Luther Snow may have grown up in the big city, but he found his stride in small towns. His work with Asset Based Community Development for rural has been extremely influential in rural development. Currently, he lives in Decorah, Iowa. He and I felt a connection in our approaches and a strong pull to work…
Is your small town ready for the explorers? Travel expert Wendy Perrin presented these changing travel motivations from the Condé Nast Traveler Research Center at an event in Australia. I had to share them with you. THEN: Planned “cultural experiences” NOW: Local immersion In small towns, visitors can dive into local events and experiences. Help them with…
The 7 Most Common Weaknesses of Local Shops And what we’re all going to do about them. As we head into the busy holiday shopping season, we’ll see lots of Shop Local messages working to get customers to think about shifting their shopping more to local stores. I want to add another layer, and get…
Welcome to the Brag Basket, our tradition of sharing. The basket is always free and open all weekend, this one October 18-20, 2013. What good news will you add to the brag basket? Don’t hold back because of that word, “brag.” When you hold back, you hide your good news and accomplishments that might inspire others….
The fact that small businesses are at the core of our economic system probably does not come as a surprise. Estimates on the number of small businesses suggest that they make up 90 percent or more of the total number of businesses in the U.S. In small communities, the number and importance of small businesses…
The 7 Most Common Weaknesses of Local Shops And what we’re all going to do about them. As we head into the busy holiday shopping season, we’ll see lots of Shop Local messages working to get customers to think about shifting their shopping more to local stores. I want to add another layer, and get…
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…
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