I’m sharing notes from sessions and conversations at the International Economic Development Council annual conference in Dallas. First up: Retail!

Lacy Beasley of Retail Strategies moderated a panel on retail real estate and development. While it was mostly big city stuff, several topics were relevant for smaller towns.

How to convince a property owner to reinvest in their retail strip,  center or even one building in a small town

Herb Weitzman, a Dallas area retail developer, said that many retail real estate owners think ‘we’re not making any money so we can’t invest in our store or our shopping center.’

As a former rural retail store owner, I certainly recognized that small town, small business attitude.

However, Herb said that much like investment in remodeling and modernizing a retail store will increases its sales, it will also increase overall sales and the corresponding rents for retail centers. It’s possible that this is the right motivation to get some owners to act.

Small, rundown retail spaces can actually be a good long-term investment, Herb said. Buy them, fix them up and get a return.

For a small town, maybe it’s possible to find an outside investor who will purchase the rundown spaces, or to organize a coalition or cooperative of local investors to take it on.  

One municipal official from a town of 50,000 people said they need to revitalize a dilapidated shopping center, but the owner will not reinvest in it. How can the city take a role?

Herb said that city governments often come to him to point out a possible deal, like revitalizing an existing center. They will help facilitate grant applications and other incentives to make the deal work.

Local retail stores are key to rural and small town economic development. Photo by Becky McCray

Small town retail recruitment strengths: friendly, quick permitting

Herb said he likes working with “micromarkets,” which I took to be at least close to micropolitans with 10,000 up to 50,000 population. They are much smaller and much friendlier. You can sit down with them and work things out.

And that’s your hidden secret as a small town: you’re small, you work with people personally, and you’re friendly. 

Panelist Christopher Walker with Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers said that retail deals are taking longer in the 2020s, especially permitting. It takes them an average of 370 days in the western US to get a permit, 203 days in central US, and 320 days in the east.

One store started in 2020 took until 2023 to permit, Chris said. All that time, stores or restaurants are paying “dead rent” for space they can’t do anything with. Many times they have employees hired, but waiting and doing nothing.

Those numbers shocked me. How long does it take for your small town to issue a retail permit? A week or two? Maybe a couple of months at the most? Start considering that a competitive advantage. And be sure you are extending just as much support to locally-owned retail stores as you would to a chain you would recruit.

Recruiting chain grocery stores

Another audience member said that their grocery market is considered saturated in a retail study, but the stores they have are dirty and under-stocked. How can she tell that story to recruit a new grocery retailer?

Rita Williams with Kroger said to work through a retail broker if you want to recruit a national brand. The national chain retail grocery recruitment process takes 3 to 5 years from start to store.

If existing stores are being neglected by their chains, try to find out if any of those existing stores are planning to pull out, Rita said. That additional information may help get a retailer to look past the “saturated market” label.

Knowing that an existing store plans to pull out is critical for small town and rural markets. You may only have one store, and you will want to act immediately to organize a cooperative or community-owned grocery.

Importance of local retail

Find out what the community wants before acting, Rita said.

It feels obvious, but too often local leaders are pressured into quickly making large investments in retail recruitment or supporting an outside chain.

If you want to save your town, start your own small business.

If you want to encourage more locally-owned retail, start by dividing up a retail space for smaller experiments.

If you want more reports from IEDC or more practical information for small towns, subscribe to SmallBizSurvival.

Guest post by Jen Risley, AMIBA

Why promote Shop Indie Local early this holiday season? Because more of us are shopping early for holiday gifts.

From National Retail Federation:

Over the last decade, consumers have been kicking off their holiday shopping early in order to spread out their budgets and avoid the stress of holiday shopping. Continuing the trend [in 2022], 60% of holiday shoppers started browsing and buying by early November.

How to say it in your small business marketing

A good message to share with customers is something along the lines of “Let’s ensure that independent businesses have strong end-of-the-year sales by supporting them now.”

