A Positive View of Rural

Becky McCray and Deb Brown continue our new series of news and commentaries as part of A Positive View of Rural. Each week, we get together by online video to bring you five news stories or articles you can use in your small town business or revitalization projects. We add our comments and ideas, and always share the links. I post the audio version here. You can hear it with the audio player on the website or by clicking this audio link. Deb cross-posts the video version at needalittleadvice.com. You can catch us recording them live, usually on Sundays at 3pm Central on Blab.im; Deb shares the links in advance from @DebWorks on Twitter. Filling a knead: Watford City, North Dakota, high schooler opens bakery http://buff.ly/1VtWFq7  She started with a lemonade stand… Tele-pharmacies could spread through rural Iowa http://buff.ly/1RYEn0P  Bonus points for reusing an empty building! Truck Based Commerce Continues to Expand – Financial Planning & Books http://buff.ly/1TxUh1j  I do love mobile businesses! New Funding Options Take Root For Food And Agriculture Ventures | Locavesting http://buff.ly/2027Yq5  …and there are lots of options. Actions for Streets as Places: How Community Makes it Happen – http://buff.ly/1SdtAd5  All great community builders. All about giving your place its own unique feel. Our next webinar on Rural Jobs Creation Strategies will be April 20, 2016, at 6pm Central time. We allow you not only to watch the live event, but also to invite friends, and to hold replays in your town, as long as you’re present. You have two weeks to make the most of your replay. You’ll find details at http://saveyour.town/webinar

Becky McCray and Deb Brown continue our new series of news and commentaries as part of A Positive View of Rural. Each week, we get together by online video to bring you five news stories or articles you can use in your small town business or revitalization projects. We add our comments and ideas, and always share the links. I post the audio version here. You can hear it with the audio player above or by clicking this audio link. Deb cross-posts the video version at needalittleadvice.com. You can catch us recording them live, usually on Sundays at 3pm Central on Blab.im; Deb shares the links in advance from @DebWorks on Twitter. Deb picked this week’s stories, so I bring them to you along with her commentary: Oh boy – this is just a fun idea that worked in Canada – Mini newspaper in Nanton I saw this and thought it was a great sign, funny – and got the attention of drivers.  Little did I know it would draw attention to St. Ansgar in Northern Iowa.  You can bet there will be more deer hunters this fall!  Great opportunity for the businesses. Small Iowa town puts up a suicidal deer sign and people are not amused  Opportunities sometimes come out of personal problems Growth in ecotourism helps local realise dream to open homestay Short story on population trends with good links to related stories Small towns are not dying in Minnesota!    Let’s hear it for George-Anne local paper and word of mouth How a local cafe is building community and helping build better lives  Our next webinar on Rural Jobs Creation Strategies will be April 20, 2016, at 6pm Central time. We allow you not only to watch the live event, but also to invite friends, and to hold replays in your town, as long as you’re present. You have two weeks to make the most of your replay. You’ll find details at http://saveyour.town/webinar

Becky McCray and Deb Brown continue our new series of news and commentaries as part of A Positive View of Rural. Each week, we get together by online video to bring you five news stories or articles you can use in your small town business or revitalization projects. We add our comments and ideas, and always share the links. I post the audio version here. You can hear it with the audio player above or by clicking this audio link. Deb cross-posts the video version at needalittleadvice.com. You can catch us recording them live, usually on Sundays at 3pm Central on Blab.im; Deb shares the links in advance from @DebWorks on Twitter. (Next week is an exception. Not sure yet when we’ll record on Easter weekend.) This week’s stories include a bit of government complexity, retail trends, and one of our favorite sites for small business: Merging small towns or counties rarely works; history, politics and pride get in the way http://buff.ly/1YTqnVC With ongoing budget issues, discussions of efficiency, it’s good to keep up with the research on consolidating levels of government. The 11 retail chains closing the most stores in the US http://buff.ly/1UbtY2k Evidence of big shifts in retail just keep coming. “The 7 Day Makeover helps ordinary people work together to deliver extraordinary places, in just seven days, without endless talk, and using only the available resources.” http://buff.ly/1Qs8qNG Who wouldn’t want one? A Mental Trick to Help with Challenging Conversations http://buff.ly/1prLvX2  Use with the Old Guard or the gossips down at the coffee shop. Have you paid attention to SmallBusiness.com lately? Tons of useful small business information, insight and resources. Full disclosure: I occasionally post articles there. Our next webinar on Rural Jobs Creation Strategies will be April 20, 2016, at 6pm Central time. You’ll find details at http://saveyour.town/webinar

