Rural facts from the rural UK: In 2005 the average rural business employed 6 employees. This compares with 16 employees in urban firms. The three-year survival rate of enterprises registering in 2002 in rural areas was 76% (6% higher than urban districts). The UK is addressing rural issues with a Commission for Rural Communities. They…
Make a friend of failure. You are certain to fail sometimes, and the higher your aspirations, the more frequent and significant that failure will be. People who don’t strive for anything glorious rarely fail; they take no risks and never aim beyond what is easily attainable. But if you treat failure as an enemy, it’s…
Welcome to the Brag Basket, your chance to share. Leave a comment, telling us something great from this week. We’ll all applaud for you and celebrate your successes with you. Splendid failures, those great attempts that should have worked, are welcome, too. You can brag on your business, your community, or your self. It doesn’t…
I heard these thoughts about failure on Twitter today, and wanted to share them with you, too. It may help to know that Twitter is a messaging system, with a 140 character limit on message size and rather informal. You’ll find me there, too. These are unedited, just as they appeared. I bolded a few…
You have many chances to quickly tell people what you do. Most of us just stammer or ramble our way through those opportunities because we don’t have a ready summary of our business. An elevator pitch is the generic term for a short, potent marketing message. With a great pitch, you can present yourself professionally…
Most regular readers know that Becky and I made a trip to Greensburg, Kansas this week. Now a pair of bright orange and yellow fishing bobbers sits on my desk as a reminder of Charlie. So I have to tell you about him. Charles R “Charlie” Jones is a fisherman. Not just any fisherman, he…
Two months ago, Greensburg, Kansas, was flattened by a tornado. “Seems like it was forever ago,” resident Ruth Ann Wedel said. The town’s 1500 residents have been scattered. A few are still living in town. Most have moved in with friends and relatives in nearby towns. Some are in town daily or weekly struggling with…
Buffalo Oklahoma Centennial Celebration a Smashing Success Submitted by J.J. Struther to our Brag Basket I was an innocent victim of a marketing campaign. My son came home from school last month with a couple of very professionally designed, full-color brochures in one hand while waving a nifty red wrist band in the other, excitedly…
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