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There are Nuances to Small Communities

All public service has ups and downs, but small communities have their own personality, strong characters and politics. And, navigating that landscape is not easy.

It can seem like no matter how many good things you are doing for the community, people find new ways to be negative and rain on your parade. So, what does it take to be successful in a small town?

We can't always change the people making life difficult, but we can learn to front-load our efforts. We can learn to be better communicators. We can learn to recognize the tough characters and have good responses - not emotional ones. 

In this course, we will teach you how to be successful in your day-to-day operations. We will help you add tools to your toolbox. But, we will also teach you how to keep the peace and make progress. 

 Are You Ready to Hit the Road? 

Inside the Course You Will Find ...

The Roadmap Course Outline

The course includes video trainings, downloadable worksheets, bonus materials and personalized Q&A. Each module will be available immediately, but we will email you weekly to remind you of that week's topic.

  • WEEK ONE: BUILDING MOMENTUM - Kick apathy to the curb and get your community energized and mobilized. We will learn how to create momentum and get the ball rolling. 
  • WEEK TWO: SETTING PARAMETERS - Getting everyone clear on the mission and objectives of the organization is key to success. 
  • WEEK THREE: WHY YOUR POSITION MATTERS - If you aren't the one advocating for the community, who is? We will help you articulate the importance of your job to the citizens as well as board members.
  • WEEK FOUR: CELEBRATING SUCCESS - We will help you find those success stories at every level, celebrate them and publicize them in order to continue building momentum. 
  • WEEK FIVE: PROGRESS OVER PERFECTION & BR&E - Don't get frustrated with the process and quit. We will help you connect the dots, find purpose and keep going.
  • WEEK SIX: GATHERING YOUR RESOURCES - The best way to feel empowered is to put tools in your toolbox. Not only will we help you gather your local, regional, and state resources, but we will show you how the people in your community are your best resources. 
  • WEEK SEVEN: PRIORITIZE - You wear many hats and sometimes it is difficult to know where to focus. We will help you get clear, prioritize and make progress where it counts.
  • WEEK EIGHT: OVERCOMING DIFFICULTIES & STAYING POSITIVE - We know what you are going through. We are here with some mindset training to help you stay strong. 

 I'm Jimi, Your Rural Economic & Community Development Ally

I have been doing rural economic development for 18 years in Texas. I am passionate about saving and developing small communities. 

Every community needs someone driving development. If you aren’t the one doing it, who will? But, rural practitioners are becoming fewer and fewer. Communities are left with no one moving the needle of progress.  

That is why I have developed this course. My hope is to build you up, offer some tools for your toolbox and a little mindset training to help overcome some of the tough things we face while serving the public. I hope you will join me in this course. 

Easy on the Budget

We know rural budgets are tight, and we created this course with that in mind. The cost for 8 weeks of online training, abundant resources, and a private group to network in, is only $247. You will get unique training specific to small communities. You will get ideas and resources you can use. And, you will be building your own network of other economic developers. Leave your name and email above and we will let you know when the cart opens! 

Still Have Questions? 

We love questions and have tried to answer some of them below. If you do not see what you need, shoot us an email at [email protected]. And, if you want to know a little bit more about why I'm doing all this, check out my blog post. 

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