Speaking about small businesses, entrepreneurship and sharing rural stories

Story and photos by Deb Brown

I was invited to speak in Portugal by my friend and business associate Frederico Lucas. My first night in Lisbon I spoke at this event hosted at the coworking space NOW Beato and broadcast live on Facebook. Focused on rural entrepreneurship, the panel had a lively conversation about the possibilities for their rural areas. And meeting the challenges their depopulated communities have.

In today’s global economy, entrepreneurs are always looking for new opportunities to innovate and create value. Small towns and villages are often overlooked and also can be a rich source of local knowledge and expertise. However, engaging with these communities can be challenging for people outside them, especially in areas with low population density and depopulation.

41 Small Villages Network Project in Rural Portugal

Ana Linares, from Novos Povoadores (“New Settlers”), and her team work with a group of small villages, 41 of them. There are very few people living there and few children, so the schools are closed. One town has 17 residents. Low density population is a problem. In the US we would call them ghost towns, in Portugal they call them depopulated.

Ana told us about this project. These 41 villages have created a network to develop tourism, but also to develop the community, and the social aspect of their economics. Because they are very small, if they were alone in trying to implement projects, it would be even more difficult. They started to organize and work together and use their synergies.

If one village has a festival, and another village has a walking trail, they can work together to offer a tourist experience that is more complete. Some towns have places to eat or sleep that can be added to the experience. Once the team connects with some of the few older people still living there, they find the community has great pride in their villages and is very open to innovation and doing new projects.

This initiative comes from the people in the community, not the municipality. As is the case in many small towns, they must start with what they have. The local government will not be the ones to begin the initiative. And the town is depopulated and doesn’t have the resources or people to get started. At least that is their belief. Often, there is no single group that wants to be responsible to start the project. Like in the United States, I’ve heard many people say, “The city ought to fix that.” And the people forget they ARE the city.

Christmas and community made this idea work

A successful example of this kind of project is the Christmas Village that asked for support and started with their own facilities and resources. Eventually the municipality joined in, but it was not quick.

This village is Cabeça, the first eco-sustainable Christmas village in Portugal. Supported by eco-design experts, local communities have engaged in the task of developing Christmas décor by using natural elements, agricultural and forest surplus, as well as wool from the Serra da Estrela Mountain area.

All the streets are ornamented with natural materials, and the town comes together a month or two before and works on all the ornaments and decorations. No plastic, only natural material. There is a large warehouse where all the ladies go to make the ornaments.

Capturing the stories

One inspiring example Ana talked about is the Museum of the Future, a new project in Portugal that captures the stories of people in small villages in video format. These stories have cultural, social, personal, and human dimensions, and can be used to inspire new ideas and products.

Places to work, meet, and celebrate for free

Another project Ana and her team worked on was reinventing and redesigning some small spaces for a handful of artists to work for free. They used circular economy design – where everything was designed and made with the local artisans in mind. Each artisan also has a retail space.

It’s also a space that is open to everyone in the village where you can have meetings and parties. It is a place to bring new people from out of the village. They can have the experience of what it is to live in a place that is open to artisans and community. There are many advantages to living in a place like this!

What does it take to be successful?

Engaging with small communities requires patience, empathy, and a willingness to listen and learn. It also requires a recognition that successful projects are not just about achieving technical goals, but also about building relationships and empowering communities.

One solution they use in Portugal is to adopt a co-creative and collaborative approach. By bringing the community along in every project, entrepreneurs can ensure that their initiatives are relevant, sustainable, and impactful. This approach also recognizes the value of people’s local stories and cultural heritage, which can be turned into resources for younger people to create new products or services, or to reinvent old ways of doing things.

Is this a utopian vision?

No. I don’t think so. Ana and the team at Novos Povoadores shared this remark on their website:

The globalized society is increasingly based on an economy without geography, a fact that allows us to look at the territory in a more inclusive way. In this context, it is possible to reduce the gap of regional disparities with advantages for new residents and for low-density territories. On the one hand, an undeniable increase in the quality of life, and on the other hand, the breaking of a cycle of territorial bleeding.

Photos from the coworking space NOW Beato in Lisbon, Portugal

Where the panel discussion was hosted.

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Photo CC by Joanbrebo

Guest post by Mike Humphrey, Japan

Skiing has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I don’t know why my parents decided skiing would be our family sport. They were not avid skiers, and we didn’t live in a ski town. Whatever the reason, I was on skis at 3, and my love for the sport began. We would spend every weekend in the winter on the hill.

When I was 15, I became a ski instructor. Skiing is my passion. I love being out on the hill, and I love the mountains.

As I grew older, skiing was still part of my life, but it became a hobby. I went to university and got a job. I started a family, and things were going well. I would ski weekends at our small local hill, but it was slowly being relegated to an afterthought.

That all changed seven years ago when I left my corporate job. It was time for a life choice: continue with my career or make a change. With some savings in our account and dreams of powder turns, I leapt. I left my job and moved our family to a ski town in Japan.

It has been seven years since we moved to the mountains, and it has been filled with joys, challenges, and, of course, skiing. In that time, we have operated two hotels and a restaurant and weathered the storm of Covid. It has been a hell of a ride, and not without its difficulties. Despite the challenges, I would never return to working a corporate job.

