Norfolk County, Ontario, set up speed networking specifically so local people could connect and do more business with each other. Photo courtesy of Norfolk County.
Glenn Muske just reminded us that we should listen to other business owners:
“Want to improve the operation of your business? One simple tip is to listen to and watch what other business owners are doing. This simple piece of advice can save you a great deal of time, effort and money.”
This is just one reason I’m a big fan of building rural connections, helping people find other people in town they should talk to and learn from.
OK, so where do we find other business owners we can listen to? Look for events where lots of business owners will be in one place, or opportunities to connect with business support resources. You might find events like:
- Business fairs – where businesses have booths
- Networking events – where business owners come together to network
- Backroom Tours – when you get a chance to peek in back rooms of other businesses
- Co-working – where many different businesses share space
- Business resource nights – when business support services show up to help you
Put business owners and potential business owners in a room together, and they will collide (in a good way.) Serendipity happens as people find like-minded people or possible supporters. Two good ideas come together in a way that creates a new, third idea, that is stronger than either of the ideas it sprang from. That’s hybrid vigor.
Deb Brown and I will talk about all these and more in our next webinar, Rural Jobs Creation Strategies: Collisions, Serendipity, and the Hybrid Vigor of Ideas. The live event will be April 20, 2016, at 6pm Central time. (Convert to other time zones here.) The cost is $20.
The webinar will be recorded. If you are unable to attend live, you can still sign up, and you will receive admission to the recorded event from April 21 to May 5, 2016. We allow you to watch the live event, and also to invite friends and hold replays in your town, as long as you’re personally present each time. We want you to connect as many people in your town as you can during your two week replay window.
The webinar is sponsored by Dakota Resources, Tourism Currents, Iowa SBDC, the NDSU Extension Center for Community Vitality and the North Dakota Department of Commerce–Tourism Division.
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