Becky McCray and Deb Brown continue our new series of news and commentaries as part of A Positive View of Rural. Each week, we get together by online video to bring you five news stories or articles you can use in your small town business or revitalization projects. We add our comments and ideas, and always share the links. I post the audio version here. You can hear it with the audio player above or by clicking this audio link. Deb cross-posts the video version at needalittleadvice.com. You can catch us recording them live on Sundays at 3pm Central on Blab.im; Deb shares the links in advance from @DebWorks on Twitter. (Next week is an exception. We’ll be recording live on Friday March 18 at 6pm Central.) This week’s stories include small town business methods, economic news for small business, and a new shop local idea: Small Business Owner Sandy Higgins’ Old-Fashioned (they mean small town) Methods Yield Modern-Day Success http://buff.ly/1LVNZa1 Hat tip to Miss Dazey for the link. Reporter mocks small town Okotoks. Town responds with award-winning campaign. http://buff.ly/1Xh17XI and gets recognized for their tourism partnerships. Slowdown on Main Street (less than at big retail): http://buff.ly/1QJdxDO JPMC Report (tries to) Make Sense of Mixed Economic Messages Bathurst business comes up with new ‘shop local’ discount http://buff.ly/1M1E1hW Anyone can do this one! Hat tip to Gregg McLachlan and RuralBig for the link. Transition Street http://buff.ly/1QJCTF6 Really about community building. Anyone can this model to help individuals and families make change. Start at the street level. “You do the learning together, one topic per session, and then individuals and their families identify the actions they are able to take in each area.” Our webinar on 8 Innovative Rural Business Models will be March 16, 2016, at 6pm Central time. You’ll find details at http://saveyour.town/webinar

Becky McCray and Deb Brown continue our new series of news and commentaries as part of A Positive View of Rural. Each week, we get together by online video to bring you five news stories or articles you can use in your small town business or revitalization projects. We add our comments and ideas, and always share the links. I post the audio version here. You can hear it with the audio player above or by clicking this audio link. Deb cross-posts the video version at needalittleadvice.com. You can catch us recording them live on Sundays at 3pm Central time on Blab.im; Deb shares the links in advance from @DebWorks on Twitter each Sunday. This week’s stories include revitalization, big and small retail changes and building community: How a small town in Kentucky revitalized its struggling Main Street with local food, local business http://buff.ly/1TcCcX2 Wall Street Analysts Predict The Slow Demise Of Walmart And Target http://buff.ly/1oTwM6j The decline of these big boxes is good for Main Street retailers. Important to keep up with all the changes in the retail world. Make an Outdoor Office Space http://buff.ly/1SmwQHG Build a sense of community by working outside Pop! Fledgling business owners’ dreams come true. http://buff.ly/1OK7b57 18 pop-ups = 17 long-term leases. That’s a success. How to Make Friends in the City (or small town): Grow Vegetables Together http://buff.ly/1LLU8jB Give elders a more active role in community building and connect people of different cultures through a common activity. Our webinar on 8 Innovative Rural Business Models will be March 16, 2016, at 6pm Central time. You’ll find details at http://saveyour.town/webinar  

Becky McCray and Deb Brown continue our new series of news and commentaries as part of A Positive View of Rural. Each week, we bring you five news stories or articles you can use in your small town business or revitalization projects. We add our comments and ideas, and always share the links. Deb cross-posts the video version at needalittleadvice.com. You can catch us recording them live on Sundays at 3pm Central time on Blab.im; Deb tweets the links from @DebWorks This week’s stories include business tools, population trends, and community building ideas: Agritourism Toolkit – Oregon Tourism Commission http://buff.ly/1RnaZNZ Focus on business fundamentals first, then a strong marketing effort. 5 reasons small towns should think regionally http://buff.ly/1OqMsmJ  Another winner from Katy. Reason 4: “Small towns are inter-connected by family ties.” Three rural Australia population trends that should be on your radar http://buff.ly/1Qk1gcg – just like in the US, reports of rural’s death in Australia are greatly exaggerated. “The RAI’s research shows that widespread decline is a myth, the regional population is growing and there is much more to the story.” Whitehorse greenhouse teams up with local artists, food co-op http://buff.ly/1oSY653  Greenhouse as biz incubator! How to Build a Better Neighborhood http://buff.ly/1oSWI2t Written for small neighborhoods inside big cities, so the ideas work just as well in small towns.