Read on to discover the challenges we faced while building a business and our dream life in a small mountain town.

Photo CC by Cookie M

The Challenges of Running a Small Business in a Ski Town

1 – Seasonal Customers

The highs and lows of running a business in a seasonal destination, whether a ski town or a beach destination, are extreme. During the winter, the city’s population triples in size. In the span of 4 months, we get 400,000 tourists visiting our small village of 5,000 people.

The influx of customers is terrific for business but not always for sanity. Imagine the demand for your products skyrocketing for four months and then crashing back to almost zero as soon as the snow starts to melt.

As a business, you need to develop systems and processes to adapt to the extreme shifts in market demand.

Choosing a Business Model

There are generally two models to choose from when you decide what business to run. You can cater to tourists, or you can cater to residents. The best businesses are the ones that can manage to do both.

Catering to Travelers

With this model, you fully embrace the higher-paying tourists. You charge higher prices and focus on optimizing your returns for tourists. During the low times, you minimize your expenses and either shut the business down or drop prices and try to scrape by attracting lower-paying guests.

This is how we operated when we ran our hotel. We were very strategic with our opening dates and only worked during the peak season. During the slow times, we shut down the hotel, went into maintenance mode, and did upgrades.

This worked well when there were lots of guests, but if you have a terrible snow season or a global pandemic, for that matter, you can run through your reserves quite quickly.

Catering to Local Customers

Your goal here is consistent revenue throughout the year. You have to choose your prices to match the local market. Your customer base is smaller during the low season, but during the high season, your revenue jumps drastically.

This is the model we use to run our restaurant. We live and work in the community year-round and provide good food options at reasonable prices regardless of the season.

By establishing relationships with residents and business owners within the community, you can develop a strong clientele that will sustain you throughout the year. Those relationships help you to flourish during the high season when residents recommend your services to travelers in town.

Catering to Locals and Tourists

Matching both markets is a tricky needle to thread, and I haven’t seen many businesses do this successfully. Essentially, you must provide a service that can increase prices during peak times without alienating local customers. The closest we came to this was with the hotel, which had peak and low-time pricing. But this isn’t catering to local businesses; it’s just modifying your pricing to match traveler demand.

Photo provided by Mike Humphrey

2 – Staffing

Ski towns have some unique staffing issues that can be challenging for small businesses to overcome. The small local population combined with the boom and bust market makes staffing one of the most difficult things to deal with.

Staff Training

In a ski town, the money-making window is short, and staff is transitory. We hired 5 – 7 staff during peak season to help run the hotel. They would arrive early to mid-December, 1 – 2 weeks ahead of our first guests.

We rarely had repeat staff, and they had to be fully trained before the Christmas rush. It was trial by fire. You have to get them up to speed in 2 weeks so they can provide the best customer service possible. When the guests do start to arrive, it’s crunch time. You are running at full capacity almost immediately.

It’s the perfect storm. You need to hire the right people and have outstanding training programs and processes in place so they can hit the road running as quickly as possible.

Finding Good Staff is a Challenge

While this may be true for any industry, working in a ski town is appealing because you can ski. There is always a balance between finding a good employee and their desire to hit the hill.

As soon as the ski season starts, it’s too late to hire someone new. You better find the right people at the beginning and make sure they are doing a good job. Having to fire underperforming staff mid-season is a considerable risk.

You have to weigh the negative impact of keeping the employee on versus the risk of being short-staffed.

I have been through both experiences, and it was better to let the person go instead of hanging on.

Here are some tips for finding good staff.

Ask For Recommendations

Ask previous and current employees if they know anyone who would be a good fit. Check with friends and family or other business owners in the area.

Watch Out For Red Flags

Trust is critical; skills can be taught, but trust and work ethic can’t. During the interview process, look for signs that there may be issues. Identify them immediately and be upfront. Don’t move on until you feel entirely comfortable.

Check references. Call them and have an honest conversation. Ask what issues they had with the employee.

Use Contracts To Your Benefit

An employee contract goes a long way to establishing a good relationship with an employee. Reviewing and signing a contract makes your relationship official and keeps your employees committed.

Photo CC by lamoix

Retaining Staff

The boom-bust nature of the ski industry means you can’t always keep staff all year long. The business can’t sustain employees during the low season. You always run a skeleton crew during the off-season and go into maintenance mode.

This means retaining good employees is hard. Expecting people to stick around and barely make enough money to live is unreasonable. Here are some ways to keep staff all year round.

Provide Extended Vacations

Give staff the chance to take time off during the shoulder seasons. They can take the opportunity to travel or go home to see family.

Reduce Staff Living Expenses

Consider alternative living arrangements or provide food through your business.

Collaborate with another business and offer a trade. Provide your services in exchange for cheaper accommodation for your staff.

It’s Hard Work

You have to make hay while the sun shines. For 4 – 5 months, you run flat out. Not only that, it’s playtime as well. You want to be out on the hill as much as you want to run your business. It’s easy to be understaffed and run your employees ragged. It’s a 4-month whirlwind of activity that can be hard to handle.

