Local
Get Them Off The Highway
Duane asked this question on a recent webinar: I am a county commissioner and also serve on the board of directors at [my town]. We have tried desperately to get visitors to make the left turn into [our county] instead of the right turn to return to the interstate. We need marketing ideas to promote my town…
Read MoreBuy? Rent? What one family did with a small business in Pittsburg, Kansas
On a Kansas State University/Extension webinar I did about my book, Pam Thompson shared about their small business in SE Kansas. Arggghh old buildings My husband, Don, and I have been in business for over 10 years now. Last August, we were scouting around for a place to move his business to a better location.…
Read MoreWhat do flowers have to do with community?
Chris Brogan has picked up his camera again. He takes photos on his daily walk and shares them on YouTube. Here’s a bit of advice about how he finds the motivation to keep on going. I was watching a video about how some people lose motivation to go out and shoot photos, and that their…
Read MoreWhat’s one thing missing in small towns? Communication!
Becky and I are working in Lander County, Nevada, on an Intensive Idea Friendly Project. I visited in August, and as I was preparing my follow-up presentation, I noticed something important. People said they wanted certain things, and I found out many of those things were already available in their county! People asked if they could get…
Read MoreStart your own beautification project
I’ll be traveling to a small county in Nevada to help with a beautification project. So will Becky later on – it’s an Intensive, Idea Friendly Package. Back in my chamber days, this kind of thing would scare the bejesus out of me. It would involve endless meetings with boring, important-feeling people. No talking to the…
Read MoreJust get started – take small steps
Memorial Day weekend of 2024, a block-long building in Alpine, Texas, burned to the ground. In a small town, that’s just horrible. There was a cooperative art gallery, bakery and cafe, hair salon, antique shop, and jewelry store located in the historic structure. As you can imagine, the store owners were in shock. Some said…
Read MoreMoney for Ideas
On my onsite visits to small towns, I sometimes get asked about small grants to help get a project off the ground, to get an idea started, or to help entrepreneurs. The biggest dilemmas are: You have to be a 501c3 to apply, which most businesses are not. The application process requires days of work,…
Read MoreBuild a Library of Things
I like the idea of organizations coming together and collaborating, instead of always working in silos. How could you test out this idea in a practical way in your small town? Build a Library of Things. A library of things is a location where things you use rarely can be located, the community donates the…
Read MoreBuild Community
Just what is community? It’s a feeling of fellowship with others, because of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. It’s a place where we can belong. For me, small-town people are a community. We have many similar interests: knowing our neighbors and looking out for them, shopping at our local businesses to support our friends,…
Read MoreAttracting Remote Workers
You have what they want As young families come home to small towns, they are often remote workers. Mainstreet.Org says at the end of the day, the strength of this trend will be determined by how communities position themselves to leverage this growing interest in rural and small towns. What can you do to position…
Read More