Here are some ways they can support not just your business, but all your local independent colleagues:

• Pre-order gifts and supplies today
• Buy a gift card
• Support local fundraising campaigns
• Donate to your community’s Independent Business Alliance
• Share on social media how much you love locally owned businesses (tag your post with #shopindielocal)
• Adapt and share these posts on social media

A huge thank you to the American Booksellers Association for creating the October is the New December campaign to boost the Shop Early, Shop Local message. Check out their campaign here.

Make your own social media graphics with the “Shop Early, Shop Indie Local” message, like this one from the American Booksellers Association:

Stacks the bookstore cat says shop early, shop local.

Subscribe to SmallBizSurvival for more Shop Indie Local updates throughout the holidays.

Everyone’s in town for the big event. Is your business ready for them? Photo by Becky McCray

Guest post by Jeremy Zeller

Do your homework – WHO WILL BE ATTENDING the event?

Cater to that audience. Families, College students, Car enthusiasts, Cosplay…yes, even them.

If you do not want to keep your store open, set up a SIDEWALK STAND or TABLE and sell there.

An assortment of products and swag to just give a little taste of what you offer for when they come back.

Bring the right FREEBIES.

This can be as simple as a bag with your logo on it, or a package of tissues with your logo on it. Chapstick, small notepads, microfiber cleaning cloths. It should be something that people use often and keep around either in their purse or car. Be sure to have your logo with the business name and what you are, address, and social media. Phone number is fine, but they are more likely to want to come back to visit or look you up first.

Hold a DEMONSTRATION.

Do you have a product you want to show off? Now is the perfect time to do so. If it is clothing, get a few models to show off your merchandise.

SURVEYS – 5 questions at max that will help your business succeed.

Examples: “How satisfied are you with the customer service you received?” “How satisfied are you with the price of our product/service?”
“What is the most memorable part of your experience?” “Where do you live?”

Collect video TESTIMONIALS or written testimonials.

People love to hear stories. Find customers that you have that can talk about a product they bought, how great it is, and maybe something that happened when they used it. Example: “I bought this Consuela Bag for my Mom on Mother’s Day. The quality is so great because we have used it while camping at Alabaster Caverns to Sand Dunes in Waynoka to visiting the Salt Plains and it still looks brand new!”

While on the topic of videos, get a video ENDORSEMENT. If it is a known official, local or state celebrity, nationally acclaimed, or organization; see if they will give approval to endorse your business and then promote it later.

Share COUPONS or vouchers.

Events a great time to get them to a bunch of people. “10% off” “Free Gift”. Be unique.

Create a SALES EVENT to take place the next day or week.

You have a chance to reach out to many people. So create your own event sometime after. Advertise it during the event taking place.

Create a POKER WALK during the event.

Work with other businesses open during the event. Do a 20% DISCOUNT SHARE. This means if they shop at one store and buy something, they get a 20% discount at another store. That store has it for another store. And so on and so on.

Be an event SPONSOR.

Before the event is happening, see what it takes to get your name on the advertisement.

Gather E-MAILS.

This is the perfect time to build up your client list. Use your phone to collect and store e-mails to increase your customer e-mail blasts.

About the Author

Jeremy Zeller is the Economic Development Director for Woods County, Oklahoma. Previously he worked 16 years for the Oklahoma Department of Commerce including the Main Street program. He holds a degree in film, video and photography from the University of Oklahoma.

Related stories

• How any business can be part of downtown events by going mobile
• Do you close during the parade? What to do instead
• What to do when festivals and events block your store

Retail businesses may be storing extra merchandise. Manufacturers might have extra materials or finished product ready to ship. Service and repair companies have to store parts and accessories somewhere.

A sign makes your town look better

If there’s no sign, people will assume it’s an empty building or full of someone’s junk. If there’s a sign, it’s a business. That’s just natural.

