Could you help us spread the word on the Survey of Rural Challenges to as many people as possible? You could repost, add to your newsletter, print it in the local newspaper or share in meetings and presentations now through the end of May. Use this link: SaveYour.Town/survey2024 Thank you! The very first time I…
Lack of childcare is one of the top challenges in rural communities, on our Survey of Rural Challenges. Lately, I’ve heard several innovative successes you might be able to adapt for your community. 1. Senior Care + Childcare = Intergenerational Care In Laverne, Oklahoma, (population 1,200) Lana Shaffer shared how locals came together several years…
Last year during entrepreneurship week, I saw lots of articles about what big cities can do to support entrepreneurship. Advice for small towns got left out. Again. So I wrote this entrepreneur week advice for small town economic developers and chambers of commerce, whether you serve 5,000 or 500 in your local population. 1. Create…
At the Teeny Tiny Town Summit last week, JaNae Barnard from Fairview, Oklahoma, shared how they jump started their new housing project. “We stopped settling for talking,” she said. She loaded up the key folks from Major County Economic Development, and they drove past every single house in Fairview. That gave everyone a much clearer…
Our latest Survey of Rural Challenges said natural resources are our best rural assets, but you don’t have enough outfitters to take advantage of them as tourism development. Here’s how you can grow your own outfitters. Both Deb and I visited Eastern Kentucky last year. I visited Estill County, and Deb was in Jackson County….
Emily Karsjens Perry asked, “Has anyone seen an example of an Idea Friendly laundromat? My brain is mulling over how to start one very small, possibly in combination with other 24 hour machines.” An Idea Friendly approach to Emily’s laundry ideas would be to: Here’s what Building Connections could look like: Here are some extra…
Part of being Idea Friendly is to Gather Your Crowd. It’s not arm-twisting or “volun-telling” other people. You put your idea out there, and you let it attract people to you. One easy way: show progress. Deb used to keep a list of every new business that opened in Webster City, Iowa. Then when someone…
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