The critical takeaway is good hiring, training, and processes/systems. Watch for red flags when hiring staff; do not ignore your feelings about people. Don’t get me wrong, I have had some exceptional employees, but I’ve also had some horrible ones. Getting staffing right is crucial to making your small business work in a ski town.

One-on-one Training

When you’re in the thick of things, spending an hour or two with your employees teaching them may feel like a waste of time. But this is time well spent. An hour now could save you 10 – 20 times that time later in the season.

Learn From Other Businesses

We have friends who manage a hostel. They offered to take us through the building to show us how they managed their property. Here are some of the changes we made:

1. We added a self-check-in process for late arrivals
2. Better Signage
3. Better local information Kiosk

Hire an Expert

If you’re unsure how to get better, find someone who has done it before and offer to pay them for their time. Have them watch how you run your business. Then, get them to make recommendations on how to improve.

Lessons Learned

After the season, talk with your employees about how things went. What things did you do well, and what could be improved? What pain points did the employees experience? Your perspective and the perspective of your employees will be different, and it’s essential to record what you learned.

Document

Solid documentation can be a great way to leverage your knowledge and compound your efforts. Keep records of everything you do. I like to use a Google Folder to build up a library of procedures. Whenever I need to use it, I review it and try to improve it. Things to document:

1. Role Descriptions
2. Job Postings
3. Marketing Materials
4. Standard Operating Procedures
5. Annual Schedules
6. Maintenance requirements
7. Licensing renewals

This list will depend heavily on the type of business you run.

Implement

Last but not least, implement. If there is no action or change, then nothing will improve. I like to use project management software like Asana or Wrike to break everything down into manageable tasks. It will eventually get done as long as it’s written down and recorded.

3 – Cashflow Management

Cashflow is king, and managing your finances through a ski town’s boom and bust cycles is tough. Your business depends on tourists arriving at the start of the season to keep it running.

Building a reserve that sustains your business throughout the year is essential. But you also need to balance this against re-investing in your business. Cash sitting on the books doesn’t help your business grow and expand.

4 – Work-Life Balance

Running a business in a ski town is not all fun and games. You must be organized, stay on your toes, and manage your time well. It can be easy to get overwhelmed by the pace.

You can use the winter playground if you manage your business well and have the right staff. However, if you don’t, you will run yourself ragged, trying to keep everything afloat.

Final thoughts from a seasonal business

So, if you’re considering launching a business in a ski town, remember these points.

First, be prepared to put in a lot of hard work. It may not seem glamorous, but running a ski town business takes dedication and determination.

Second, be mindful of costs and stay on top of your finances. Knowing what you’re spending and where it’s going can help ensure you stay profitable.

Third, hire and train the right people to help you build a successful business. Finding and building a great team will make your life more enjoyable in the long run.

Finally, take advantage of where you live. Enjoy the mountains, the people, and all a ski town offers. It’s an incredible experience and one you won’t want to miss out on. I have seen too many business owners forget why they started their business and don’t get out and enjoy the lifestyle.

Photo CC by Radek Kucharski

Frequently asked questions: seasonal business

What are the peak seasons for running a business in a ski town?

The peak seasons are typically winter and summer when people come for skiing and summer outdoor activities.

Is it possible to maintain a steady income all year round in a ski town?

This largely depends on your business model. Some businesses are seasonal, while others offer services that are in demand year-round.

How do I attract local customers in addition to tourists?

Offering locals-specific discounts, involving your business in community events, and building a solid local reputation can all help attract local customers.

What challenges should I expect when running a business in a ski town?

Challenges may include:

• Dealing with the seasonal nature of business.
• Maintaining a steady workforce.
• Managing cash flow

How important is fostering relationships with other local businesses in a ski town?

Very important. Strong relationships with other businesses can help you stay informed about local trends, collaborate on joint initiatives, and create a support network.

Any advice on maintaining work-life balance while running a ski town business?

Schedule regular breaks, get involved in local activities, and ensure you take time for yourself and your family. Remember, enjoying your surroundings is part of the ski town experience!

About the author Mike Humphrey

Mike Humphrey is a writer and entrepreneur. He has operated several hotels and restaurants and founded mykhumphrey.com, where he writes articles about business, freelancing, remote work, and living abroad.

Change can be activated in a society
by way of story.”

from the book Spirit Run

I just returned from Jackson County, Kentucky and the small town of Grayson, Kentucky. There’s a natural beauty in those mountains and winding roads. The people were kind, helpful and want to see their towns thrive. They shared stories of their history, the people and their dreams with me. Some had stories of failure and are working on raising up out of that despair much like the phoenix did. When I’m on an Idea Friendly onsite visit, I look for ways people can take small steps, to volunteer in a small way. I also look for the stories of locals already serving their well-loved communities. The power of story has the ability to change the outcome of a town.

Jackson County

This is a story to be told, often.

I met a couple in Sand Gap, KY who bought The Whistle Stop Express and there was a large building that came with it. They’ve turned it into a community center and the folks in town are welcome there with open arms. There are meals for the hungry, hugs for all, opportunities to belong to a community. There’s been a problem with drugs in town, and several residents are no longer the people they were before drugs ruined their lives. These owners treat everyone with respect and care. But even more than that, they treat them with love. They set an example every day of how to treat our fellow human beings.