And doesn’t an active business building seem better than yet another empty building? Rural expert Deb Brown pointed this out to me, and I agree. Here’s an example building she found. It’s clean and well-maintained, but there’s no sign! It might be someone’s muscle car collection, or a social club, or a local manufacturer. We just don’t know! (And we probably assume the worst.)

Photo by Deb Brown

Before you tell me everyone in town knows, remember that other people drive by. People visiting town have no idea whether it’s junk or an active business. That might include people considering moving to town or businesses considering your community.

Put up a sign on your warehouse and storage buildings, and you’re contributing to a town that looks more active and prosperous. That’s good economic and community development.

It might deter thieves

My first thought about putting up a sign was that it might make your business a target for theft. So I asked someone who has some insight into the thought process of people who break into rural buildings.

Your local thieves already know what’s in there. Adding a sign does not change that. (Hint: Didn’t you just tell me everyone in town knows?)

Thieves are more likely to look for buildings that don’t get a lot of traffic. If there are weeds growing up and not many tracks and no sign, that looks like a better target.

Here’s an example I saw. It’s not as well maintained, but clearly in somewhat current use. The old faded sign could be replaced with something new that mentions the local business that uses this building. And a little paint on the door and trim wouldn’t hurt either.

Photo by Becky McCray

Adding a sign makes it look more like you’re there often, so that makes it slightly less attractive as a theft target. Will a sign stop all break ins? Of course not.

Bonus points: Make a window display

Billy Cook Harness and Classic Saddles in Sulphur, Oklahoma, uses a repurposed downtown building for warehouse and shipping. They’ve put a display of saddles and the templates used to make them in the window along with a sign. You can see by the pile of boxes that I came by right before the shipper picked up for the day.

This window display and sign makes the building and downtown look much better than just another empty building used for storage of who knows what.

Photo by Becky McCray

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Having trouble getting customers in the door? Consider these tips. Photo by Becky McCray

If you have a retail store in a small town, you know how difficult it can be to attract customers in the door. With so much online competition and limited resources, it is hard to get people in the store and buying your products. In this article, we’ll share some of our best ways to get customers in the door of your retail store.

In our recent Survey of Rural Challenges, one store owner said, “Our challenge is getting customers in the door. They assume the selection and prices will be better at big box stores. If we can get people into the store they see that we have better quality at better prices, and we get the sale.”
Another said even bribery wasn’t working: “People who live in town have never walked through the door. Even when I sent them a $20 gift card to entice them.”

Check your store’s product selection. Is it what people really want these days? Photo by USDA

Do you have what they really want?

Make sure you have what your customers want. All the promotion in the world won’t drive customers to a business that doesn’t offer what people want.

The first retailer above said if customers do come in, “we get the sale.” That’s a good indication that you’re on target.

Limited business hours are the Number One complaint against small town businesses. Most of us don’t live on this schedule any more. Photo by Becky McCray.

Are you open when they’re shopping?

They can’t come in the door, if the door isn’t open.

Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor, made a house call with us some time ago to talk through small town retail challenges. Here’s his advice about hours:

“Studies have shown that, in order, these are the best money making times for retail:

1. Saturday 11 am – 1 pm
2. Saturday 3 pm – 5 pm
3. Sunday 3 pm – 5 pm
4. Sunday 11 am – 1 pm

“If your store is closed on Sundays, you may be missing out on two of the top four money-making times! You have to test these against your store to see if it proves true.”

I ran a retail store for almost 13 years in a small town. We were open 10am to 9pm, Monday through Saturday. Sales from 5-9pm were always more than sales from 10am to 5pm. Almost every single day for over 4000 days, evenings beat day time for us.

If you’re willing to do some simple research, you can find out the best hours for a store in your town.

You have a lot of marketing tools at hand today. Use them to remind people over and over that your store is here and what you offer.

Invite them in again and again, at least 13 times

Our contributor Glenn Muske said, “Research has found that potential customers need to hear or see the name of a new business three to five times before they even recognize that the business exists. Thus, a one-time big advertisement will do little to bring in customers. Continuity in the early days is crucial.

