My neighbors in Ponca City, Oklahoma, have a famous local barbecue sauce, Head Country. This is the kind of thing that lots of economic development and tourism agencies have long given out in full size bottles to special guests and at booths at travel shows, etc. The problem is, how they heck do people get this stuff…
My friend Johnita Crawford is a county commissioner in Cloud County, Kansas. When we talked about “what is a small town business?” she sent me this note about what several towns under 800 in population in her county are doing to promote small business: “We have a special fund from our Wind Farm that we…
The Brag Basket is our tradition of sharing. The basket is always free and open all weekend, this one April 19-21, 2013. What good news will you add to the brag basket? I think we could all use some good news after a week with too much bad. Don’t hold back because of that word,…
I got a call from a freelance reporter last week. She was assigned to write a positive story about the future of rural. Someone told her she should call me, so she did. It was hard, but I want you to know I showed some restraint, so I only kept her on the line for…
Sheila Scarborough was touring around small towns in Alberta, Canada. The person driving her around said, “Actually, I have a picture of Winston Churchill when he visited here during the war.” He pulled out his phone and showed her and told the story. (I’ll put the story at the end of the post.) He had…
QR codes continue to expand in popularity, but most still suffer from fatal mistakes. Here’s one that get close, at least with its description. This is a retail package that includes barbecue accessories including a bag of wood chips. Some customers who use gas grills may not be sure how to use those special wood…
The Brag Basket is our tradition of sharing. The basket is always free and open all weekend, this one April 12-14, 2013. What good news will you add to the brag basket? Don’t hold back because of that word, “brag.” When you hold back, you hide your good news and accomplishments that might inspire others….
As we celebrate the one year anniversary of Small Town Rules and winning a 2013 Small Business Book Award, we’ve asked a few friends to share the rules that are a part of their business every day. Today, Heidi Thorne shares two examples from her business: “The most important Small Town Rules for me have…
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