If your a small-business owner, this title may have caught you be surprise. Who wants competition? Business owners often see competition only as something that detracts from their own bottom line. Well, you may want to think differently. First, competition keeps you on your toes. Just by their presence, you need to stay better tuned…
Picture a really great small town pharmacy.* The people behind this pharmacy have a strong sense of ethics, are deeply involved in the community, and go to great lengths to be that special kind of business that matters to people’s lives. Their email newsletter, on the other hand, looks like a grocery store ad, packed with…
Do you get caught up in daily life? Are there things that you want to do but just don’t get done. Such is the life of a small business owner. It never seems like there is enough time to get to all of the tasks you desire. How often do you tell yourself that it…
I went around to local businesses while organizing for Small Business Saturday. In every store, I found something I didn’t realize that they carried. Every single store. I’m not making that up! I knew my favorite women’s shop had kid’s clothes, too, but I didn’t know about the new line of watches or the…
There is a relationship between small business success and strong local communities. That relationship is built over time and is circular in nature. At a basic level, the relationship develops when the business is viewed as a community member and supporter, more residents shop there and talk about it. As more residents display those behaviors,…
Deb Brown and I have kicked off a new podcast series as part of A Positive View of Rural and SaveYour.Town. Each week we bring you five news stories or articles you can use in your small town business or revitalization projects. We add our comments and ideas, and we always share the links….
Another reader emailed me last week to say they had formed a revitalization group for their town and asked for tips to attract businesses to their town. I don’t have any. Revitalizing a town is less about what you can attract from outside and more about what you can grow yourself. Experiment, try, fail,…
Going into business for yourself is always a scary idea, especially for the first-time business owner. You seem to have so much to do and so little time to get it done. The first-time business owner faces even more uncertainty because every step is a completely new experience. Running a business is a daunting task….
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