If you’re running a Shop Local or Buy Local campaign in your small town, you should get your hands on a new resource from AMIBA. AMIBA is the American Independent Business Alliance. They’ve partnered with American Express OPEN to print up a 12-page color magazine. It includes “a thorough introduction” to organizing an effective campaign,…
In a small town, you might think everyone already knows about your business or your well-known tourism attraction. You might think you don’t need a website at all, or that it doesn’t matter if you don’t have a mobile-friendly website. You’d be wrong. You have new residents, people who have never needed your service before,…
When small town entrepreneurs prosper, they help their community prosper. It’s one of my core beliefs, and it’s supported by some scholarly research. Charles M. Tolbert, Baylor University, looked at the effects of small business on their local community. His research shows that more locally-oriented business establishments are associated statistically with: higher average income levels less…
The Brag Basket is our tradition of sharing. The basket is always free and open all weekend, this one July 20-22, 2012. Have some good news this week? Put it in the Brag Basket. Peppers, (CC) by Thomas Lieser. Don’t hold back because of that word, “brag.” When you hold back, you hide your good…
Welcome, friends from Launch Me! Here’s the idea book I was telling you about. Returning friends, you might have missed this gem, so I’m mentioning it again. Need ideas for a small town small business? We have an ebook for you. 20 Small Business Ideas for Small Towns is a short ebook detailing 20 different…
Blogs and social media can be effective marketing tools for small town businesses, but they take planning to make the most of. This is true for small businesses and for tourism groups. Don’t let important events, holidays, and tie-ins sneak up on you. Use your calendar to connect your social efforts to the real world….
The Brag Basket is our tradition of sharing. The basket is always free and open all weekend, this one July 13-15, 2012. For Friday the 13th, we’re having a lucky Brag Basket. Leave a brag, grab some luck! Have some good news this week? Put it in the Brag Basket. Grab some luck!Photo (CC) by…
Early in the book, Small Town Rules, we mistakenly say: “Events that “stick” to a large corporation can threaten to bring down a company. There are well known examples of Johnson and Johnson’s Tylenol (product tampering), Perrier (product contamination) and Honda (brake failures).” One loyal reader rightfully pointed out that the brake issue was at Toyota not…
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