When you’re introduced to someone, you wouldn’t start the conversation with, “Hi, I think your hair style is a big mistake.” So why do we greet new ideas with “That will never work”? How to greet an idea respectfully Picture being introduced to someone you’ve never met. You look them in the eye, and you […]
The Idea Friendly Method to surviving a business crisis
Small towns have endured boom and bust cycles, commodity crashes, mill and factory closures, environmental disasters and losing their economic reason for existing. Rural communities have reinvented themselves before, and rural businesses are re-inventing the way they do things. How Holyoke Hummus stays Idea Friendly through a crisis John is the owner of Holyoke Hummus […]
Cheap placemaking idea: instant murals
2020 has taken a toll on downtown shopping and placemaking. There’s no time to waste on big master plans and no money for expensive consultants. Start taking action now to show life and new activity with small inexpensive steps. Murals add life and color to a downtown and are highly visible even to people driving […]
Refilling the rural business pipeline
This is a short sample from the SaveYour.Town video “Refilling Your Business Pipeline” featuring Deb Brown and me. Small towns and rural communities will need new business startups to revitalize their local economies, but not many people have the resources today to do a startup the way it’s traditionally been done. Part of what holds […]