Local
Sunday Update: Bicycle
I had a good week – I spent a lot of it driving to and from Michigan where I spoke at the Small Town and Rural Conference. I also spent a lot of time in the car – and I have it in my head that I can eat junk food when I’m on a…
Read MoreNo Foolin’ – Google Places for Your Business
Chamber Nation handles our CRM at the Webster City Area Chamber. In their newsletter this week they shared exactly how to put your business on Google places. If you haven’t done so .. time to get with it! It will allow you to show up on Google map results, on Google search results TWO…
Read MoreAre Rural Needs Being Met?
36% of Iowa is rural. 51% of Hamilton County is rural. I found these numbers on a newsletter I get from SmallBizSurvival.com (click here to subscribe, email me at deb at debworks dot come and I’ll forward you the newsletter article that prompted this blog post.) Becky McCray talked about how state and city conferences are…
Read MoreWhy I Shop at Wal-Mart
A reader of this blog sent me an email. She wanted to explain why she went to Wal-Mart. Now, she’s a local small business supporter. The lesson is: just because you are a small business, you don’t always deserve the business. Customer Service is VITAL. Here’s her story: The house I recently moved into…
Read MoreThink Global, Buy Local
It’s been repeated a lot — buy local. The holidays are coming and your local businesses count on you to shop where you live. Why should you? Here’s a good infographic that might help answer that question. by daSantosh.
Read MoreBrookings, SD 1 Million Cups
I’ll be headed to Brookings, SD this afternoon to speak at the 1 Million Cups event on Wednesday at 9 am. 1 Million Cups is a national weekly event. You can read more at their website here. They say it best: 1 Million Cups (1MC) is a simple way to engage entrepreneurs in communities around…
Read MoreCommercial Revitalization Webinar
On April 29 at 1 pm,Tyler Abens and I will be featured on a National REALTOR webinar. The webinar will showcase how becoming engaged in community and downtown revitalization efforts can lead to leasing/sales of vacant buildings and other positive impacts on commercial real estate development. Targeted efforts involving REALTOR® associations, REALTORS® and community organizations…
Read MoreTucson Ideas to Take Home
I’ve spent the past week in Tucson for Chamber Institute. I love to explore a new community and see what kind of ideas I can take home with me! Many small towns are fund raising to save movie theatres, historical buildings, and community projects. Ideas are needed for ways to honor donors. These leaves…
Read MoreTen Things About Being a Board Member
Do you sit on a board? At some point, most of us who actively volunteer and work in a small town will be a board member of some organization. Here’s ten things you might want to know. Work, Wisdom and Money — if you have two out of three of those you will make an…
Read MoreBecky and Deb, Left Alone
A couple of weeks ago Becky McCray, www.beckymccray.com, came to Webster City. Becky lives in Oklahoma, is a small town enthusiast and expert, and was on her way home from a speaking engagement in Canada. It made perfect sense to us that she should stop in Webster City, Iowa on her way. Becky and I…
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