Author: Steve

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Business Transitioning Presentation at March Chamber Meeting!

This is a Chamber meeting you won’t want to miss, so mark your calendar for Wednesday, March 11th!

Headshot of Doug Roberts, MMEC

At the March 11th General Membership Meeting, the Choteau Chamber of Commerce is excited to present Doug Roberts from the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center and his presentation about business transitioning!

Doug has a passion for manufacturing and small business and has expertise in strategic planning, succession planning, business systems and too many more to list them all.

Doug’s presentation will help owners identify action steps to begin “de-risking” their businesses, increase value and improve their transition outcomes.

Transition readiness is “just” good business, and owners who commit to becoming more transition ready will enjoy greater financial success, better legacy outcomes, and increased personal fulfillment. Business owners will learn what transition readiness is, why it matters, and how to improve their personal and business outcomes.

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GFDA RFP: Lead Generation Services

Get more about the RFP details on the GFDA website.

The Great Falls Montana Development Authority is seeking a firm(s) with economic development business attraction experience to provide lead generation services.

We have a wide-open view of what types and scope of lead generation services could provide the highest ROI. We seek a long-term relationship with the selected firm(s) to boost our attraction results.

We anticipate executing an annual contract(s) with the selected firm(s) in the range of $25,000-$75,000 per annum. We may engage the selected firm(s) to provide additional research, strategic planning and/or other economic development services.

An electronic copy of the proposal should be submitted in PDF format by email, Dropbox or other electronic file sharing method by 5:00 PM MST on Friday, March 27, 2020 to Brett Doney at BDoney@GrowGreatFalls.org

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Prepare for Coronavirus & Other Disasters

The spread of COVID-19 (aka Coronavirus) doesn’t mean it’s time to panic, it means it’s time to prepare.

In a February 24th article on the Inc. website “The Coronavirus Outbreak Could Change the Way You Work. Here’s How to Prepare Your Company” the author discusses how to prepare your company for a pandemic by planning to push for remote working. A perfect opportunity for remote workers in Choteau, but not necessarily relevant for Choteau businesses who may not be directly affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

What is relevant for Choteau businesses however is to start thinking about a few contingencies for this outbreak, or other disasters: what happens if tourism is down this summer? What happens if my suppliers aren’t able to get ship my product due to a lag in the supply chain?

These are just a couple of questions to think about, but what are other questions to think about for your Choteau business?

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Small Town Tourism Chat Live 3:30 pm on Wed 2/19 on Twitter!

Hop on Twitter tomorrow at 3:30 pm Choteau local time and take part in the #SmallTownTourismChat chat live, right on Twitter!

Topics will include vacation plans, road trip preferences, unusual places you’ve visited, the influence of food & restaurants, roadside attractions, and travel tips.

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Opinion: Rural Needs a Positive Vision to Survive

Downtown Choteau Facing North

I came across this opinion piece in my inbox this morning, and it really resounds with me insofar as my 2020 plan to be specifically intentional in everything I do.

Every person who wants Choteau to be a loving, living, and thriving community needs to read this opinion piece and ask themselves, are they welcome?

“Rural communities will be saved by the people who want to live there. They were created by people who wanted to live there. Rural communities were created by people hoping to become business owners, land owners or employees of a good company. There are more people in need of those same opportunities than at any time since World War II. If they are welcomed to rural places, they will fill the schools, run the grocery stores and publish the county paper. Are they welcome?”

Bill Patrie, Daily Yonder