Episodes

  • Combatting Rural Blight

    Combatting Rural Blight
    Jan 19 2026
    Ways to Combat Rural Blight In rural America, one of the consequences of globalization is blight. Many buildings sit idle or in utter disrepair. There’s no code enforcement to speak of. As long as the property owners pay taxes, sometimes as little as a couple hundred dollars per year, they are permitted to hold their property and bring down the value of everyone else’s. Welcome to Bring Back the Bustle, a podcast about revitalizing rural America. I’m Shavon Jones, your host. Today’s episode is about combatting rural blight to attract investment in rural America. If you reside in a major […]
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    17 mins
  • Rehab Versus New Build

    Rehab Versus New Build
    Jan 12 2026
    An Analysis of Rehab vs. New Build in Rural Development To rehabilitate an existing building or to build from the ground up, that is the question. It’s a dilemma that plays out with rural investments in particular because rural towns usually have many vacant lots and dilapidated buildings from which to choose. Hi, welcome to Bring Back the Bustle, a podcast about revitalizing rural America. I’m Shavon Jones, your host. This week we’re discussing the impact of the rehab versus new build decision on rural investment returns. So that’s where we’re going to end up—with a formula or process for […]
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    14 mins
  • Power Play: How to Invest in Energy

    Power Play: How to Invest in Energy
    Jan 5 2026
    How to Make Money Investing in Energy Aside from the data centers themselves, the biggest money maker in real estate today is in power plants built to serve AI data centers. Hi. Welcome to Bring Back the Bustle, a podcast about revitalizing rural America. I’m Shavon Jones, your host. A bit of housekeeping before we delve into this episode: First, Happy New Year. We’ve been off since Thanksgiving both for the holiday season and also to prepare for our capital campaign which is underway as I speak. Interested accredited investors can request a copy of our Private Placement Memo using […]
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    10 mins
  • Get Off My Grid

    Get Off My Grid
    Nov 17 2025
    Get off my grid. One of the knocks against data centers is the increase in utility bills and pollution caused by data center energy consumption. The issue of who should pay utility rate increases caused by data center consumption is so clear that it wouldn’t warrant discussion—if everyday Americans weren’t being saddled with the bill. Welcome to Bring Back the Bustle, a podcast about revitalizing rural America. I’m Shavon Jones, your host. I’m also a lawyer. When the court system has to make a policy decision about who should pay a bill, judges usually place the burden on the party […]
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    18 mins
  • How Banks Favor Rural Development

    How Banks Favor Rural Development
    Nov 10 2025
    Rural Development Loan Primer for Investors When people are starting a business or a construction project, one of the biggest problems they face is how hard it is to get financing. USDA Rural Development loans make it easier to get financing for projects in areas with a population of less than 50,000 people. In that regard, rural development loans are another economic development incentive in the rural development toolkit. So, welcome to Bring Back the Bustle, a podcast about revitalizing rural America. I’m Shavon Jones, your host. Episode Overview: Today we’re going to cover the ins and outs rural development […]
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    20 mins
  • Why Historic Preservation Matters

    Why Historic Preservation Matters
    Nov 3 2025
    Why Historic Preservation Matters Historic preservation tells the story of American life through architecture. Historic preservation is so important that, as we discussed back in episode 3, the federal government provides historic tax credits (or dollar for dollar tax reductions) that effectively shift the cost of rehabbing our historic buildings from the developer to the taxpayers. So, somewhere along the way, lawmakers at the federal level, and in many states, decided that historic preservation matters so much that the cost of doing it should be borne by everyone. With that introduction, welcome to Bring Back the Bustle, a podcast about […]
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    16 mins
  • Exit Strategy for Rural Investments

    Exit Strategy for Rural Investments
    Oct 27 2025
    What If Data Centers Leave? Hi, welcome back to Bring Back the Bustle, the podcast about revitalizing rural America. I’m Shavon Jones, your host. The Rural Revitalization Fund is a rural opportunity zone fund that invests in rural communities where AI data centers are locating. (Our website is ruralqrof.com) The Fund uses money from many sources including tax and economic development incentives, bank loans, and individual accredited investors. Private investors like to know what the exit strategy is before they invest. So, today, I’m going to talk about what happens if AI Data Centers leave a community where we’re invested. […]
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    14 mins
  • Don't Super Size It

    Don't Super Size It
    Oct 20 2025
    Hi, welcome to Bring Back the Bustle, a podcast about revitalizing rural America. I’m Shavon Jones, your host. Today’s topic is right sizing your rural business to achieve profitability in rural markets. We’ve entitled the episode: “Don’t Super Size It” so maybe some listeners are looking for a Big Mac. I don’t have any, but invite you to stick around. You may discover something about investing in rural America that appeals to you. Rural America can support more businesses than Dollar General and Waffle House. This episode, at its core, is about how higher end offerings can succeed in rural […]
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    18 mins