Here’s a one day job volunteering that he did willingly.

One gentleman showed up at the community center the day I was there dressed as the Easter Bunny. He had been at the local jail, the community center, the gas station – anywhere that needed some cheering up.

Here’s another short term opportunity to volunteer.

We took a driving tour around Annville, KY and noticed this housing place nestled among the mountains with a babbling brook and park space behind it. Shame on me, my first thought was “why do people keep trash like that outside of their homes?” It was pointed out to me that the grandmother who lives there is raising her grandchildren and doesn’t have the wherewithall or physicality or time to clean up that small mess. The woman giving us the tour stated this would be a great half a day volunteer opportunity for a bunch of ninjas. And said she’ll get right on that. Two other people in the car said they’d help.

Talk to each other

The first evening I was in Jackson County they held a gathering for anyone who wanted to come and hear about ways to save their community. Erik from Backroads of Appalachia made available the small historical site at Big Hill to gather. The image below is just 1/3 of the room. I don’t go to any town, bring a template with some big city idea on it they can dumb down. I ask folks to tell me who they are and what they want in their community. Then we talk about it.

Here’s one story of many folks who volunteered in a small way to help a new business get started.

Kathy pictured in the lower left wants to start her own outdoor business providing items to use to traverse the region. But she only has one side by side. We talked about just getting started with that one item. And one lady offered her canoe for Kathy to use. This started a conversation around the room of how she could start now, using what others offer and they would help her too.

How volunteers can work together in partnership

The couple next to Kathy are farmers, who used to run a dairy. Dairy farming is hard, and they had to try something else. He has converted the dairy barn into a space where he can do woodworking. He also wants to really use that space, and make it available for others to use. We talked about the Old Geezers Club in Akron, Iowa. Several others in the room had ideas for them and wanted to help. There were artists in attendance and were grateful for a space to work on their art, and also sell it. They could also volunteer to be in the space sometimes to help run it.

Your officials need to hear your stories

McKee, KY is the county seat and also has the fastest internet speed in the United States. That’s because the Peoples Rural Telephone Company and their leader Keith Gabbard have made it so. You can read about how that happened in The New Yorker article. This group met and had a lively discussion with me. Keith is the guy on the far left. Tim Truett, the 89th district state representative was there too. He’s also the elementary school principal. Small town folks wear many hats. Many of these folks have been trying to establish a lodging tax. However, a magistrate has to ask the fiscal court to review it. And no magistrate would do that. Funny, you mention the word ‘tax’ and people get nervous. Tim, along with the tourism board, got the fiscal court to look at it at their next meeting!

Talking about what you want can lead to volunteer actions that make small things happen

One gentleman was fed up with the trash and illegal dumping in the area. Another artist in the room proposed using the old cars and create a transformer art exhibit. There were stories of folks who’ve worked in the region making their parks available to all. We found out there are 200 rooms available for visitors to use, but not an updated list of where these Airbnb’s and cabins were located. This week I received a spreadsheet with that updated list! Talking about what they wanted led to volunteer actions making small things happen. The power of sharing your story shines through.

Grayson, KY

You can stop if you want

Grayson was not to be outdone. We started at the Grayson Art Gallery early in the morning. A big tables worth of people showed up at 8 am. They were there to hear what they could do to help their small town. Many of them stayed for the rest of the day, spent with a walking tour of downtown, lunch and a driving tour of the region. The folks in the picture below know how to volunteer.
There’s the local college president, the mayor, a city council person, a couple of business owners, a state senator, a high school student and the Main Street director. We talked about partnerships, taking small steps and getting in action right away. The state senator told us a funny story, well, kind of funny. They used to have a master gardener’s group that was active. But they got older and less willing to do the work. So they created fundraisers … to pay others to do the work! Oh, the irony.

Idea Friendly: kill the committees, get to work and have fun with taking small steps

The mayor kept notes on his phone, but just the notes that pertained to him. (Yes, I gave him assignments.) The Main Street folks plan to set up an Art Trail and involve the artists in town. And the two of them won’t do it all themselves. The artists and building owners will be involved. As we walked around, we got some permissions on places to put murals.

There was a discussion about adding EV stations downtown in a parking lot. One of the attendees will find out how to make that happen. The mayor put on his list to work on lighting up the parking lot at night, so store owners can park there safely instead of in front of their stores. The high school student is going to bring her friends to city council meetings. The mayor thinks adding a nonvoting student to the council is a great idea and will pursue it. There are many opportunities for everyone to volunteer, without setting up committees, in the ways that they want to help.

Volunteering can be easier and with more people, yet make such a big difference in a small way

I started this letter thinking about the importance of telling our stories in our own communities. That change will come when our good reasons why are out there for more people to know about. Then I found a common theme amongst these stories – how volunteering can be easier and with more people, yet make such a big difference in a small way. Many people in small towns are not aware of the various ways they are already volunteering, or the many other ways where volunteers are needed. If only for a few hours.