“Knowing about the business is only part of step one, however. You now have to get customers in the door. Research suggests that potential customers may need another five to seven contacts with your product or service to recognize its benefits to them. Remember, the customer wants to solve a problem.”

Contacts with your customers can be all the times they see your ads, social media posts, flyers, online listings, signs or sponsorship of local causes. You don’t get to count the ones they don’t see.

You have to put your business out there a lot more than you think in order to get just one customer in the door.

Musicians on the sidewalk? Tool days in the parking lot? Dinner in the greenhouse? There’s no end to the experiences you can create in or outside your store that help you bring people in the doors. Photo by Becky McCray.

Create experiences with events

To survive in independent local retail today, you must provide an experience that can’t be duplicated by chain stores or online or in the big city. Events are one of the best ways to create a meaningful experience that is tough for any big store to duplicate.

Hold an event that is a real experience

The owner of a retail hardware store and greenhouse in rural Kansas started brainstorming ideas for events he could hold to create an experience for customers.

• Tool Days. Bring in the guy who does blade sharpening for the afternoon. Set up tents in the parking lot and have people teach how you use tools of all kinds. Do demonstrations and hands-on (appropriate) play with tools.
• Dinner in the Greenhouse. His well-stocked greenhouse is a wonderfully green and lush space in dry Western Kansas. There’s room for a couple of tables, and there’s a bubbling fountain. It’s great! Let’s have dinner there! Get a local eatery or aspiring chef to cater. Have fun with it. Use a jungle theme. Get creative. Since there are only a couple of tables available, turn it into a super-exclusive special thing that not everyone can do. Sell out early.

Do a bunch of mini-events

I’ve shared these ideas for mini-events for rural retail businesses before:

• Recruit anyone who gives lessons to hold a student performance (could be music, dance, martial arts, drama, writing, language, anything!) Students bring families, instant crowd
• Bring games, tables and chairs and hold a game night (board games, card games, dominoes, adult coloring books, you name it)
• Bring beach chairs and umbrellas and pretend you have a downtown beach (play beachy summer music for bonus points)
• Hold a tasting or sampling from any local winery, food business, or even cooking classes
• Read poetry or start community conversations on any topic you like (poetry slam?)

A local furniture store hosts two temporary businesses for a special shopping event, combining business-in-a-business and pop-ups to benefit everyone. Photo by Becky McCray.

Host a pop-up business inside your business

Invite another business to set up in a corner of your shop, as a pop up. This could be an artist, artisan, maker, crafter or tinkerer.
Look for those that are doing business from their homes. Maybe they are just beginning to think about making some money with their products or are just starting to get an online following.

Once they setup, make more of it:

• Hold a meet the artist event
• Have a party announcing your new acquisition
• Create a Facebook event and do something special to announce their arrival

Joann Schissel shared her pop-up event success story with me:

“My partner and I have a winery business (Nearwood Winery). He makes the wine, and I’m in charge of customer experience. We have a small tasting room on the square in Knoxville. We’ve found that pop-up shops or a one-time event seems to bring in customers. Our next community event is “Living Windows” which kicks off the holiday shopping season. We invited a crafter to set up her “shop” inside our wine tasting room for that evening. She sells hand made gift bags that hold a bottle of wine. Other pop ups we’ve had is book signings by local authors and art exhibits by local artists. All these type of promos seem to bring in customers. We try to focus on products/services that enhance the wine experience. Our motto is “where creatives gather.”

Three local stores cooperated on this joint ad, marketing their stores together. Photo by Becky McCray.

Cooperate with other businesses

Leverage your relationships with other businesses to put together a tour of businesses, or an experience that includes more than just your business.

Joann did this, too! She created a local fashion show:

“I reached out to our business owners that had fashions or a tangent business. I know a jewelry designer that will match her product with the clothes from the boutiques. A local photographer will take photos of the models and the event. A fabric designer that makes her own jackets will model her creations.

