Guest post by Jen Risley, AMIBA

Thank you for your commitment to building the local economy movement!

Wishing you an inspiring Shop Indie Local Week with the entire community. My cat Shamu (above) can’t wait for Plaid Friday!

One practical step: #ShopIndieLocal

It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Any local business or group can start by sharing social media posts announcing your plans and adding #ShopIndieLocal to your posts.

Get ready, get set, get indie local!

Not just Saturday: Plaid Friday through Giving Tuesday

The week after Thanksgiving is a super busy one for the Shop Indie Local movement as we celebrate Plaid Friday, Small Business Saturday, Artists Sunday, Cider Monday, and Giving Tuesday.

Invite Independent Businesses to Plaid Friday

From TLC Monadnock: We invite businesses to serve as Plaid Friday Hubs in the Monadnock Region, NH. Back in 2009, what started with three hubs has grown to over thirty each year. View our invitation and adapt it to work for you!

Learn more: Plaid Friday

Artists Sunday: Celebrating Local Artists, Creators, and Performers

From Artists Sunday: Artists Sunday, falling on November 26 this year, is the celebrated day after Thanksgiving dedicated to supporting local artists, creators, and performers. This year marks the fourth annual Artists Sunday, a unique shopping experience featuring over 4,000 professional artists and more than 500 non-profit art organizations, municipalities, and commercial entities across the nation.

“This Artists Sunday, let’s come together to celebrate and support the artists in our communities. It’s a day to fill our lives with beauty, creativity, and joy,” states Christopher V. Sherman, Executive Director of Artists Sunday

Learn more: Artists Sunday

Why Cider Monday Matters

Celebrate Cider Monday to bring attention to the effects of online sales on your community. You love buying local, but the next thing you know … CLICK, you purchased that blender online from a business far from your community. It’s so easy! And your one purchase won’t really make a difference… or will it?

Learn more: Cider Monday

Unleash Generosity on Giving Tuesday

From Giving Tuesday: Whether it’s making someone smile, helping a neighbor out, or showing up for an issue or people we care about, we each have something to contribute. Identify your gifts, pick a cause that gets you fired up, and give back. Each seemingly small act turns a ripple into a wave of good, transforming society and building the world we all want to live in.

Learn more: Giving Tuesday

Get more ideas, graphics and support

When you become a partner for the holidays, you’ll join 150 Shop Indie Local Holiday Campaign partners from 42 states, including SmallBizSurvival! You’ll also find downloadable logos and other images. You can adapt our templates in Canva including Square Images, Banner Images and Mobile Video. There’s no deadline, and it’s definitely not too late to join.

Get graphics and idea support from AMIBA Shop Indie Local.

Expand your November and beyond:

Native American Heritage Month

From First Nations Development Institute: Celebrate Native American Heritage Month with First Nations! This month and all year, we recognize and honor Native contributions, history, culture, and ingenuity. We’ll be sharing ways to support Indigenous leaders, authors, creators, and communities all month, including:

• How to be an ally to Native Americans by reclaiming Native truth and challenging stereotypes.
• Resources to learn about Native American heritage, culture, and issues.
• How to support Native-owned businesses in your holiday shopping.
•  Opportunities for your donation to make the largest possible impact for Native communities.

View the Facebook post

Neighborhood Toy Store Month

From ASTRA: Local toy stores aren’t just places where families shop; they are centers of creativity, imagination, and learning.

Learn more: Neighborhood Toy Store Month

Join the Choose Indie Local Movement for the next year

Get ready for year-round ideas and support with next year’s Choose Indie Local campaigns. Our Choose Indie Local program inspires and supports community members to boost the ripple effect of economic and community benefits we receive when we spend and invest dollars at locally owned businesses. Let’s make ripples!

To give us a jump start, we’re announcing our 2024 campaigns today.

• Choose Black-Owned
• Choose Indie Sustainable
• Move Your Money: Bank Local, Invest Local
• Bicycling Means Business
• Choose Indie Pride
• Independents Month
• Eat Indie Local
• Choose Indie Art
• Shop Indie Local

Think of the list above as a menu of options. Choose the campaigns that align with your overall goals and sign on to participate in one, two, or all nine.

What partners receive:

You’ll receive a list of resources to help you establish your goals and leverage each theme you sign up for.
We’ll list your business/organization as a partner on our campaign webpage(s).
One month leading up to the campaign and weekly once our campaign starts, you’ll receive updates to inspire you and keep your campaign momentum strong.

Sign onto Shop Indie Local for 2024 .

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

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.

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.

For rural entrepreneurs, authenticity is rooted in their craft, the traditions it stems from, and the genuine narratives behind each product. Photo by Deb Brown

Why Rural Craftsmanship Resonates in Online Sales

Guest post by Tance Hughes

In today’s digital age, the online marketplace is bustling with options at every click. Amidst the buzz of big brands and flashy advertisements, there lies an understated yet profound power: the allure of authenticity. For rural entrepreneurs, this authenticity is rooted in their craft, the traditions it stems from, and the genuine narratives behind each product.

A jar of jam preserving the flavors of a bountiful summer harvest can embody more than mere utility.

Handcrafted Goods: Beyond Just a Product

Each handcrafted item carries with it a story of its origin. Whether it’s a quilt stitched during the quiet hours of a winter evening, or a jar of jam preserving the flavors of a bountiful summer harvest, these items embody more than mere utility. They represent hours of labor, generations of passed-down knowledge, and a deep connection to the land and community.

When consumers purchase these goods, they’re not just buying a product; they’re buying a slice of history, a tale of dedication, and a bond with the artisan. This level of personal connection is something mass-produced items often lack, no matter how high their quality might be.

