My flight to London had barely lifted off when my seatmate and I began to chat.
I soon learned that the handsome man seated next to me was a former art teacher who reinvented his life and is now a full-time painter. Since English landscapes are his specialty, he was a frequent flyer to England.
His reinvention had included moving from the Twin Cities of Minnesota to a small town south of there. “I just love it, “ he said. “It’s so quiet. I go to my studio and paint to my heart’s content.”
Not long after, I found myself seated next to another small town enthusiast on a flight to Dallas. This man was a former pilot who had just become a flight training instructor.
But he was most excited about the little bed and breakfast inn he and his wife owned in a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania. It was their second such venture and he regaled me with stories about his life as an innkeeper.
The dream of living and working a bit off the beaten path is no longer out of the question. Long neglected by a mobile population that rushed to cities seeking their fortune, small towns are being rediscovered and reinvented by a new wave of entrepreneurial spirits.
While small town living isn’t for everyone, relocating to smaller places is becoming increasingly popular. The entrepreneurial revolution is partially responsible. Thanks to technology, it’s now possible to do all sorts of work in the most remote locations.
Even those of us who choose to remain within large cities are becoming more like villagers, carving out our personal small space within larger city limits. More walking and talking to each other are the visible characteristics of these big city villagers.
So is reclaiming neglected property and neighborhoods. Obviously, more of us are taking action to transform existing places into good human habitats.
If you’re dreaming about becoming an entrepreneurial villager, decide if you want to create a local business that serves your community or if you want to serve a clientele unlimited by geography. Either kind of business is possible in the new world of cottage industries.
Since today’s cottage is apt to be an electronic one, small towns are becoming home to an endless array of enterprises that would have been unthinkable even a decade ago.
If small town living appeals to you, make your own opportunities in a place that you love. As Jack Lessigner advises, “Build something, help something, save something. The possibilities are endless.”
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Becky McCray’s Small Biz Survival Web site is loaded with tips and information for entrepreneurial villagers.
“decide if you want to create a local business that serves your community or if you want to serve a clientele unlimited by geography”… I want to do both. I want to have a business that serves lots of communities. I want to travel and meet people and bring teachers and students together in those communities. I also want to work from my home office and write, teach and inspire people from around the world without ever leaving home (wherever that is at the moment). With today’s technology I believe I can do both. Thanks for another great post!
Barbara,
I live in a very small town high up in the Rocky Mountains. We have about 450 people residing here in summer and less the rest of the year. It’s peaceful, we have less crime, and it’s unpretentious. There is no keeping up with the Jones’ family here. It makes for a nice place to walk around, get to know people, attend the local festivals, and just be able to enjoy life at home more.
My town, Victor, Colorado, is a historic mining town. We are known for city-wide yard sales one weekend a year, Gold Rush Days annual event in July (Been going on since 1895 under various names), and Victor Celebrates the Arts festival on Labor Day weekend. People come up here for the breathtaking views, the history, our Lowell Thomas museum, to see a town that still looks like it is living in former times,hike the trails, visit our antique and other shops, and so much more. People paint our brick buildings, Victorian houses, our fabulously restored City Hall, and the scenery. Gold mining is how this town got started, and the one gold mine still being worked, along with summer tourism, is what keeps our town alive.
We have some entrepeneurs here- mostly shopkeepers and artists, and it’s a fine place for those who prefer a more serene setting rather than the hustle bustle of the city. It definitely takes over an hour to drive to networking in the nearest city of any size, but I think the trade-offs are worth it at this stage of my life.
I believe that most adults get a sense of what size and type of place they feel most at home at. Some people are more flexible than others and can live anywhere. In this internet age, if anyone reading this feels the call to small-town living and wants to run their own business, I’d enthusiastically say “Go for it!”
How great, Beth, to have this wonderful endorsement from a genuine villager.
Barbara, thank you for kicking off this discussion. You know I’m a huge fan of the options small towns offer to entrepreneurs.
One of the joys of being jobless is that you don’t have to choose. You can do both: “create a local business that serves your community” AND thanks to technology, “serve a clientele unlimited by geography.” After spending two decades living and starting businesses in major metropolitan areas, I made the choice to move to a rural-coastal village and spent ten years learning and practicing the art of doing business in a small community in a way that impacts the lives of people far away. Now while spending time in a city again, I’m enjoying observing small business owners who operate in their little pocket communities as if they were small town shop owners. They call customers by name, know their customers preferences, ask about their families or pets and recommend neighboring businesses. They also have customers living in other states, even other countries since they can connect with their clientele online. That’s small town living in the city and I believe we’ll see more of this village attitude as people are again shopping and doing business in their own neighborhoods. Thanks, Barbara, for a great post and for starting this discussion.
I love communities where everything is within walking distance without being crowded and compressed. That’s how Old Town Alexandria VA was. Now I live in a suburb of Denver Colorado. It’s going through a renaissance. I also love the fact that I can conduct my business from my home.