“I charged $5 advance tickets (available online or at the shops) and $10 at the door. The first beverage is free, so there is very little ‘risk’ to the guests, but allows me to gauge interest and attendance. We had 15 models (includes kids) and friends/relatives were in the audience. I am focused on ‘gathering my crowd’ strategy and catering to established groups of people that have their own crowd. I loved working with the women business owners and promoting their products.”

The retail store owner’s dream: so many customers, they can’t all get in the doors at once! Photo by Becky McCray

Keep trying and keep trying

After more than a dozen years of small town retail experience, I understand how it feels to stand in an empty store and wonder where all the customers went. But today, we have so many tools to market our businesses, serve customers in new ways, and create experiences they can’t get anywhere else. Our best bet for survival is to keep trying new experiments and keep the ones that work best. Then try more new experiments.

Subscribe to SmallBizSurvival.com

Cited by:

Get Customers in the door, Atchison County Development Corporation Newsletter, (Missouri) Spring 2023

Business Insider rounded up the trends reports from LinkedIn, Pinterest and other social-driven sites. They didn’t dig out the best trends for rural businesses and small town entrepreneurs, so I did that for you.

Retail is recycling

Deb Brown browsing in a Galveston, Texas, vintage store. Photo by Becky McCray

Pinterest points to vintage and mixed decor trends. That’s a good trend for rural antiques hunters, thrift stores and auction houses. Especially those who sell online and handle shipping.

LinkedIn says sustainability remains a hot topic, with vintage, secondhand and resale stores seeing a boost for clothing, too.

Related, in-person retail is coming back. Looks like more new stores opened than closed in 2022. Big note for small towns chasing retail, this may not be new construction. There’s “a rise in developers renovating and reimagining existing, outdated properties.” Listen, if anyone has existing outdated retail properties, it’s probably small towns.

Customers have paused in their rush to online shopping. Online sales shot up in 2020 and 2021, but 2022’s online shopping totals declined a bit.

Rural businesses could make more use of social influence to drive sales. You don’t have to be in a big city to use TikTok and other channels with hashtags like #MustHaves and #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt. If you didn’t notice it in your own feed, Instagram turned into a yard sale with friends during 2021, as people redecorated and vintage home decor sellers boomed.

Tourism: trains and fun dates

As interest in train travel grows, small towns that have rail service can vie for more tourist attention. Photo by Becky McCray.

Trains are making a comeback, Pinterest says. That’s pretty cool for small towns with active train service. Make sure you’re playing that up in your tourism.

Also this interesting dating trend: people are searching for experiences. Book store dates, date picnics and more. I’m saying that rural places could host the best date picnics ever, not to mention hiking dates, nature walk dates and stargazing dates.

Manufacturing mushrooms

Local manufacturers can find more business by easing supply chain issues for big customers. They’ll need a strong workforce to tap this trend. Manufacturers in Ponca City, Oklahoma, are reaching out to middle school students to show them possible careers. Photo via Kat Long.

LinkedIn’s report points to eco-friendly materials like those made from mushrooms and plants coming up. Lots of eco-friendly materials innovators are in small towns or rural places.

Shopify’s trends report shows big companies addressing ongoing logistics challenges in part by looking for more local supply sources. For small towns with idle manufacturing space or flexible makers, this is an opportunity.

Entrepreneurship on your side

Self care takes many forms, including physical activity and forming strong social ties. This team participated in the Beer Mile run in Colfax, Washington. Photo by Becky McCray.

Rural people have long had a higher rate of self-employment than urban people do. LinkedIn points to the rise in side-gigs or part-time businesses in addition to a main job. Maybe it’s not surprising that more of the youngest workers do this. Around 25% of Gen Z had a side-hustle, compared to 16% for all older folks.

A trend to tap is self-care, according to TikTok. With social channels as close as your phone, rural people can improve their offerings in “mental-health improvement, fitness, public health, and work-life balance.” Since we know that being in nature is good for you, rural communities are some of the best places to host self care experiences.

