How are small town banks doing now? Yesterday, Sheila Ferrell, VP Cashier of Farmers Exchange Bank, gave me an update on small town banks. She has been with Farmers for 24 years. It’s a terrific little bank in Cherokee, Oklahoma, (population approx. 1600), with a few branches in surrounding towns. Ferrell stressed that Farmers is…
When you succeed, they will say… “Well, look at who his granddad is. They all have money. He had everything handed to him.” “She had nothing to do with it. My cousin does all the real work there.” “Must be nice to have all that money without doing anything for it.” When you fail, they…
You, us, we small business people are the drivers now. It’s important to remember that as we tool around our community. It’s not to swagger with false confidence as BMOC’s did in the past. No. The point is to understand…we’re driving this economy moving forward. Here’s why: On average, small business generates 60% of new…
At Blog World Expo, Shashi Bellamkonda caught me for a video interview. While I didn’t know it at the time, the result of all the Network Solutions video interviews is going to be a video conference called Solution Stars featuring 32 cool folks in new media and tech, October 29. (OK, 31 cool folks plus…
Ben Power wrote some serious small business lessons in, “Are local tech shops a dying breed? If so, it’s our fault.” He’s talking specifically about computer sales and repair, especially in small towns, but he gives some lessons we can all stand to be reminded of. Here are few quotes: Answer your phone when it…
Doing business in a small town or rural area does have some differences from traditional business thinking. Aliza Sherman, famous entrepreneur and writer, asked me to do a joint post with her with tips for “really rural” businesses. Aliza currently does business in Alaska and is moving to a town of under 2000. She shares…
Back in January of 2006, I reminded you of the old bumper sticker joke: “Just one more oil boom, Lord. I promise I won’t piss this one away.” My question then was what will you do with this oil boom? We’re nearly three years further into this boom since I asked. Let me remind…
Most small towns missed out on the recent run up in the USA national economy. And when we were struck with repeated crop failures and a horrendous local economy, the rest of the nation certainly didn’t notice. So, how is the national financial crisis affecting small towns? Well, it’s a mixed bag. And it’s still…
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