I’m not a big fan of business plan or startup competitions for small towns. I especially don’t like shark-style pitch competitions. I do love that you’re taking action to support more startups and entrepreneurs. I like that you’re including training and support for everyone who participates. (You are, aren’t you?) I can even live…
The Brag Basket is open! This one is for May 4-6, 2018. Bring your good news, big or small, to share with everyone. What can you share in the Brag Basket? introduce yourself share some great news from this week celebrate progress, even baby steps congratulate a friend applaud for each other confess your…
Many of us have the dream of owning our own business. Yet for most of us, that dream remains just that, a dream. These dreams are fun to think about, but they either disappear quickly or, for some other reason, we do not move forward. The dreaming is part of business development. During that stage,…
Next year, Kristina Vonberge’s town is going to face bridge construction and a major traffic detour. She asked for ideas during the discussion session of our SaveYour.Town webinar on the arts. People coming to town are going to have to detour 17 miles out of the way to get to town. How can she draw…
It’s a growing trend. Online stores selling to your consumers. And the trend is growing. Currently books, electronics, clothing, etc. are the more popular items being sold. But the available categories are expanding rapidly. One of the growing categories is online grocery sales. This took the front page when Amazon purchased Whole Foods. But the…
Going to conferences and events can have huge benefits for small town business people. When we’re working in our business, we feel isolated because there are so few businesses like ours. It can feel like there is no one to talk to, no one who understands what we go through. That’s why industry conferences,…
On a recent call, Janet Soto from Oregon picked out 6 themes from what I’ve written about lately that she felt were exactly what Oregon small towns most needed to hear as they work on entrepreneurship. There are positive trends for small towns. It doesn’t matter what the numbers say about us, what negative…
Does your business have a sustainable advantage? Having one or more sustainable advantages gives you an edge in the marketplace. Advantages can be developed in several ways. Perhaps the most commonly sought after advantage is price. However, a price advantage is rarely, if ever, sustainable. Another business will find a way to offer a lower…
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