Tennessee Small Business Stymied By City Officials After Receiving Permission To Launch

Image Credit: clarksvilletn.gov

The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

A Clarksville woman was blindsided when she was told that her newly established small business is not legal.

Last year, Tess Partridge started At Home Ads, a lawn ad business. The premise of the business is this: homeowners receive a payment in exchange for allowing an advertisement for a local business to be placed on their lawn. 

According to Partridge, she was given approval by the Mayor’s Office and Codes Department. Since starting, approximately 25 businesses have signed up for advertisements. Partridge reports that some homeowners were bringing in around $400 per month.

However, she says many of her customers have now been fined for the advertisements.

“All of them told me this was a very novel idea, really good for homeowners, really good for local small businesses, and gave me the thumbs up,” Partridge stated. 

The city is now telling homeowners that the advertisements are not allowed within city limits.

The current Director of the City of Clarksville’s Building and Codes Department, Justin Crosby, says he was not with the department at the time that Partridge started the business. He says that the department was not aware that At Home Ads would be commercial advertising.

Partridge’s frustration with the new information is partially due to the fact that she has already spent $200,000 that was invested by family members, as well as outside investors.

“I had lined up a couple of investors and one of their qualifications was that I had to have approval,” she stated.

While Partridge does have knowledge of several customers receiving the citations, the city has not provided her with any written communication regarding the legality of the business. She is hopeful that city leaders will reach out.

“I would love to work with the city to continue to allow this, even if it was in certain parameters that we came together to make,” said Partridge.

Partridge is no stranger to starting a business. She launched her first one in 2015 after spending time as a stay-at-home mom. Recognizing the need for a support community, she founded iStroll, a workout program that integrates a stroller alongside fitness equipment. The program allows parents to socialize and exercise without sacrificing time with their children.