Telling the Tale: Narratives That Captivate

For rural entrepreneurs looking to stand out in the online market, the key is to emphasize these narratives. Detailed product descriptions that talk about the craftsmanship, the traditions that inspired the product, or even anecdotes about its creation can captivate a potential buyer’s imagination. High-quality photos and videos, showcasing the product in its natural rural setting or in the process of being made, can further enhance this narrative.

Platforms like Etsy or ArtFire thrive because they promise products imbued with authenticity.

The Modern Consumer: Seeking Genuine Connections

Modern consumers, bombarded by generic advertising and overwhelmed by choices, are increasingly drawn to authentic experiences and products. A survey by Cohn & Wolfe found that 91% of global consumers value honesty from brands most. This means that rural artisans, with their genuine products, have a competitive edge. Their offerings stand as a beacon of genuineness in an oversaturated market.

Moreover, the rise of platforms like Etsy or ArtFire, which specifically cater to handmade and vintage goods, attests to this growing consumer trend. These platforms thrive because they promise products imbued with authenticity.

What Does This Mean For Me?

The digital marketplace might seem vast and impersonal, but therein lies an opportunity for rural entrepreneurs. By leveraging the inherent authenticity of their crafts and effectively communicating the stories behind each product, they can forge deep connections with consumers. In an era where genuineness is increasingly cherished, rural craftsmanship is not just a relic of the past but a vibrant force shaping the future of online sales.

About the guest author

Tance Hughes is The Ruralpreneur, empowering small town entrepreneurs to expand their product-based businesses through e-commerce. Sign up for his regular newsletter at The Ruralpreneur.

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.

Subscribe to SmallBizSurvival

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

Over 1400 people have shared their rural challenges with us since 2015.

With all the change we’ve been through, have your priorities changed? We’d like your help to get an updated view of the challenges to your community and your business, and what’s working well or not so much.

The survey is open to rural people globally: USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or any other country. If you live or work in small towns, we’d love to hear from you.

Why your answers matter

Every small town has its own set of assets, issues and opportunities. You get a chance to tell us your community challenges and your assets, as well as what projects and ideas you’re trying.

Small Biz Survival and SaveYour.Town use the results to create practical steps that help you shape a better future for your town. Other organizations like government agencies and regional utilities use the results to better serve rural people. Your responses also get shared in articles and media stories without ever identifying you personally.

Tell others about the Survey

The more people who answer the survey, the better.

You can share this survey to your friends, followers, subscribers, readers, or organizations you belong to. You can put it in your newsletter, on social media, on your website or anywhere else you think rural people will be likely to find it. You can share this link:

https://smallbizsurvival.com/survey2022

The survey will close to new responses on December 31, 2022. UPDATE: Deadline extended to January 31, 2023!

Get the survey results

Results will be posted on our Survey of Rural Challenges page. You can also sign up for our newsletters to get all the updates.

She has spoken at events in the USA, Canada, Australia and UK.

Small Town Speaker Becky McCray presents the keynote speech to the North Carolina Rural Conference, organized by the NC Rural Center. Photo by Jose Alvarez.

I help you shape a brighter future for your town no matter what the negative people do, giving you practical steps you can put into action right away.
My advice is based on my real world experience as a lifelong entrepreneur and cattle rancher. I don’t just talk about rural issues; I live them.

Using my real-world perspective as a small business owner, I deliver concrete take-aways that you can use today to shape the future of your town without getting beaten down by circumstances or others’ negativity. Audiences feel energized and hopeful because they know how they can make a difference in their community starting now despite everything going on in the world.

You get down-to-earth advice based on my experience as a life-long rural entrepreneur and cattle rancher, including the “get your hands dirty” aspects that others gloss over.

My programs on my Idea Friendly method, rural trends, downtowns, economic development and community development have given practical ideas to audiences at over 250 events. Rural and small town conferences, economic development organizations, councils of government and chambers of commerce in the US, UK, Canada and Australia have chosen me to boost optimism, change thinking and unleash immediate action.

Not holding a conference? Just want me to visit your town?

Turn a visit from me into change for your town.

When you invite me to your town, it’s not about me. My impartial approach keeps the group focused. We get out and walk through your downtown to all work together on practical steps you can use right now.

Towns and counties from 700 to 70,000 population in the US and Canada have invited me to be part of shaping their future.

Learn more about Becky McCray, small town speaker

The famous Royal Theater in Archer City, Texas, still has its front facade and part of the side wall. In the back, it’s a roofless building that’s turned into an event space. Photo by Sheila Scarborough.

A building that is falling down or where the roof has fallen in can still be useful. One example is the Royal Theater, in Archer City, Texas.

The Royal Theater was featured in the movie “The Last Picture Show,” and production crews did the work to shore up the facade. The space behind has a shed roof helping to enclose a small open air event space. On the theater’s website, a neighboring building is used for indoor events.

Any small town can save their important facades, and create open air event spaces behind them. 

Tourism expert Sheila Scarborough sent us these photos from her recent visit to Archer City. Read more about her visit in All Booked Up in Archer City.

The Brag Basket is open! This one is for July 26-28, 2019. Bring your good news, big or small, to share with everyone.

What can you share in the Brag Basket?

• introduce yourself
• share some great news from this week
• celebrate progress, even baby steps
• congratulate a friend
• applaud for each other
• confess your undying love for rural places

Don’t like to brag? Just share some good news for someone you’re happy for. It’s a conversation with friends. So jump in. And remember to cheer for each other.

How do you join in?

Below this post is the comment section. Add your good news there.

Reading this in your email? Hit reply.

Some weeks you’ll find even more comments on our Facebook Page.

Want to see some past Brag Baskets and read some past contributions? Here’s the archive.