• Survey
  • Book Becky to speak
  • The book: Small Town Rules
  • Shop Local video
  • SaveYour.Town

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS

Brain Drain Fighters #2: "Come Home" Programs

By Becky McCray

More on the subject of combating “brain drain.” This time: how to get your alumni back, at any stage of life.

Action Items for Everyone:

  • Hold awe inspiring alumni reunions. Cross the Year boundaries and combine all the classes. Do this more than once every millenia. (Waynoka does it every 5 years.)
  • Pick one online tool for alumni, and promote it ceaselessly. Work to get everyone you can find signed up on classmates.com or some related tool. Encourage the networking!
  • Include all alums. Private schools, church schools, rural schools, vo-tech schools, schools now closed or consolidated, all the schools you can think of. Remember the colleges, universities, junior colleges, beauty schools, and trade schools. Heck, include the pre-schools if it will help!
  • Develop an outstanding mailing list of alums. Use it wisely to promote your the quality of your town, events and opportunities to return.
  • Publish an alumni directory. Make it the fashionable place to have your name listed. Allow alums to provide a bio or some personal info. Promote networking!
  • Create incentives to move in. Can you finagle reduced utilities? Streamlined permitting? Free or reduced building lots? If not, what about compiling a list of standard incentives anyone could qualify for, like homebuyer assistance, free checking or anything you can think of! Now, the kicker is that you must promote these incentives.
  • Promote your business opportunities to alums. Do you have an industrial park? Building incentives? Do your alums know about them?

[small biz] [rural] [brain drain] [alumni] [Becky McCray]

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
  • How cooperatives improve small town economies - May 8, 2022
  • Metaverse business idea: virtual world tour guide - April 15, 2022
  • Make extra money from extra workspace: co-working and 3rd workplaces in small towns - March 28, 2022
  • Trade show booth design trend: hand drawn visuals - March 21, 2022
  • New business sign design? Don’t use cursive script - February 14, 2022
  • Way more people prefer rural than urban, new Pew Research study finds - February 1, 2022
  • Top 5 Rural and small town trends 2022 - January 3, 2022
  • How to start a real small small business - December 17, 2021
  • Tip for better pop-ups and shed businesses - December 5, 2021
  • Small town business idea: cat grooming - November 15, 2021

February 28, 2006 Filed Under: rural Tagged With: remote work, rural sourcing

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

Shop Local

Buy local buttonReady to set up a shop local campaign in your small town? You'll need a guide who understands how we're different and what really works: Shop Local Campaigns for Small Towns.

Best of Small Biz Survival

What is holding us back? Why does every project take so long in small towns?

How any business can be part of downtown events by going mobile

Concert-goers talking and enjoying the evening in downtown Webster City, Iowa.

Why do people say there’s nothing to do here then not come to our concerts?

Retailers: Fill all empty space, floor to ceiling

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2022 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in