Telling our stories, sharing our ideas and asking for help make change possible, and sooner.

Thanks to the kind folks in Kentucky for welcoming me with open arms!

The challenge of rural entrepreneurship

Rural entrepreneurs and small town businesses face extra challenges including online competition, limited workforce and even finding a usable building. Today, creative entrepreneurs are using new innovative business models to overcome these challenges and start businesses that reshape their communities for the better.

What you’ll learn – Start Smaller in Your Small Town

Photo by Becky McCray

At SmallBizSurvival.com from Nov 13-19, 2023, you’ll discover articles, short videos, audios and more free resources focused on how smaller small businesses can succeed. Learn the Innovative Rural Business Models and uncover hidden opportunities, like business inside a business and more.

Contributors Becky McCray and Deb Brown will share their own entrepreneurial experiences, stories from international rural entrepreneurs and their materials from SaveYour.Town and Building Possibility.

Find this and other Global Entrepreneurship Week events listed on the official calendar at GenGlobal.

Once we get going, you can see all our stories tagged with Global Entrepreneurship Week here.

Share your own story

You can add your own story, too. What have you learned about rural small business? What’s working in your own business and your own community? What have you learned to avoid?

Leave a comment or use our contact form to share, and I’ll reach out to follow up.

This is global. Stories from anywhere rural are welcome.

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Wash-o-mat sign from the small town of Clovis, New Mexico. CC by chames richalds

Lots of small towns have no self-service laundry facilities, so it’s a smart business to start. It also adds a valuable service and amenity to build your community.

Laundromats are notoriously expensive to get started, and rural businesses have to start with the minimum startup expenses.

The Idea Friendly Method was designed for these small towns and small business realities. An Idea Friendly approach to starting a self-service laundry place in a small town would be to:

Build connections to find what you need without spending any more than you have to at first.

Take small steps and experiment with extra services cheaply to find which ones people use.

Here’s what Building Connections could look like:

• Often, hotels and motels offer a laundry area, maybe just one washer and dryer pair. See if you can build on that.
• Or, ask churches if they have laundry capability and could open it further to the public even during limited hours.
• Deb Brown told me about a Chicago sports bar that offered laundry in the back room.

Ask around for other groups or people in town who might be good partners.

Here are some extra services to experiment with by Taking Small Steps:

• Reader Emily Karsjens Perry mentioned 24 hour vending machines and exercise equipment. (If your Idea Friendly mind went straight to asking around to find donated or thrifted exercise equipment, 5 bonus points!)
• Sheila Scarborough mentioned the combination businesses Frama Coffee at Tumbleweed Laundry formerly in Marfa, TX. (Idea Friendly version: single serve coffee machine?)
• Deb Brown said another laundromat in Thomasville, NC, was near a bingo parlor. Deb said you often saw folks waiting on laundry who would fill their time by crossing the parking lot to play bingo. (Idea Friendly question: could you try a pop-up laundry, maybe in an empty building near an attraction like bingo?)

What ideas would you throw in the wash?

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With the rise of remote work, more people move to small towns even temporarily to work remotely. Small town businesses have the opportunity to tap remote workers as new customers.

Why remote workers are hard to market to

New residents who work remotely can be hard to find: they aren’t all working at the same place, and because they may see themselves as only temporary residents, they may not participate in the traditional events or organizations in the community.

Here are some suggestions to connect with them:

1. Partner With Other Businesses

One of the best ways to reach remote workers is to partner with other businesses that cater to them. Co-working spaces provide a place for remote workers to network, socialize, and work collaboratively. By partnering with a co-working space, businesses can host events, offer discounts or promotions, or simply use the space as a way to meet and network with remote workers.

Similarly, apartment owners and real estate agents can be great partners for small businesses looking to reach new residents or attract remote workers to their communities. Don’t forget about AirBNB hosts. Many remote workers are transient, and they may be looking for short-term housing while they explore new communities.

An informal co-working event like Jelly can help welcome remote workers to your community. Photo CC by Sheila Scarborough

2. Welcome Remote Workers to Your Community

Small businesses can also market to remote workers by welcoming them to their local communities.

Hosting events, workshops or meetups can be a great way to connect with remote workers and show them what your community has to offer. By providing a welcoming and inclusive environment, small businesses can build relationships with remote workers and foster loyalty.

Participating in existing community events and festivals is also smart. Remote workers often look to local events for chances to socialize and be part of their temporary or newly-full time residence. Small town businesses should already be participating in local events to reach locals and tourists!

3. Be online and market online

Having a social media presence on at least one channel is essential for small businesses looking to reach remote workers. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are all great platforms for connecting with potential customers.

Email marketing is also an effective way to stay connected with remote workers. By collecting email addresses through in-store sign-ups or online forms, small businesses can keep remote workers updated on events, promotions, and new products or services.

Want to recruit remote workers to live in your town?

The 3 major factors are incentives, flexible workspaces, and a sense of community.

And here’s how to recruit new residents, remote workers, or remote entrepreneurs by figuring out what makes your town attractive.

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Vanessa Morrison (holding mic) moderates a panel of the ecosystem of communities with (left to right) Mukul Malhorta, Kia Weatherspoon, and Allison Quinlan.