This article cited by:

• Ag Journal, Simple low-cost tips for small towns in year ahead, Jan 5, 2023
• Reprinted in the LaJunta Tribune Democrat and Bent County Democrat

Want more rural and small town trends? Subscribe to SmallBizSurvival.com

Learn more from AMIBA, the Shop Indie Local lead sponsor.

This week, introduce one of your people, the people who work for you or work with your customers. If you’re the only one in your business, introduce yourself!

Start with their names. Think about how you know a lot of people by sight, but you don’t know their name. Or that terrible feeling when you should know their name, but can’t think of it! Introducing your people helps your customers get to know them.

• What do they like to do off hours?
• Who is in their family?
• What’s interesting about them?
• What causes matter to them personally?

IMPORTANT: Ask their permission first. Don’t surprise people with this.

People make stores into special places. Photo by Deb Brown.

Bonus points: Do it live!

Why not introduce your people in a quick live video on Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat or TikTok? 

Save that video, then post it to your website About page.

Multiply it: Like and share

While you’re online, look up your local business buddies. See if they have posted their mini-stories yet. When you find them, like and share them!

You can do as many of these people mini-stories as you have people!

See the whole series:

Read all our articles in our Shop Indie Local series.

Learn more from AMIBA, the Shop Indie Local lead sponsor.

Reprint or share this article:

Shop Indie Local is our group theme for holiday marketing this year. You have my permission to forward these articles to your local retailers, merchants association, chamber of commerce, downtown development group or any one else you think would benefit from them. All you need to do is list the author as Becky McCray of SmallBizSurvival.com and then let me know who you are sharing with.

Small retail spaces like retail collectives and shed markets generate prosperity for rural areas and small towns when they:

• give small business ideas an affordable foothold
• create experiences that draw customers in
• build on the element of discovery for customers
• test promising retail concepts
• shelter businesses too small to survive on their own
• fill gaps in local retail markets
• boost cooperation and innovation among local retailers

But did the COVID19 pandemic change all that? Ecommerce sales are forecast to keep growing steadily after taking a big jump from 2019 to 2020. Has that killed rural retail collectives?

NO.

New shared mercantile spaces

Here are two new shared retail spaces that opened just before or since 2020.

Colfax Mercantile, Colfax, Washington

The Colfax Mercantile first opened in 2019 and made it through 2020. They’re in a building that had sat vacant for 15 years. Now it’s home to 15 different tiny businesses plus an office for the Chamber of Commerce. You can find frozen yogurt, furniture, repurposed, cookies, retro candy and much more in the Mercantile. It took award-winning cooperation between local business owners Laura and Austin Storm and the Colfax Downtown Association’s Economic Vitality committee, add in a little inspiration from a SaveYour.Town visit where we talked about the potential for shared retail spaces.

Special thanks to Sarah McKnight who hosted and sponsored me on my visit to Colfax and provided these photos of their results.

Walker Mercantile Company, Woodward, Oklahoma

Walker Mercantile operates in a shared building in downtown Woodward, Oklahoma. They opened in 2021, and feature many Made in Oklahoma products, a candy shop and other local vendors.

Notice the one wall bookstore in the photo via the Mercantile’s Facebook page. That’s a great example of a business idea that would struggle as a solo business in a small town, but can make sense in a shared space.

New shed market villages

Shed markets continue to pop-up in small towns and rural communities. Here are two recent ones.

Kuna Square, Kuna, Idaho

In 2021, Kuna, Idaho started their own shed market inspired by my retelling of the Tionesta Market Village story at the Idaho Economic Development Association. They built their sheds in a smart way. The City of Kuna partnered with experienced contractors to help teach high school students construction basics including framing, roofing, siding, and flooring. For 2022, they updated their name to Kuna Square, and are definitely planning to be around for many years to come.

