The rule DOL initially floated in December 2023 replaces the 2018 Trump-era regulation that expanded the definition of “employer” to allow businesses to more easily pool together to buy health insurance under the ACA. Some business groups concerned about rising health care benefits costs have pushed back against the idea of rescinding the rule.

The ACA created new and at times costly requirements that employer-sponsored health plans had to follow to provide comprehensive coverage for employees.

Many smaller businesses have sought to rely on the cheaper association health plans as an alternative. They have viewed AHPs as an effective option for employers that meet the ACA’s 50 full-time employee bar for providing essential minimum coverage, but lack the resources of large corporations.

Some small businesses have been able to use association health plans by self-insuring, or paying their claims directly in combination with stop-loss plans that limit their losses. Self-insured plans, which usually are operated by large employers and provide comprehensive benefits, aren’t subject to all of the requirements of the ACA.

Prior to the 2018 Trump rule, AHPs could only be provided to small business groups whose members are part of common industries, a scenario to which many business groups have expressed a reluctance to return.

Portions of the older rule were struck down in 2019 by the US District Court for the District of Columbia. This led AHPs established under the rule to be discontinued following the court’s decision.

House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) applauded the administration on Monday for rescinding the 2018 rule.

“Small businesses and self-employed people deserve access to affordable health care, which the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides,” he said in a statement.

“AHPs may provide lower costs to some enrollees, but they do so by skimping on benefits and increasing costs for everybody else,” Scott said. “AHPs can cherry-pick low-risk, young individuals for a separate pool from the ACA Marketplace. AHPs can also exclude certain categories of coverage that would ordinarily be required as Essential Health Benefits, such as maternity care, mental health care, or substance use disorder treatment, to dissuade certain groups or individuals from enrolling,” he said.

‘Misguided Edicts’

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) said in a statement that “misguided edicts” from the White House like the new final rule would put high-quality health care out of American’s reach.

“The administration’s final rule fails on every mark, moving us backwards, not forwards,” she said.

The DOL said in rescinding the rule it wants to “allow for a reexamination of the criteria for a group or association of employers to be able to sponsor an AHP, and ensure that guidance being provided to the regulated community is in alignment with ERISA’s text, purposes, and policies.”

“Employees and their dependents have too often become financially responsible for medical claims they were promised would be covered by the plan after paying premiums to fraudulent or mismanaged MEWAs [multiple employer welfare arrangements], which could include AHPs,” the rule said.

The entities “often become insolvent,” and AHPs may fail to adequately disclose benefit limits under the plan, the DOL said.

Chris Condeluci, director of the Coalition to Protect and Promote Association Health Plans, said Monday that legal action is not likely to be brought to challenge the recission because the final rule doesn’t include any new policies. The coalition represents business groups such as the National Federation of Independent Business and the National Association of Realtors.

The coalition sent a comment letter in February to the Department of Labor suggesting a legal framework that Condeluci said would allow groups to join association health plans that aren’t part of specific industries and could also cover self-employed individuals.

“Our framework includes robust consumer protections, requires a board of directors to manage the arrangement, and we confirm that AHPs must protect people with pre-existing conditions and cannot discriminate against people based on health status,” Condeluci said.

Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) has proposed legislation ( S. 3167 ) in Congress that Condeluci said includes the coalition’s framework.

That bill “would clearly define all AHPs as Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs), which are fully regulated by states under ERISA; require individuals to have a real interest in the company to be called an ‘owner'; and only allow rating practices that are permitted under state law,” a letter from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on the bill said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sara Hansard in Washington at [email protected]

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rebekah Mintzer at [email protected] ; Jay-Anne B. Casuga at [email protected]

Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to keep reading:

Learn about bloomberg law.

AI-powered legal analytics, workflow tools and premium legal & business news.

Already a subscriber?

Log in to keep reading or access research tools.

We've detected unusual activity from your computer network

To continue, please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot.

Why did this happen?

Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy .

For inquiries related to this message please contact our support team and provide the reference ID below.