Michael Shuman Interview Economist and Author Michael Shuman knows a heck of a lot about why we have a local movement. He’s also the author of the books Small Mart Revolution and Local Dollars, Local Sense. In this interview, he goes all economist on durable and nondurable goods right at the start, but hang on,…
Jen Risley spoke on a panel with me at the American Independent Business Alliance Conference, and I want to share one or two smart tricks she uses. Jen represents Monadnock Buy Local, covering 35 small towns in the Monadnock Region of southwestern New Hampshire. Her members are all local businesses. She’s a one-person staff so she…
For small town businesses, email is one of the most effective marketing tools available. Customers already like you, right? So they are more likely to open your emails than those from anonymous big brands. Emma Wilhelm, with Mad Mimi email marketing, presented these tips on building up your list of customer email addresses at the…
Small towns watch the endless parade of cars going by on the highway. How can we get them to stop? That question from a reader got me thinking. I’d love your ideas on this question. My ideas: Before you worry about “getting people to stop”, recognize that “family and friends” visits are your primary source…
You’ve been hearing a lot about the need to keep your small town store open during the evenings. Your chamber of commerce is putting on more evening events. The new fitness place up the block is open late. Everyone seems to be trying to get people downtown during later hours, but when you’ve tried opening for…
Conference and meeting attendees know that the a lot of the most useful information is gathered during the breaks. This same idea is why people gather at the coffee shop in the morning. It is the informal times, when we take a few minutes to slow down and connect with others, where we often get…
One small town retail issue is dealing with customers who compare your prices to the prices with other far-away locations. A smart way to head that off is to create comparisons between different products within your store. Sometimes customers compare your price on a single item with that item in a different store or online….
Your new business has opened its doors. It has been a challenge finding a good idea, obtaining funding, and getting the necessary permits in order. You have also had to find suppliers, get your facility ready, whether a brick and mortar store or an ecommerce site, and maybe hire some employees. So now that you’ve…
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