Consider how your community builds wealth. Well, as a Strong Town advocate, you may think of your local entrepreneurs, creating homegrown products and services to serve the community; or you may think of your downtown, where residents gather and use these products and services.
Brandon Schielak—Strong Towns member and this episode’s guest on It’s the Little Things—has witnessed the value of entrepreneurship in his rural community of La Grange, Texas. They’ve built thriving businesses in downtown and contribute to La Grange’s economic ecosystem.
But as Brandon further investigated how to support rural entrepreneurs, he discovered an opportunity that he’d later transform into a product for rural communities across North America: institutions, such as schools or nonprofit organization, still sold product produced outside the community for their local fundraisers.
Think the magazine subscriptions or the tins of flavored popcorn that you’d pitch to your neighbors in exchange for a low payment of $50 for your elementary school.
That’s why Brandon and his wife created The PlatForum: an online marketplace where organizations can view a catalog of local products and services, which they can use for their local fundraisers.
Today, The PlatForum has partnered with dozens of communities across North America—with a focus on rural communities—who’ve made a small bet to reimagine how they can support local entrepreneurs, keeping their dollars in the community in the process.
In this episode, Brandon reflects on his experiences at The PlatForum and shares how you can support rural entrepreneurs in your community, including how rural communities traditionally think of economic development, how to find and cultivate rural entrepreneurs, and—most important—how to plug them into your local, economic ecosystem.
LeVette Fuller: Actively Making a Strong Town
Introducing Your New Host for The Bottom-Up Revolution!
Top of the Bottom-Up: Creating a Coffee Shop for the Whole Neighborhood
Top of the Bottom-Up: Taking Matters Into Our Own Hands to #SlowTheCars
Top of the Bottom-Up: Building Family and Community Resilience
Top of the Bottom-Up: Building Gentle Density and a Grassroots Campaign for City Council
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Getting Stronger
Top of the Bottom-Up: Growing Food, Growing Resilience
Sarah Cipkar: Building an Accessory Dwelling Unit and Helping Others Do the Same
Erin Stewart: A Mayor Working for Safe Streets and a Thriving Downtown
Norm Van Eeden Petersman: Speaking Up to Build Strong Towns
Emma Durand-Wood: Planting Street Trees and Neighborhood Connections
Spencer Gardner: Moving from Planning to Action
Lindsey Meek: An Engineer who ”Saw the Light”
Amy Stelly: Campaigning to Get Rid of an Urban Highway
Steph and Sean Tuff: Starting an Electric Bike Company
Danny Schaible: Creating a Street Design Team
Ari Feinsmith: Helping More People Get Out and Bike!
Montavius Jones: Celebrating Your City and Helping it Grow Better
Jen Stromsten and Alex Beck: Welcoming New Americans and Building up a Rural Economy
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