I’m a fan of business fairs, business expos and all kinds of business showcases. These are the kind of event where different businesses come together in one place and set up booths or displays. Good fairs bring together business people with new customers and with each other. It’s good for everyone. In my…
Glenn Muske just reminded us that we should listen to other business owners: “Want to improve the operation of your business? One simple tip is to listen to and watch what other business owners are doing. This simple piece of advice can save you a great deal of time, effort and money.” This is…
Brief History of Highlands, North Carolina, video via YouTube. Hat tip to Susie deVille for the link. Lots of towns have a history video. What I want to see is your “now” video, and then I want to see your “future” video. You know the kind of town history videos I mean. The ones…
Get visitors to your small town to notice all the cool details in your older buildings. Give them a scavenger hunt to follow. This example is from El Reno, Oklahoma, Main Street. They made it a contest with a time limit, but I think it’s a timeless idea, one you can use to get visitors…
Legions of people over 55 have boxes and boxes of old photos. They’d love to have them in albums or scanned into digital format, but they may not have the time, equipment or experience. Enter photo organization businesses. These are perfect for small towns and especially for younger people looking for a business that’s simple…
Picture a really great small town pharmacy.* The people behind this pharmacy have a strong sense of ethics, are deeply involved in the community, and go to great lengths to be that special kind of business that matters to people’s lives. Their email newsletter, on the other hand, looks like a grocery store ad, packed with…
I went around to local businesses while organizing for Small Business Saturday. In every store, I found something I didn’t realize that they carried. Every single store. I’m not making that up! I knew my favorite women’s shop had kid’s clothes, too, but I didn’t know about the new line of watches or the…
Another reader emailed me last week to say they had formed a revitalization group for their town and asked for tips to attract businesses to their town. I don’t have any. Revitalizing a town is less about what you can attract from outside and more about what you can grow yourself. Experiment, try, fail,…
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