Have you got your copy yet?
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 early 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.
The author draws from her own experiences working with small towns as a cofounder of SaveYour.Town and case studies of innovative initiatives from small towns nationwide.
You can now find this book on Amazon, Ingram and Barnes and Noble, plus the link above.
Here's an idea
Consider ordering copies for your event attendees! Main Street Illinois Annual Conference and San Juan County Economic Development in Utah Annual Business Summit have both done it. Send me an email at deb@buildingpossibility.com, and let's talk about it.
Try the ebook for $2 with 5 chapters from the big workbook!
Some folks want to try something out first, see if it is a fit for them. Now, you can order the ebook and start saving your small town right away!
Order the ebook here!
The book cover
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
WE DID IT! The book was fully funded, and is now off to the printers and is in production.
Thank you to all of you who ordered!
Did you miss your chance to order a reward? No worries - now you can order the book by clicking here!
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Why 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.
