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Small Biz Survival “gets” Gen Y
December 17th, 2008 by Mike Knutson
If you’re a small business owner in a rural community, you need to get over to the Small Biz Survival blog. Becky McCray, who writes there, offers innovative ideas about how to use social media and other forms of technology in small businesses. And best of all, she understands rural. After all, she’s owns a small business herself in Alva, OK (pop. 5288).
Yesterday, Becky struck a home run in a subject we’ve been interested in lately – how to engage Gen Y in rural communities. She published the following excerpt of her responses to interview questions with Deb Brown, a small town Iowa newspaper editor:
How can we get our kids to come back to the community after college? What do we need to be doing to help develop our community for them too?
Engage them. Put young people in charge of projects. Involve them in “adult” meetings, like Rotary or the City Council. Setup a job shadowing or mentoring program with local businesses. Do everything you can to make young people a vital part of everything in the community. It’s not just about projects or assets. It’s about building a sense of belonging and community. That will stick with kids long after they head to college, and that is what will make them want to return.
You can also go further to bring them back, with events focused on homecomings. You can hold all-school, all-year reunions. If you can compile a mailing list of interested alums, you can market not just your events, but also your town. Your city government might be able to offer inexpensive lots for building or other move-back incentives. You have to be creative about it.
Check out the full interview at Deb Brown’s blog:
Although I make it a point never to guess a lady’s age, I’m going to step out on a limb as say that Becky does not belong to Gen Y. But I sure think she gets them. Her advice will go a long way to making our rural communities places where young people want to live.
Tags: Becky McCray, Gen Y, generational issues, millenials, Small Biz Survival
Posted in Economic Development, Gen Y, Quality of Life, Rural | Comments (
3 )
December 17th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Mike
I have enjoyed your recent posts re: the “generations.” I came across some commentary recently at the Rural Doctors Association of Queensland (Australia). They had a presentation at their 2007 Annual Meeting featuring Peter Sheahan, a “young” Personal Development speaker with a particularly focus on Generation Y. He has a blog that you and others interested in generational research might find helpful. Generation Y Blog at http://generationy.typepad.com
Jim
December 19th, 2008 at 8:45 am
You got me laughing with that comment about age! Yes, I’m in Generation X. As you’ve pointed out before, the key is not focusing on what makes Gen Y different, but to focus on building personal relationships.
Thanks for your kind comments. I’m a fan (and a subscriber) of your writings here, and the work you are doing to help everyone reimagine what rural can mean. Thank you!
December 19th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Ops – mistake – cited the wrong web site. Should go look here http://www.petersheahan.com