Sometimes, when someone is telling me about their town, they’ll say it. “We have nothing here! Nothing!” It bothers me. Surely you have something to work with? Des Walsh is a friend of mine from Australia who has strong rural ties. He told me about a village that had nothing. “Many years ago I…
Big Ideas for Small Town Business Success I was honored to be a guest on this call with the Orton Family Foundation, and I’m happy to pass along this recording for you to listen in while we talk rural entrepreneurship, filling gaps downtown, and revitalizing your town. From farm-to-table restaurants and food co-ops to craft breweries…
Guest post by Deb Brown How well do you know your clients? Here at the Chamber our clients are our members. This year I’ve made a concentrated effort to spend some time visiting with our members. Not just when I run into them, or when we need something (although we do visit then), but in…
One of your fellow readers wrote in to ask what franchises and chain restaurants know how to survive in small towns. His town with a population under 2,000 had a franchise pizza restaurant. The franchisee lived not only out of town, but actually out of state, really making ties to the community thin. Blaming the poor economy,…
In a world driven by frenetic change, which small towns are going to thrive? We know rural people play a key role in our society, so some small towns will have a future. Some small towns are innovative and progressive. Other small towns are stuck in the past. Is there anything that tells us…
No one creates jobs in a vacuum. They need to connect to customers. They need to connect to people at suppliers and service providers. They need to connect to people who help them think of the new ideas that generate new value that create more demand that lead to new jobs. They need to…
My friend Mark Riffey is from the small town of Columbia Falls, Montana. He normally writes about marketing, and he offers excellent advice. But last week, something different popped up. He wrote to his hometown folks to address the loss of an important local employer. I know many of you can relate to this…
“Becky….we are looking at installing a downtown wifi area. What are your thoughts on that? I think it is awesome but I know I am going to get….’oh, sure…now the development corp is going to supply free wifi to people! They can pay for their own!’” Angie Schmidt Benz Moffit, North Dakota Here are four…
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