Becky McCray and Deb Brown kick off a new series as part of A Positive View of Rural. Each week we’ll bring you five news stories or articles you can use in your small town business or revitalization projects. We’ll add our comments and ideas, and always share the links. Deb will be cross-posting the video version at needalittleadvice.com. You can catch us recording them live on Sundays at 3pm Central time on Blab.im; Deb will tweet the links from @DebWorks Our first five stories include entrepreneurship, small business advice, community building and even a business idea for you: The State of Entrepreneurship in 2016: U.S. is on the Verge of an Entrepreneurial Boom http://buff.ly/1QnB4zp Kauffman Foundation puts the focus on clearing the way for small scale experiments. Small Businesses Do Well to Collaborate http://buff.ly/1RJketT  The secret weapon of successful small town businesses: working together. Tyler, Texas, parking enforcement will now also “recommend restaurants, give change and talk about downtown events.” http://buff.ly/1SQukKV Parking always a hot topic in small towns, reminding people who work in stores to leave the good spots for customers and changing the way we look at enforcement. Doing online community engagement? Here are 5 offline ways to complement it http://buff.ly/1Wuxh1y For every online tool to draw people in, there’s an in-person equivalent. And vice versa. You need both. Grain bin cabins! Great alternative to hotels for small towns http://buff.ly/1SRkFnx Written by Katy @bgmercantile at my request when I saw her tweet a photo.

Debra Hansen is with Washington State Extension Service. She helped present an innovative rural event, the Rural Pathways to Prosperity conference aka Rural P2P. In fact, they created a model for a distributed in-person and online rural event that you really want to borrow for yourself. Debra talks us through the process and shares the lessons she’s learned. Why prosperity and what subjects does that include? Her tagline: Small business is everybody’s business. Instead of a one-site conference, multiple regional locations each bringing together neighboring towns Combining a single online keynote with local live sessions It’s all about facilitated conversation What it takes: working with speakers, designing engaging and relevant exercises, finding the sites that will work, finding site managers, and coordinating marketing across the regions Was it more or less work than one single site conference? Responses: 87% of attendees preferred this regional model, 100% of site facilitators wanted to do it again The difference of pushing an idea onto a community, and people choosing the right idea to pursue for themselves. Turning the keynote into videos that offer continuing action   Find Debra at stevens.wsu.edu and check out the Washington State University Extension Rural Pathways to Prosperity Conference. (Look specifically for the Distributed Conference Model.)

  John Shepard is a rural connector. He keeps tabs on what lots of different people and organizations are up to, and he shares a lot online. I admire his role as the Vice-chair of the Small Town and Rural Planning Division of the American Planning Association, bringing rural planners together to share ideas. John reminded me that plans are great, but implementation is the watchword. That stuck with me, and we discuss that as well as some influential rural organizations you should know about. How place influences small towns more than big cities Implementation is the watchword. What does that mean? What is “easy to measure” versus “important to measure” It can be hard to fail in a small town. Important groups that John recommends following: Strong Towns Orton Family Foundation Blandin Foundation Ed Morrison’s Strategic Doing Since we talked, John has started work with Archuleta County in Colorado. Congratulations! Catch up with John on Twitter @JohnCShepard and on his site JCShepard.com. Ask him about the LinkedIn Group for APA STaR (Small Town and Rural Planning.)

Edyael Casaperalta, Lucas Nelson, and Becky McCray in Washington, DC, to meet with FCC staff. Photo by Kate Forscey. Lucas “Lu” Nelson and I met in Washington DC, where we were advocating for rural broadband, coordinated by the Rural Broadband Policy Group. Lu works on rural policy for the Center for Rural Affairs in Lyons, Nebraska. I’ll admit that I think policy discussions can be pretty dry and frustrating. But Lu makes it interesting. What policies Lu is watching for rural What can small business owners do about policy issues? Practical steps besides “call your Representative” What the Center for Rural Affairs does besides policy My memory lapse on the name of the Rural Broadband Policy Group Broadband just got redefined. What that means for rural. Chairman Wheeler’s Op-ed on Net Neutrality Thank you for sending in your broadband stories! Why Lu is rural Connect with Lu and CFRA.org.