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This is a story from the “You may have missed the real lesson” files:  A business owner mentioned taking a walk in their own downtown late on a Saturday. Apparently, it was a popular time for walking because they saw folks peering into the front window of their own business. Then, a few days later,…

Ever found out about an event or project in your town only after it was happening? Ever wish you could have helped with something, or helped stop it, if you only knew it was coming?  See, even in a small town, we don’t keep each other informed like you’d think we should. Rather than each…

You don’t have to wait for someone from outside to come in and save your town. You have the choice to act to shape the future of your town. Here’s where you should start: downtown. Start with downtown.  Here’s one idea: a Pop-up Fair. What is it? It’s a festival of local businesses, artists, direct…

I’m thinking out loud here. I think this is one of our small town advantages that no one knows about. We’re more connected to prior generations.  Being connected to prior generations is a chance to gain a perspective into a way of life and a set of values that is different from your parents. Not…

It was in my local newspaper. Some business owner was doing some presentation to a classroom full of students. And I couldn’t help feeling it was a missed opportunity to make more of it.  Don’t send the business owner to talk to students at school. Send the students to the business and let them get…

Coworking is like shared office space, except it’s more than that. Coworking works best when it’s a community, too. If you’re trying to build more entrepreneurship in your town, coworking is a smart place to focus.  A new study from Emergent Research and partners showed that coworking spaces are human spaces.  “The key finding is…

We are talking about how small towns can take advantage of the changing travel motivations that the Condé Nast Traveler Research Center put together.  You can click the pic above to read it larger, or you can get an overview of these trends here: This week, it’s trend four, and it’s all about food.     *…

This week, I’m continuing with the changing travel motivations. Not into tourism? Some items you might like:  Glenn Muske helps you to know what your customer wants Tiny business villages make sense for small towns Co-working business incubators inside public libraries   Now, on with the travelers! We’re talking about the changing travel motivations that the…

Last week, we started talking about the changing travel motivations that the Condé Nast Traveler Research Center put together.  You can click the pic above to read it larger, or you can get an overview of these trends here Let’s look at the second of these changing travel motivations.      * THEN: Checking sights off…

Travel motivations are changing. The Condé Nast Traveler Research Center put together the slide below for an Australian wine event. They list six important shifts in how travelers decide where they want to go. The first thing that struck me: this is all about small towns. You can click the image above to read it larger,…

When small town businesses prosper, they help their communities prosper. For example, LL Bean has built a billion and a half dollar business while keeping their headquarters in the small town of Freeport, Maine. Freeport has prospered right along with LL Bean for the last 100 years. Sometimes examples like that are more intimidating than helpful….

“I told them….”  “I told them this was their big chance.” “I told them that this could be a huge tourist draw.” “I told them that they were missing out on new business.” Here’s the problem. You told them. You didn’t show them.   Telling isn’t the same as acting. If you don’t act, then…