Recently I attended the OU (University of Oklahoma) Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) Placemaking Conference

This was the 10th annual event. There were 600 people attending from 40 counties in Oklahoma and 6 surrounding states.

I attended the 2017 event along with my colleague Deb Brown. The focus was inevitably on big cities, but I was there scouting for rural and small community ideas we could all use.

Kia Weatherspoon, President, Determined by Design, shared how her personal stories were her pathway to purpose.

Purpose Driven Path to Design Equity
Kia Weatherspoon, President, Determined by Design (interior design)

Kia shared how she came to work in interior design. Visiting her brother in prison, she found walking into the building and the entire environment to be dehumanizing. Later she served in the Air National Guard with three tours in Iraq. She improvised a space by hanging up sheets so she could feel safe dealing with the overwhelming emotions of war.

Those experiences–war and prison–brought her to understand how space hurts or heals people.

She works on affordable housing and other projects that normally don’t receive much if any purposeful interior design.

Her first project was for a domestic violence shelter for women. While some initially told her they didn’t need a well designed space because they had other needs to spend that money on, Kia persisted. Once it was finished, one of the women said to her, “When I walked into this space, I realized that change was possible for me.”

“The people who most need design don’t know they don’t have it, and they have no advocate,” Kia said.

• That resonated with me as rural people have little access to the kind of design that can make a difference in their lives, don’t know they don’t have it, and they have no advocate.

Kia said she digs deeply into the stories of the place starting with the land and the Indigenous people of the area. As she moves through the history of the place, she continues to collect stories and images to incorporate into her designs. She uses the phrase “Conjuring ripe heirlooms” to describe what they are creating.

Because these projects usually benefit people with low incomes, sometimes others will push back on her design choices. “You’re making it too nice for these people.” Kia said she sees it differently, asking herself “Is this good enough for my grandmother, my brother, my friend?”

“The spaces that we create today will affect four generations of people,” Kia said.

• That really hit me, as I don’t remember any design discussions in small towns that said out loud that these decisions will affect four generations (or more) in our community.

Mukul Malhotra showed this slide of children interacting with a map of their community. “Steal ideas from kids,” he said.

Neighborhoods and Streets for Exchange and Connection
Mukul Malhotra, Principal and Director of Urban Design, MIG, Inc.

Mukul shared stories of street designs and how they affect people and neighborhoods.

Mukul said when you design a street, don’t design it in a room. Go to the street and the people. Get design ideas from kids; they have great ideas. And test your designs before implementing them.

“As designers we don’t always know what will work,” Mukul said.

“But it looks great on a map!” is no excuse for a poor design. Spend more time on building crosswalks than sidewalks. Curbs prevent flexible uses, he said.

One of the most excluded activities is play, he said. The other is mobility.

Mukul also talked about placekeeping, not just placemaking. Many vibrant urban neighborhoods have been lost to big infrastructure projects.

• There is definitely a parallel to our small towns and what we’ve lost due to disinvestment and lack of investment through the decades.

People create places, Mukul said. Give us a reason to be there.

These one bedroom cottages had to be carefully created to meet code, comply with mortgage rules, and fit into the site.

The Power of Cute: Lovable Incremental Community Development
Allison Thurmond Quinlan, Principal of Flintlock Labs, Fayetteville, Arkansas

The product the market needs is not the product the market knows how to produce, Allison said.

As household size shrinks, we need twice as many housing units to house the same population.

1 and 2 person households are the majority of all households, but that’s not the kind of houses we have. There are more 5 bedroom houses in America than 1 bedroom, she said.

Alison said they build small and loveable housing. Loveable efficiency, they call it. Build for people.

Make things cute AF, she said.

Allison shared her design for South Street Cottages and other small scale housing.

Melody Warnick says you can increase how attached you feel to your place through simple experiences.

The Daily Practice of Loving Where You Live: How to Create Joy in Our Imperfect Places
Melody Warnick, Author, This is Where You Belong and If You Could Live Anywhere

Rooted people feel like they want to be where they live, Melody said. That feeling changes, and it takes about 5 years from arriving in a place for your attachment to peak.

Being excluded is interpreted as physical pain by the brain, Melody said.

Even if you’re a 10 on place attachment, someone else in town is a 1 or 0, she said.

Walking and biking gives you mental maps and that gives you a sense of ownership and involvement, Melody said. 

Anyone can choose to do things that will help them feel more attached to their place and a stronger sense of belonging in their community, Melody said.

Just getting a lot of people in the same place makes a community feel vibrant. Make love visible in your community, she said.

I’ve followed Melody online for many years. I highly recommend both of her books. 

Our Greatest Source of Joy and Happiness are the Vibrant, Walkable Public Spaces Around Us
Arti Harchekar, Founding Principal, JoyfulUrbanist.com

Arti said we naturally tend to react more to negative experiences. If we can create consistent happiness stimulation, we can rewire the brain to better experience the positive.

Sharing her own struggle with depression, she said third places give flexible levels of interaction to people. Even a quick exchange of “hi” and “thanks” at the local store can be supportive when it’s needed.

