Pernod Ricard, owner of Absolut vodka, is building a terrific connection following Small Town Rule 7: Build Your Local Connections. They are working with local distilling entrepreneurs worldwide on a project called Our/Vodka. Each will be called by the local city name, like Our/Austin or Our/Melbourne. The local partner will open micro-distilleries that will produce vodka following a set…
These two bits from a 2012 Citibank small business survey really stood out as Rule 1: Plan for Zero moments. Both business owners and employees have gone without or delayed pay, to help the business survive. Almost one quarter of business owners have gone a year or more without pay to keep their business alive. …
Regional supermarket chain Piggly Wiggly is proudly proclaiming their localness as a selling point. This is exactly how to do Rule 7: Be Local. “At Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company, we know what it means to be ‘local.’ Our founder, Joe Newton, had a vision when he started this grocery store chain in 1947 — to buy local,…
The Small Town Rules secret is out: small town banks know a lot of things big banks don’t. Bloomberg Businessweek author Brendan Greely picked up on it in a story, “Rural banks know something big banks don’t.” “It turns out small, rural banks make smarter loans,” Greely said. It’s the soft knowledge, the un-quantifiable personal…
Click for the complete infographic Why do consumers choose small businesses today? It’s personal. A web.com sponsored survey found 85% of consumers said they chose small businesses because they are: personal, intimate, human, face-to-face easy to to business with customer focused There’s never been a better time to be Small in business (Rule 6). Consumers…
AlwaysOn announced their Power Players in Technology Business Media list, honoring the the editors, writers, and bloggers in the technology world who are keeping the Global Silicon Valley connected and informed. Becky McCray was included for her work at her award-winning blog Small Biz Survival. “This year’s Power Players in Technology Business Media list spans a wide…
Paint company Benjamin Moore is identifying with Main Streets through a campaign to repaint 20 downtowns. They’re backing it up with TV commercials praising downtowns, the “three-story highrise,” and the small businesses that typify Small Town Rules.
Even national retail chains can borrow some local connections. The Shops at Target are a new type of collaboration, taking products from small shops, “the shops we stumbled upon and couldn’t help but fall in love with” and putting them in Target stores around the country for six-week runs. And not just stacking them in,…
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