Small towns, Business, Two-lane Travel, Rural life & Humor
At your AGE? WHY in the heck-o would YOU want to do THAT? My step-mom, Grace Papale, recently came to Regan, N.D., for a visit. It wasn’t the first time, but it was the first time she saw the “fly-over states” from the ground. She’s a city girl... Continue Reading →
It’s that time of year again -- time to put on our tourist glasses and take a good hard look at where we live. What are the best things about your rural town? And what do you wish would just disappear? Like mama always used to tell us, put your best foot forward! One of... Continue Reading →
There are plenty of things we only want to do once, if at all. A couple of those are root canals and escargot -- so what if it’s a delicacy? You’ve probably got a few on your own list. But what about when once just isn’t enough? There’s an activity we like to use at... Continue Reading →
If you live rural, you know exactly what we mean. The “rural inquisition” is that friendly -- and sometimes not-so-friendly -- interrogation that occurs when someone new comes to town. The friendly kind is great. It’s the way we figure out what we have in common: how many kids they have, if their kids are... Continue Reading →
(Part 2 of a 2-part series. Forgive us -- there were just too many great opportunities here!) If you missed part one, excursions are defined as short journeys or trips -- especially when they’re engaged in as a leisure activity. They’re also a way to draw new residents and help lure employees to your town, as well... Continue Reading →
By definition, an excursion is a short journey or trip -- especially when engaged in as a leisure activity. What does that mean to your town or business? How can you benefit from hosting excursions? Excursions can be a draw for new residents. They can help lure employees to your town. They can foster new friendships, build community, and showcase fabulous... Continue Reading →
Small town and community banks are fabulous! In these days of bank consolidations, many of our neighborhood and small town banks are going away -- disappearing quickly into the world of anonymous, faceless, and dispassionate corporate-ness This in itself is tough on rural customers. As our local financial institutions become absorbed by larger banks, our... Continue Reading →
As community leaders, we understand the struggle to find great promotions for our communities and their businesses. Wouldn't it be great to have a FREE idea generator? Here's one we found, and we LOVE it! In 2013, Marlo Anderson went live with the National Day Calendar. It is chock-full of fabulous days, weeks and even whole... Continue Reading →
If you’ve ever done business in a very small, very rural town off the beaten track, you know how hard it can be to drum up business. So we began co-promoting pretty early on. It didn’t have a name or recognition yet -- it was just something we did. Our reasons were many:... Continue Reading →
What is the value of networking? It’s not easy to put a price tag on networking, as good will, brainstorming, mentoring, lessons learned, and all the too-many-to-name benefits are freely given. (Bean counters hate that — they’re much happier with goods and services that easily translate into numbers on spreadsheets.) So — if not in dollars... Continue Reading →
