Small towns, Business, Two-lane Travel, Rural life & Humor
We often talk about businesses working TOGETHER instead of against each other. Here's a perfect example of small town businesses working TOGETHER for mutual benefit. Ault, Colorado's Main Street is only a few blocks long. Both sides are lined with businesses. However, this community does not have an Economic Developer or a Chamber of... Continue Reading →
Who says small towns don't have anything to offer? Certainly not us! For years, we have championed small towns across North Dakota and beyond. We had nominated Regan- pop 44- as a Main Street Community over a year ago. (Regan is where part of our farm is) And... Drum Roll.... The Governors office called and said they would LIKE... Continue Reading →
Yes, Virginia- Small towns and 'Shop Local' DO matter. Yesterday I was part of "Hometown Holiday Happenings" in a nearby town- the first in decades. This event was combined with a Shop Small/ Shop Local campaign. It was my pleasure to volunteer my time and have some input on fun ideas. While we were waiting... Continue Reading →
The holidays and Shop Small Saturday are right around the corner. SMS has been an amazing boost for many small businesses thanks to American Express. (You can sign up for free customize-able marketing materials) But "Shop Small" doesn't have to be a one day event. You can encourage people to visit your store or... Continue Reading →
Customers. Plain and simple- Customers are the number one reason to update your business in Facebook, Twitter, Google and so on. I am not a social media guru, but as a frequent traveler, I use it quite often to plot and plan. This week I traveled to well known small town in western NorthDakota. I checked... 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 →
(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 →
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 →
