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From Possibilities to Reality: Save Your Small Town with these Uniquely Do-able Ideas, Projects, and Success Stories is a workbook written with you and your small town in mind.
Our readers say they use it to empower residents, entrepreneurs, and community leaders with practical strategies and real-world examples. Each section tells success stories and gives actionable advice. It is a comprehensive guide to kickstarting economic growth, fostering community engagement, and creating a thriving future for our vital local small-town communities.
I draw from my own experiences working with small towns as a cofounder of SaveYour.Town and case studies of innovative initiatives from small towns nationwide.
You'll support me best by using the button below. You can also find this book on Amazon, Ingram and Barnes and Noble.
Start a Book Club and save 20%!
Simply email me deb@buildingpossibility.com with your contact information, including address, and I'll send you an invoice from PayPal for the total plus shipping (direct to you).
This book only works when you use it. And we love for you to gather your crowd! To make the book even more enticing, instead of paying $24.99 for each book, if you order 5 books, the price will be $20 per book. That's a 20% difference.
$99.96 plus shipping is the total cost.
Let's get to work!
If you'd like a general facilitation guide, here you go. --> Facilitation Guide I'm working on creating a full guide.
There are 15 book clubs all over the United States! Thanks to Largo, Indiana, McComb, Illinois, Colwich and Stockton, Kansas, Princeton, Illinois, Kittanning, Pennsylvania, Wildwood, Missouri, Webster City, Iowa, Badin, North Carolina, Martindale, Texas, and Redding, California, for caring about your town and using the Idea Friendly Method to achieve your big ideas.
Shasta County, California, Economic Development Organization is using the book in the town of Burney for a monthly workshop! And the Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship has started a book club for its staff! Read all about it here!
Upcoming Events
February 21, 2026
Drive around, lunch, conversation, Idea Friendly steps to take, book signing in Natchez, MS, details are coming
The book is htting retail store shelves!
1720 Gift Shop in Natchez, MS has ordered books to go on their shelves!
Support another small business, the 1720 Gift Shop in Natchez, MS
Do you want books for your shelves, too?
Just email deb@buildingpossibility.com and we can make that happen! You receive a 20% discount for orders of five books or more, and they are drop shipped directly to you. Let's talk!
Bring me on your podcast or webinar!
I spoke on Kansas State University Extension First Friday call. All about the book! I talked for 22 minutes, and the rest of the hour was answering questions, hearing their stories and sharing resources.
Need a Speaker?
Bring me to your conference, event, or meeting. Inland Northwest Partners, Kansas State University Extension, San Juan County Utah Economic Development, NADO, and Rural Assembly are a few clients I've worked with and spoken to their audiences about the book.
Use my book as a free gift at your conference!
Consider ordering copies for your event attendees! Main Street Illinois Annual Conference, San Juan County Economic Development in Utah Annual Business Summit and Inland Northwest Partners have all done it. Rural Assembly Everywhere gave away 5 books in a drawing at their event. Send me an email at deb@buildingpossibility.com, and let's talk about it.
The Forward and Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Section One: Bring people together
Coffee and Calendars
Industrial Businesses Need to Gather
Dig Deeper - Ask People What They Want
Section Two: Community
Build a Library of Things.
Fix Up Your Parks
Invite The Community To Plan Events
Why New Residents Are Moving To Rural Areas
Dig Deeper - Montana Builds a Community
Section Three: Youth and Young Families
Youth Involvement
Involve Your Students
Support High School Entrepreneurs
Your Students Want Places To Eat
Don’t Forget The Former Youth Who Moved Back Home With Families
Dig Deeper - Add Young People To Your City Council
Section Four: Art As Economic Development
Public Art: Anyone Can Do It!
Make It Easy And Temporary
Create An Outdoor Museum
Make Seating
Discover Textiles In Placemaking
Light Up Your Town
Use Your Fences
Planters For All
Crafters Unite!
Find Places To Beautify
Dig Deeper - Art Is More Than Pretty Things
Section Five: Empty Buildings
Have a Tour of Empty Buildings
Make Empty Buildings More Appealing
Empty Lots
Create A Downtown Living Room
Dig Deeper- Why Are The Buildings Empty?
Try Targeted Incentives For Code Compliance
Empty Building Codes
Section Six: Business
Try An Incubator Project
Divide And Share A Building
Plan Or Participate In A Pop-Up Event
Attracting Remote Workers
Tourism As Economic Development
Section Seven: Promotion and Marketing
Make Selfie Stations
Hashtag, Great Idea!
Dig Deeper - Shop Local
Section Eight: Funding
Fundraisers Everyone Wants To Participate In
Junior Rodeo story
Old Paint
Fill The Empty Walls
Consider a Transient Occupancy Tax
Find Your People
Create More Community Leaders
Finally, Focus On Your Assets
Bonus Section
Dig Deep Bonus -Later Hours
Add An EV Station In Your Town
It’s A Snowball Effect
A Gift For You
Book Club Discussion Guide
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Have you already gotten your book? Here are some bookmarks you can cut out and use! One set is in color, the other is black and white. Just click on the image you want below, and it will open a new page you can print. Or use this link that is a pdf document.
Deb's SaveYour.Town BookMarks as a pdf
Who is Mars?
Mars Manderico is the designer I'm working with for:
- illustrations in the book
- the book cover design
- the entire layout of the book!
Why Mars?
- He educates people. Check out this article.
- He's been patient with me and answered the zillion questions I asked before I signed him onto the project.
- He is the brother of my dear friend Jube. Jube and Chris are the main instigators of why I moved to Gulfport, MS.
- I do love his illustrations - they reflect what I'm thinking about rural.