Guest Post by Deb Brown When I visited Decatur County, Iowa, several people said that wanted a brewery. They talked about the big barriers in their way: finding the right building, the right funding, the right people. The big idea seems really hard this way. Why not start smaller? Start by using the Idea […]
Where’s your video?
Small town businesses sometimes struggle for the right words to describe themselves. At a conference lunch table, the yoga instructor was trying to explain to the middle-aged guy from the economic development group what a yoga class is like. At first it made sense, but when she got to the part about breathing into the […]
4 ways to jumpstart your business (video)
To help you get a better handle on your business, I put together a webinar in cooperation with Cory Miller’s Entrepreneurship Lab, called 4 Ways to JumpStart Your Business. We managed to make business planning just a little less stodgy than the usual 5 pound binder. The recording is now available to everyone, so I’m […]
The anti-startup: doing good in your community
Let’s think creatively about how we do good in our communities. I just ran across my notes from 2011, when I heard Alon Nir (@TheKotel) explain his project, Tweet Your Prayers. He called his talk “The Anti-Startup,” and he proceeded to tell us how he ignored all the “rules” of business to make a difference. Alon […]