Many small towns and small cities have a terrible shortage of skilled workforce, especially in today’s high-tech skills. The reasons why are complex: some places lack local training, some have high out-migration rates, some places just have no history of high tech work. Lindsey and Cory Miller A few Oklahomans decided to do something about…
Part of our community here is sharing discussion and ideas with each other, so here’s a question for all of us: Succession planning affects farmsand rural small businesses. “Hello from British Columbia. I work with rural communities in BC, many of whom are worried about what to do when their aging small business owners retire….
Reader Denise Kerns asked, Do you have any resources for developing an employee handbook for small businesses? I’ve never had one, but think I should and don’t know where to start.I love your publication. I find encouraging and insightful info very regularly. So nice to find something specifically addressing small town businesses! So I’m asking…
The Millennial Generation may be one of the biggest trends that affects small towns. It is a huge generation, larger than the Baby Boomers. Millennials Robin Seth and Lauren Madrid Jack Schultz of BoomTown USA says they are the most entrepreneurial generation in history. Jon Swanson gives you an inside look into one Millennial, his son,…
Early childhood education is an economic development issue, not just because we’ve been quoting Ed Morrison about it for years, but also because the research is here to support it. The latest piece is a potential blockbuster. Excellent early childhood education makes a lasting difference through the elementary years, based on standardized testing results. But it…
Bob Phibbs is The Retail Doctor. (No, really, that’s his registered trademark.) And he has the credentials and experience to have a valid claim to the title. He’s helped many ailing retail businesses get healthy. He is the author of The Retail Doctor’s Guide to Growing Your Business, a practical and tough guide for retail…
How could your blog know everything about your business? You could tell it, as part of capturing and sharing the valuable knowledge in your small business. Whenever your small business brings on a new person, there is a period of adjustment and training. You have to teach them what to do, how it’s done here,…
A big discussion at ChrisBrogan.com about unpaid internships spilled over into the question of whether unpaid internships are legal in the US. I used to work in the field of workforce development (back in the dark ages), so I wasn’t afraid to head to DOL to check. Here’s what my research says:Unpaid internships would not…
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