Order reduces our anxiety, and an organized cityscape or townscape counts. In a vibrant downtown street, you are being hugged by the environment, she said.

Where the building meets the street, what does it gift to the community? For example, a porch is a gift of being available to connect.

• I thought this was a great way to look at buildings. What gifts do they give us?

Background buildings are the givers of the local environment. They give to the whole community, Arti said. Landmark buildings stand out. You can’t have every building be a landmark or they lose what makes them special.

Put the pedestrian in the middle of the space, and they set the pace for the area.

What percentage of your town’s built environment is the streets? That’s a great question from Arti for cities, but also for small towns. We have a lot of our community in streets.

And still we love this place

Ronald H. Frantz is Director of Small Town Studios at OU Institute for Quality Communities. His previous work at Oklahoma Main Street introduced him to small towns all across the state. While introducing the panel discussion with Melody and Arti, Ron listed off a number of horrible yet true quality of life stats for Oklahoma.

“We’re last in quality of life,” Ron said. 

Cheryl Lawson of Tulsa turned to me and added, “and still we love this place.”

• There’s a lot to think about in this exchange. We can acknowledge that our quality of life isn’t great. We don’t benefit from great design, and we don’t even know we don’t have it, as Kia said. Our small towns struggle with huge challenges, and we have many challenges in common with some of our most urban neighborhoods.
• And still we love this place. We have connection, as Melody said. We have families and networks and history here. We’ve learned ways to adapt to where we are. We work to make things better, even as we face our shortcomings.

Watch for more from Cheryl Lawson, coming up.

Ron Franz, Melody Warnick and Becky McCray talk during a break at the 2023 OU Placemaking Conference Institute for Quality Communities. Photo by Cheryl Lawson.

Leadership in Place Management
Jane Jenkins, Principal, Jane Jenkins Resources, Downtown OKC (Oklahoma City)
Former Main Street director from Wagoner, Oklahoma

While Jane mostly talked about city ideas that weren’t easy to adapt, she shared a couple of great small town one liners:

You are going to make mistakes.

Money is not the issue. 

She also shared a 3 minute video based on the book “The Secret Life of Small Urban Spaces” by William H. Whyte. She called it the best 3 minute placemaking lesson available.

• While it skews urban, we can steal a lot of this for rural communities.

Big Ideas: Transforming Fort Worth’s Central City
Fernando Costa, Assistant City Manager, City of Fort Worth

This was another session that was hard for small towns to relate to.

One great point was that any community can design public spaces to encourage healthy behavior. Over 70% of health is determined by lifestyle and environment.

One suggestion that I’m sure he didn’t mean to be as amusing as I found it, was to convert auto oriented urban commercial corridors into walkable villages. So any of your wide two-lanes-each-direction sprawly areas dominated by drive-throughs and chains could be more like a walkable downtown. He even went so far as to use the words “walkable villages.” Here’s the funny part: The only three things you need are money, incentives (more money), and zoning.

• Let me know if your small town can round up money, more money and zoning for anything.

National Trends for Cities and Mayors
Trinity Simons Wagner, Executive Director, Mayors’ Institute on City Design

Again, not a great small town idea session. Even then, there were two points from Trinity that I latched onto.

Vacant buildings, especially formerly significant ones, are reminders of loss.

• That statement really hurts for small towns and rural communities, full of vacant buildings and memories.

If you aren’t building WITH your community, you aren’t building FOR your community. 

Trinity said that (If you’re not building WITH, you’re not building FOR) as almost a throwaway line as she rushed through the end of her talk. It could almost sum up the conference, as it was a recurring theme from nearly every presenter.

• I know that doesn’t mean we’ll see this attitude in practice from design professionals serving rural communities very often, but I take my encouragement where I can get it.

OU IQC Director Shane Hampton opened the conference. Dwayne Bright from Kansas City, Kansas, is seated to the left.

Rural + Urban connections

I was sitting next to (and really surrounded by) a group from Kansas City, Kansas, who attended to learn more about housing and ideas they could use in their urban neighborhoods. Dwayne Bright is a Fuse Executive Fellow working there. We had some interesting discussions about how rural communities and urban neighborhoods are similar. Both have lost housing and much more over the decades, and many similar ideas will work in both types of communities.

This was not new to me, from conversations with Cheryl Lawson and others about their communities and with you about your rural ones.

Cheryl Lawson of Tulsa attended the Placemaking Conference after seeing my tweet about it.

Cheryl Lawson is a longtime online community leader and offline placemaker in Tulsa. She created and led the #SMTulsa Conference for 10 years, and I was honored to be involved each year. Cheryl has welcomed me into the SMTulsa family, where I have learned a great deal about community building and social media.

Through SMTulsa friends like Cheryl and Carlo Moreno, I’ve learned a lot about the terrible history of the Tulsa Race Massacre, as well as Tulsa’s Greenwood District past and present, the North Tulsa neighborhood of today, and Oklahoma’s historic All Black Towns. I’m no expert, but this knowledge has definitely broadened my perspectives.

Read Cheryl’s event report at Medium.

