Small Biz Friday
Turn your crafters into entrepreneurs and a new choice for shopping during the holidays
I’m writing a workbook. About ways to save your small town. Here’s one chapter from the book. Crafters can be your new entrepreneurs You can boost creativity while building community with co-crafting events such as “crafternoons,” hacker or maker days. These are events where crafters/makers/or hackers gather together and do their thing. Sometimes they are…
Read MoreSmall Biz Friday: Pamela Warwick
I know it’s Monday. I hope you’ll excuse me for being late. This is worth waiting for. Meet Pamela Warwick. You may know her from the West Franklin Ramblings in theHampton Chronicle. But she is more than just a columnist. She and her husband Tom have seven children between them, and four grandchildren. They live…
Read MoreSmall Biz Friday: Hampton Iowa
Greater Franklin County Chamber of Commerce kicked of the Buy One Product Local Campaign in January of 2012. They encouraged all the residents of Greater Franklin County to buy one product locally, and suggested they start with toilet paper. Why does this campaign work? Because toilet paper is something everyone can relate to. The toilet…
Read MoreSmall Biz Friday: ABCM Corporation
ABCM Corporation has chosen to keep their home office in Hampton, Iowa. They began in 1961 with the idea there was a better way to care for our elderly. To date, they have grown to 30 long-term care facilities, 23 independent and assisted living facilities, 11 outpatient therapy centers, 7 durable medical equipment stores and…
Read MoreSmall Biz Friday: Four Oaks Enterprises
The entire county is pretty much shut down. It’s not the snow – 4 inches of snow is nothing really. But those winds of 50 mph gusting are creating some havoc for sure. I slept in late (7 for me is late), made a leisurely breakfast, read my email and got on Facebook. Then I…
Read MoreSmall Biz Friday: Hampton Specialty Shops
We’ve talked about partnerships a lot this year, and my forecast is that small town businesses will get better at partnering with each other and seeing what kind of magic they can create. In Hampton, we’ve got a group of local retail stores that have joined together to better market their shops, create events that…
Read MoreSmall Biz Friday: Debworks
Most business owners don’t toot their own horn enough. I’m no different. I am different in that I don’t have a brick and mortar business. I work wherever the client is. So what does Debworks do? We work with small businesses to show them how to create an online and offline marketing plan. It…
Read MoreGet Your Facts Straight
American Independent Business Alliance co-founder Jeff Milchen reached out to me and shared some research that helps define the numbers and statistics we use when we talk about small businesses keeping money in the local economy. Today I’ll share some of those results and links to more information. The following was taken from AMIBA website…
Read MoreSmall Biz Friday: Dwolla
Have you heard of Dwolla? You will. Here’s a quick explanation from their website: No cards, just cash Say goodbye to plastic cards, ATM fees, hidden charges and fine print. Dwolla empowers anyone with an internet connection to safely send money to friends or businesses. Say hello to the Dwolla network. It really is that…
Read MoreSmall Biz Friday: Red Coach Inn
Marge Schroeder is the assistant manager at Red Coach Inn in Red Oak, Iowa. I was in SW Iowa to speak at the annual meeting of Western Iowa Tourism and they put me up at the Red Coach. I travel quite a bit and am used to the standard double bed kind of hotel room.…
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