My hometown of Alva, Oklahoma, is doing something that most any small town could benefit from: building a habit of helping in our people. People make small donations, conveniently at all the local banks. Most of the banks have pledged matching funds. (Double cool.) The group picks just three or four causes to support each…
You are not your target market: You know too much. You’re pretty smart. You’ve been around your industry or subject area for several years, maybe longer. You have studied, learned, tried, failed, learned some more, succeeded, and learned some more. In short, you are no longer the same as your customers. Now, this is good…
Ken Kelsey, art instructor at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, explains why he’s involved in the arts in Northwest Oklahoma. If you don’t see the video, click through to Small Biz Survival. Ken refers to working with Kay Decker on local arts. You can see her interview here: Starting an art walk.New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the…
Creative Marty Coleman aka @TheNapkinDad shared some suggestions for creativity at BlogWorld Expo. Because creativity is key to innovation and entrepreneurship, I want to pass them along. The Napkin Dad Marty Colemanprepares to talk at BlogWorld Expo. Why do we call him The Napkin Dad? While making his junior high and high school daughters’ lunches, he…
Many small towns and small cities have a terrible shortage of skilled workforce, especially in today’s high-tech skills. The reasons why are complex: some places lack local training, some have high out-migration rates, some places just have no history of high tech work. Lindsey and Cory Miller A few Oklahomans decided to do something about…
Dr. Kay Decker tells about arts projects in Alva, Oklahoma. She explains how and why the First Friday Art Walk was started here. Here is a summary of what Dr. Decker said: The art space we are sitting in, Graceful Arts, is a project of Freedom West Community Development Corporation, where she is executive director….
You are not your target market: What you like doesn’t equate into what customers like. I don’t like country music. I don’t like pop up newsletter subscription boxes. I don’t even like the idea of whipped cream flavored vodka. None of that should influence my marketing. What should? My customers. What do my customers like? What music…
Melanie Grace Guthrey asked, You speak a lot about finding the terms people search online in relation to our town/business. Is there a particular way or site you recommend for doing this research? It’s a great question. How can we know what words and phrases people search that lead them to our site? The answer is…
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