Our friend Chuck Huckaby pointed out this great story, at CBC Radio’s Vinyl Cafe. It’s the story of a bakery, how it started, how it is part of the community, and the larger picture of rural development. But mostly, it’s just a great story. Five of them decided to open a bakery. They found one…
[Special guest author Laura Girty lives in Cherokee, Oklahoma, and works for the Oklahoma Department of Commerce in community development. She has kindly contributed articles she wrote for the ODOC Developer newsletter, and yes this article does refer to me, OkieJ (Jeanne Cole) and OkieK (Karen Payne). ] Does your community buy into your community…
[Special guest author Laura Girty lives in Cherokee, Oklahoma, and works for the Oklahoma Department of Commerce in community development. She has kindly contributed two articles she wrote for the ODOC Developer newsletter.] A popular movie a few years ago, Pay It Forward, was based on the thought that if a group of people did…
Michael Gurau is president of CEI Community Ventures Fund , an early-stage venture capital fund that finances growth-oriented businesses in targeted communities in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. He writes in the New Hampshire Business Review, and his column on Friday was about building your business in a rural community. Here are some excerpts: Let’s…
Podcast:Becky interviews Pat Matthews, CEO of Webmail.us, Inc., based in Blacksburg, Virginia. Pat blogs at Small Town, Big Ideas. Pat talks about advantages of being in a small town, working with the community, and encouraging more small town entrepreneurs. Watch for a second interview with Pat on the Great Big Small Business Show. small biz…
I was intrigued by the question, Who’s your city? at Creative Class blog. Well, I’m at it again, cranking away at a new book – and I have a huge favor to ask you. I want your stories. See, this book is about how people pick the places they live and why that’s the single…
Jack Schultz, Boomtown USA, has some terrific questions to ask about Promoting the Arts & Beauty of your Area. “What can you do to send gifts of beauty from your town?” was the challenge that Gerald Yoshitomi asked of the participants at the FHLB Conference in Sioux Falls, SD. He discussed a number of innovative…
Now here is a strategy for rural development: Hope that one of your small town’s alumni will return and pour money on you. Don’t want to wait? Start looking for alumni to bring back, organize general alumni events, and build relationships with people. At the same time, don’t forget your “never lefts,” the people who…
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