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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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EV charging stations are popping up in lots of rural places, especially along interstate highways and along the coasts in the US. They’ve become relatively common at some motels as well.

Chargers are also popping up globally in rural places. Deb Brown reported seeing electric vehicle chargers in rural Portugal in Dec 2022.

Photo by Becky McCray

This EV charging station is near an interstate highway in Flagler, rural East Central Colorado. Seems kinda boring.

How visitors use electric vehicle charging stations

Most drivers are stopping at chargers for a boost, rather than driving until the battery is empty and charging it to 100%. As Canary Media reported, “EV charging tends to come in sips, rather than gulps.”

How long does EV charging take? Quick chargers take 15 to 30 minutes to deliver this kind of sip. 

Imagine people pulling off the highway and into your small town, then standing around or sitting in their cars for 15 to 30 minutes. What could you do to turn them into visitors?

Idea 1. Post wayfinding signs

If you already have way-finding signs for your community, look for EV charging stations to post them at.

Photo by Becky McCray

Limon, Colorado, has the full wayfinding sign package: directional arrows to all the amenities, plus a map of the town mounted on the post.

Idea 2. Include signs to businesses

What local businesses might a traveler visit? Any kind! Of course retail, convenience, grocery stores and restaurants. But while you’ve got the chance, why not go all out and share a huge business directory sign?

Photo by Becky McCray

This wayfinding sign is not far from the EV charging station shown at the top of this article. It’s in Flagler, Colorado, and includes an easily-updateable  list of businesses and a pointer to the business district.

Idea 3. Feature your local culture

Photo by Becky McCray

When you pull into Concrete, Washington, from the highway, you come to a stop at the main intersection facing this wayfinding sign with a list of businesses and direction arrows. The chainsaw art border reflects their local mountain culture and history.

Idea 4. Show them a map

Photo by Becky McCray

This wayfinding map of the town of Lumby, British Columbia, Canada, includes an inset map of the town park. The design is printed on metal and mounted on the building. When it fades, it will be easy to replace.

Idea 5. If signs aren’t allowed, paint a map mural nearby

Photo by Becky McCray

If wayfinding signs aren’t allowed, how about an artistic map mural? Here Concrete, Washington, lays claim on being the Center of the Known Universe. This mural led me to discover the historic concrete bridge at the edge of town which was well worth a visit for an infrastructure nerd.

Get more top topics for small towns

This is just one of the 5 top topics that Deb Brown and I put together. These topics are ones we think don’t get enough attention right now. Discover the other 4 topics at LearnTo.SaveYour.Town: 5 Top Topics. No charge.

Paula Jensen, The Community Coach

Living in a small town, we are often inclined to see change in our community as a threat to ourselves and our way of life. When we feel threatened by change, uncertainty rears its ugly head and our negativity often takes over. We say things like

“What’s wrong with the way we’ve always done it?”

or “Why do we need something new? The old one’s just fine.”

or “We can’t afford that.”

or “That will never work, we’ve tried it before.”

And, sometimes we just outright disguise our negativity as facts, experience, or helpful guidance.

Every day as a community coach I work with rural changemakers to develop their thriving small towns. These passionate people explore what’s possible and create local vision. They work diligently to engage more people in the process and listen with curiosity to make ideas stronger. They seek outside resources and partnerships to fund projects. But along the way, these rural changemakers always encounter one common denominator – negativity.

One rural changemaker stated this:

When the negative voices in our community start to make noise, it pulls us away from our purpose and each other… pretty soon people start believing what’s the loudest rather than searching for what’s possible.”

How to change the negativity habit

So, the overarching question is, how might a community change its negativity habit? James Clear, author of Atomic Habits writes:

The root of behavior change and building better habits is your identity. Each action you perform is driven by the fundamental belief that it is possible. So, if you change your identity (what you believe you are), then it is easier to change your actions.”

If you agree with James Clear that building better habits starts with changing your identity, then the answer to the question above is to create a new community identity. What if you became known as a thriving community of rural changemakers?

It can start with one. One rural changemaker – YOU – can master your own mindset and manage the negativity habit that exists around you. Then ask other rural changemakers to join you on this quest for a thriving community.

Practical steps to take

As you gather your crowd of rural changemakers and engage with others who are stuck in the negativity habit take these conscious actions to constructively engage

1. Show confidence in your skills, abilities, and your new identity as a rural changemaker.
2. Listen to others intently and with curiosity to shift from problem mode to solution mode.
3. Say, “I don’t have the answer right now.” Diffuse negativity by tactfully supplying a well-thought-out response later.
4. Redirect conversations by talking about what’s possible.
5. Ask for solutions that could resolve problems from the past.
6. Turn complaints into opportunities by brainstorming ideas.
7. Focus on what is within your control, not things you cannot control.
8. Test innovative ideas by implementing short 30-day action plans.
9. Celebrate your successes to create a community buzz.
10. Become stronger together by recognizing all the good things going on in the community and share those stories publicly.

Cutting out every bit of negativity is unrealistic, but we can learn to live responsively instead of reactively, being positive when others are negative. If we simply ensure our attitude as a rural changemaker aligns with our community’s vision, together we can and will thrive into the next generation.