Thanks to Kuna Economic Development for the photo. 

Pop-up shop market, Guthrie, Oklahoma

Newly announced in 2022, Guthrie, Oklahoma, is starting work on a pop-up shop market using sheds to fill an empty lot in their downtown. They’ve actually done pop-up shops in their park, so moving into a shed market in the downtown makes good sense.

I stumbled onto this one when it was announced on the news that they had received two grants to fund it. This rendering was on the City of Guthrie Facebook.

Discover more

More about shared rural retail store buildings:

• What business does every small town need? A store full of tiny retail spaces
• Small town retail trend: shared spaces
• One downtown building gives life to many new retail stores
• A community of small businesses in one shared building

More about sheds and market villages:

• Rural economic development idea: tiny business villages
• Tiny businesses in storage sheds: a rural economic development tool
• Tip for better pop-ups and shed businesses

Get our best stuff by email

Subscribe to SmallBizSurvival.com

Cited by:

Retail collectives increase options in small towns, Ag Journal, October 2022

A local furniture store hosts two temporary businesses for a special shopping event, combining business-in-a-business and pop-ups to benefit everyone. Photo by Becky McCray.

By Deb Brown

The old way of doing business is one building, one business. What if you could test an idea and have a business inside a business?

Anyone of us either knows or can find someone who is making things from their home and selling it.

What if you encouraged already existing home-based businesses to host a trial popup in your store?

These small popups can be short term, over a season or if it works out a permanent addition. Perhaps you’ll let them try their idea out for free for a short time. If it works, you can determine together if they pay rent to you or a commission.

Who do you know that is a:

• Quilt maker
• Artist
• Artisan
• Painter
• Sculptor
• Widget maker
• Baker
• Crafter

Look for those that are doing business from their homes. Maybe they are just beginning to think about making some money with their products.

How can you help them, and your business at the same time?

Invite them to set up in a corner of your shop, as a pop up.

Then try these ideas:

• Meet the artist event
• Have a party announcing your new acquisition
• Create a Facebook event and do something special to announce their arrival

Why does all of this matter?

1. You will be bringing in new people to your store to meet these crafters. Cross promotion is good for business.
2. You’re giving a hand up and not a hand out to a new business person.
3. You’re enlivening your community using local resources.
4. You’re making your store a place where people come for an experience.
5. You’re building community and that strengthens the town for everyone.

More rural economic development tricks

Find out more rural economic development tricks in our latest SaveYour.Town video.

Even small towns are seeing more and more medical marijuana dispensaries open. Should local leaders fight it, encourage it or ignore it? Photo: Empire, Colorado. CC license by Tony Webster on Flickr.

By Becky McCray

In each state that has decriminalized marijuana sales, there’s a usual pattern that happens. Immediately after it is allowed, cannabis dispensaries or legal weed stores start opening all over town, even in small towns. At the peak, it can feel like every other store front is a pot shop!

Should city governments local leaders or economic developers try to do anything about the sudden surge in marijuana stores? Should they encourage them, discourage them or just ignore them and hope for the best?

Are dispensaries hurting the community? Or is medical marijuana a net benefit in areas with fewer health care facilities? More socially conservative residents may oppose pot shops, while others don’t see it as political. Because of the controversy around medical marijuana in some rural areas, I think local leaders’ best plan is to stay out of it. Let the natural business cycle take its course.

Here’s what I mean about the business cycle. Local entrepreneurs will open new shops to take advantage of the sudden opportunity. Over time, some of them will be more successful than others. Eventually consolidation will happen. Unsuccessful stores will close. Successful owners will buy out less successful owners, and may even form into mini chains of stores. Outside owners, especially successful ones from larger towns, may come in to buy out other stores. This has already started in many states that have had medical marijuana for several years.

It’s only natural that this change will be uncomfortable during the transition. It will take time but the number of shops will fall back to a more moderate number. In the meantime, don’t let them distract from other positive steps you can be taking to make your community a better place.