We’re in New Glarus, Wisconsin (pop. 2,172) this week on the podcast with Morgann McCoy - Owner, Designer, and Seamstress at A Well Worn Story. Morgann creates high quality, handcrafted goods - including durable bags, aprons, and home goods - by transforming textiles into heirloom pieces to tell a unique story. And it all started with a sewing machine, a dream, and $5,000!

This week on the podcast we’re talking with Belle Golden of Belle’s Flower Truck in Tifton, Georgia. She’s sharing how, as someone who never had arranged flowers or even had dreams for a flower truck, knew in her heart this was something she was supposed to do and brought it to life in a matter of days. The result is now one of the hottest things in her small town - Belle’s Flower Truck.

Vian was always a place my kids loved to visit, and it was a place that was so special to my husband — it was home. We purchased a building downtown to open our newest location and get started here.

This week on the podcast we’re in Vian, Oklahoma talking with Lyndsey Sullivan, who recently opened a lifestyle gym called The Field House. She’s sharing how she brought what had been a dream in her heart for over five years to life by restoring a vacant building on main street.

Operating a floral business in a rural town is no simple feat. Doing the aforementioned while working a full-time job 40 miles away is just another layer of the proverbial onion. However, we had a plan!

Having worked at community and economic development for many, many years, I’m well aware of the countless individuals who’ve given so much time to their communities and to the entire region! And I’ve learned how so much more can be achieved through collaborations and partnerships than can ever be accomplished individually, making so many things possible that would not be otherwise. As our communities strengthen and our region prospers, you can see the work of committed individuals everywhere.

Our original goal of starting a business was to bring more people to our area, keep more money local and hope to share priceless time together as mother and daughter. What ended up happening was something unexpected and much more significant. We have met the most amazing people who live locally, are at the lake, or are traveling through — and have built relationships and friendships with those people that we would have otherwise never known. Meeting these people and learning their stories has made it all so worth it!

We’re on the farm outside of Atlantic, Iowa with Michelle Myers of Dirt Road Candle Company for this week’s podcast. Michelle started a side hustle making soy candles - and with scents like Iowa Back Roads, Small Town Gossip, and County Fair - her business has quickly taken off.

This week on the podcast we’re in Cimarron, New Mexico (pop. 1,021) with entrepreneurs Colin and Erin Tawney, who are sharing what led them to bringing a bed and breakfast, brewery, and bike race to their historic town, plus all they’re doing to help bring economic development and positive change to the community.

This week on the podcast we’re in Versailles, Kentucky (pop. 9,292) with entrepreneur Emily Riddle. Emily and her husband have invested into their small town square by bringing in several new businesses, and in just a year and a half it has evolved into a vibrant, thriving destination that’s attracting young people — and most recently Hollywood — as the site for a Drew Barrymore movie set.

This week we’re in Metamora, Illinois (pop. 3,732) with Paige Ehnle of No Roots Boots. Paige has combined her passion for travel, meeting people, and high quality western and fashion boots into a boot store on wheels. She now road trips with her vintage Airstream to markets, fairs, festivals, concerts, and other events - selling her boots all over America. She’s sharing all about how she built her business and what she’s learned along the way.

We’re in Penn Valley, California this week on the podcast with fiber artist Cassidy Fisher of The Northern Craft. She’s sharing about how she turned her passion for art into a full-time profession, and how she uses inspiration from the beautiful things around her to create her collections. Plus, she’s dishing about her incredible experience at Magnolia’s Silobration and the impact that’s had on her business.

This week on the podcast we’re in Pawhuska, Oklahoma with Luke and Kenyon Lomax of Prairie Sky Jewelry Company. With a fairly new business and products that have quickly become high in demand, we have an incredible conversation on how they have built their business and their life, and how they transitioned from life on the road to their new home on the farm in Pawhuska.

This week on the podcast we’re in Gridley, California (pop. 6,937) with third generation rice farmer Matthew Sligar. Matthew started Rice Farming TV to help promote and educate people on the California rice industry through weekly videos on YouTube, and he’s gained quite a following. He’s talking all things rice farming and how his videos have opened up some great opportunities.

This week on the podcast we’re with designer Regan Doely of Doe A Deer in Stuart, Iowa (pop. 1,648). Regan’s talking about how she’s grown her business from a side hustle on Facebook into a full product line that’s now being sold by national retailers.

This week on the podcast we’re on the ranch in Datil, New Mexico (pop. 54) with cowboys and love stories photographer Lyndsey Garber. We talk about what it’s been like for Lyndsey to grow her rural business from a side hustle to a portfolio with national clientele. Plus she has some great things to say about the power of story, and even shares her own cowboy love story.

We’re sitting down with Mary Heffernan of Five Marys Farms. We met up at their M5 Burgerhouse in Fort Jones, California (pop. 839) to talk about all things Five Marys. Like, how she first discovered her love for small business, why she loves the rural life, the power of Instagram, and so much more. Mary is an entrepreneur at heart and you’ll be so inspired hearing how she and her family have built Five Marys from the ground up.

We recently met up with Brooke Clay of Rural Gone Urban as our travel paths were crossing in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We had a great conversation about the power of story, her Rural Influencer Project and what makes someone an influencer, and why the narrative is changing for rural America.

This week on the podcast we’re taking you to the farm outside of New Providence, Iowa (pop. 250) with lifestyle photographer and leatherist Ali Nelson. Ali has so many cool things going on and she’s giving us a look at her life as a farm wife, creative, and small town entrepreneur.

If you’re looking for rural development strategies, then this week’s podcast is for you! We’re sitting down with Chris Deal from Jefferson, Iowa (pop. 4,345) to talk about the amazing revitalization happening here. Chris moved back to his hometown to help with the family business, Deal’s Orchard, and has had a key role in the revitalization of Jefferson and some exciting projects happening here.