You’ve seen the stories, “Build Your Business with No-Cost Marketing.” This headline has been used many times, most recently when talking about social media. We want such things to be true. Yet, we also know the reality – there is a cost to everything. It may not be a cost in dollars, but instead, it…
Everyone loves baby chicks. That’s probably why every Easter, we hear about families who buy chicks for their children, only to realize they grow up to be full size chickens that don’t really fit into their lives. One farmer in Nebraska turned that into a business idea: she rents chicks to families for Easter….
The Brag Basket is open! This one is for Feb. 16-18, 2018. 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…
Are you getting what you want out of your business? Quite often, we, as people, get into a funk. We take a look at our surroundings and wish that things were different. This certainly holds true for small-business owners. So what can we do to change our attitude and direction? Last month, I discussed one activity…
Setting business hours is a big mess. In our Survey of Rural Challenges, small business owners told us that trying to be open later hours with no success was their number one challenge, two years in a row. When Deb Brown and I did our Q&A session on The Future of Retail, several people asked…
The Brag Basket is open! This one is for Feb. 9-11, 2018. 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…
Is your business a family business? When most people hear that phrase they think in terms of some formal and regular involvement of family members in defined business activities with some payment for such activity. Yet in the broadest sense, family businesses cover a much broader involvement of family members. The work might include the…
We want our downtowns and our retail stores to be welcoming for all kinds of customers. We’re especially interested in bringing young families downtown for shopping and for special events. To do that, we have to think from their perspective about what keeps them from coming downtown. Their answers might surprise you. Jennifer Carlson…
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