How do utility lines get underground? Everything from water, sewer, cable, fiber optic, phone lines, natural gas and even electric lines have to be laid under streets, through yards and beneath buildings. Those lines are laid using a trenching machine. That type of equipment, and an entire industry of manufacturing it, was invented in the…
The Brag Basket is open! This one is for September 18-20, 2015. Bring your good news, big or small, to share with everyone. What can you do in the Brag Basket? introduce yourself share some great news from this week congratulate a friend applaud for each other confess your undying love for rural places…
When working with customers, do you use your language or their language? No, the question isn’t about whether you use English or German or Spanish. The question actually is whether you talk about your product or service in terms of features instead of what the customer wants from the product or service. A simple question…
I was excited to see Washingtonian magazine did a August cover story on Great Small Towns. “Two dozen places that will charm you with old-fashioned hospitality and newfangled vigor,” the website summary says. “Visit for a day, a weekend—or for good.” The spread covered 25 different small towns in the greater Washington, D.C., driving area….
One-third of American consumers have used virtual-assistant services on their smartphones recently. That will climb to two-thirds of all consumers in developed markets using them daily, by the end of 2016, Gartner estimates. As search engines and intelligent digital assistants have gotten smarter in the types of questions they can answer, people are getting more comfortable…
The Brag Basket is open! This one is for September 11-13, 2015. Bring your good news to share with everyone. This is a day of national service and remembrance in the USA, so feel free to share in service of others or remembrance of those who have done good things, big and small. What…
What a great day. Your business is open. The wait is over. Instead of costs, costs, costs, you can now make some sales. Some time passes and someone walks into your business. It’s the business owner from next door and she just wants to wish you good luck. Some more time passes and some friends…
Subscription boxes have become firmly-established as a business model over the past five or more years. I think they are a perfect fit for small town retail stores. What are subscription boxes? Subscription box customers sign up for regular deliveries. Some boxes send the same product each month, like shaving supplies. (Dollar Shave Club…
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