Guest Post by Paula Jensen When was the last time you heard someone say, “We tried that before and it didn’t work!” In my early days as a local leader those words spoken by an experienced leader often stopped me in my tracks. Their words indicated to me that they had the experience of knowing […]
The Brag Basket isn’t really a basket
The Brag Basket is open! This one is for May 24-26, 2019. Bring your good news, big or small, to share with everyone. What can you share in the Brag Basket? introduce yourself share some great news from this week celebrate progress, even baby steps congratulate a friend applaud for each other confess your […]
Crowdsourced ideas for coffee shops and other third places
At the Main Street Now conference, I sat in on a session about coffee shops. I wrote down bunches of ideas that the audience shared. I thought you might know a coffee shop person, or you might think of ways to use these with other types of small town businesses. Hold trivia nights or […]
The Brag Basket isn’t really a basket
The Brag Basket is open! This one is for May 17-19, 2019. Bring your good news, big or small, to share with everyone. What can you share in the Brag Basket? introduce yourself share some great news from this week celebrate progress, even baby steps congratulate a friend applaud for each other confess your […]
Post signs with your tourism hashtag where visitors will see them
This one is a simple idea that came up when I was visiting Cathlamet, Washington, population 553: Post your local hashtag where visitors will see it. The Cathlamet Chamber of Commerce does an awesome local photo contest. Most of the photo submissions come from locals. They use these on their annual events calendar and other […]
The Brag Basket isn’t really a basket
The Brag Basket is open! This one is for May 10-12, 2019. Bring your good news, big or small, to share with everyone. What can you share in the Brag Basket? introduce yourself share some great news from this week celebrate progress, even baby steps congratulate a friend applaud for each other confess your […]
Book review: Celebrity CEO by Ramon Ray
The Celebrity CEO by Ramon Ray Summary: Community building in a way small town entrepreneurs can identify with. Good section on tools, and lots of timeless techniques. The title sounds a bit grandiose to small town ears, but the way Ramon Ray talks about building community will sound very familiar. You are the face of […]
The Brag Basket isn’t really a basket
The Brag Basket is open! This one is for May 3-5, 2019. Bring your good news, big or small, to share with everyone. What can you share in the Brag Basket? introduce yourself share some great news from this week celebrate progress, even baby steps congratulate a friend applaud for each other confess your undying […]
How to develop an entrepreneurial culture and more small businesses in your town
As Deb Brown and I drove away from the small town we had just visited, we talked about something that the town was missing. It wasn’t one specific business or an amenity. It was a characteristic. It was hustle. We didn’t see that entrepreneurial drive we’d both noticed other places. There were businesses and entrepreneurs […]
If they want to lead, empower them to lead
Guest Post by Paula Jensen Leaders are the essence of small towns and rural communities. The success or failure of any housing, community or economic development efforts in the places we call home often rests upon the level of engagement and investment of local citizen leaders. Yet, in so many communities I work in across […]
