At the AMIBA national conference, I captured a few of the sessions that I thought you might be interested in. This one is about community bankers and how they get involved in your town. If you haven’t started a relationship with a community bank, now is a great time to get out and meet one….
Two art projects that are kind of cousins caught my attention as tools for small towns. First is from reader Doug Mackenzie. It’s metal sign that, if you stand in the right place and line up the courthouse in the center, it shows the other historic buildings from the town of Marshall, North Carolina. (See the…
Don’t see the video? Click here to view it online. A social media tip useful for any organization with members: cultivate your online champions. Includes a case study of how Leslie McLellan did it in Lake Arrowhead, California. Some folks pointed out that tweets and sample posts on paper aren’t easy for people to type…
July 1-7, 2014, will be Independents Week, “to engage your local independent businesses and community members in celebrating the spirit of entrepreneurism and community.” Independents Week is sponsored by the AMIBA. The American Independent Business Alliance is a non-profit organization helping communities sustain their local independent businesses and keep opportunities alive for local entrepreneurs. Notice that…
Michael Shuman Interview Economist and Author Michael Shuman knows a heck of a lot about why we have a local movement. He’s also the author of the books Small Mart Revolution and Local Dollars, Local Sense. In this interview, he goes all economist on durable and nondurable goods right at the start, but hang on,…
Jen Risley spoke on a panel with me at the American Independent Business Alliance Conference, and I want to share one or two smart tricks she uses. Jen represents Monadnock Buy Local, covering 35 small towns in the Monadnock Region of southwestern New Hampshire. Her members are all local businesses. She’s a one-person staff so she…
For small town businesses, email is one of the most effective marketing tools available. Customers already like you, right? So they are more likely to open your emails than those from anonymous big brands. Emma Wilhelm, with Mad Mimi email marketing, presented these tips on building up your list of customer email addresses at the…
Small towns watch the endless parade of cars going by on the highway. How can we get them to stop? That question from a reader got me thinking. I’d love your ideas on this question. My ideas: Before you worry about “getting people to stop”, recognize that “family and friends” visits are your primary source…
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