One of the ways that South By Southwest (SXSW) picks their panels is to ask the community what they would like to see at the mega-conference.  This year I submitted a panel called, What We Can Learn From Small Town Entrepreneurs. It is based on the upcoming book with Becky McCray.  We will discuss:

How society has changed.  It is cycling away from big: big companies and big retail.  Geographic advantage is shrinking, and competition is everywhere.  In order to thrive under these conditions, it is essential that every business build a community.  Businesses are increasingly using social media to build their reputation and market their business.  Companies spend their marketing dollars to find and participate in online communities based on a specific interest.  In fact, social media like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are frequently compared to the old time country store, where everyone knew everyone, and friendly conversations lead to doing business together.  Small town entrepreneurs have been building communities to grow their businesses for hundreds of years.  We will unlock the secrets of rural entrepreneurs that can now be used to help anyone build a business regardless of where you are located.  Why small town entrepreneurs?  If every customer can talk to every other customer now, is there anyone who knows how to do business this way?  Small town businesses.  If building community is the new way of marketing, who is still living by community and can teach us?  Small towns.  If the old country store is the model for social media, where do we find them?  Small towns.

If you are interested, vote here for our panel.

I am also presenting with Dave Peck “K.I.S.S. and Your Brand.”

My friends, Liz Strauss and Terry Starbucker at SOBCON have also suggested all the panels we should vote for at SXSW.  Check them out.  Lots of great stuff from Liz, Terry, Carol Roth, Jeannie Walters, Lisa Petrilli, Jonathan Fields, Becky McCray, Sheila Scarborough and Scott Stratten.

It’s kind of like Chicago, you can vote more than once!