Work to build memorable customer experiences today, or the store may be empty tomorrow. For example, in a small town with no other hardware store, you may be lulled into complacency as customers flock in at any price, but soon a competitor will pounce. Being an entrepreneur anywhere without fear likely means your business is at risk. If you are looking for comfort, stick to that nine-to-five job. There are too many unknowns, whether it’s a building a coffee shop or producing electric cars. Don’t get too comfortable – take comfort in fear. Don’t expect any entrepreneurship venture to be comfortable.Sizing the market, projecting revenue, and calculating break-even points are critical, even for a coffee shop. Especially in a small town, for credibility, you need to quantify your plan consistently to local leaders and organizations, as well as bankers and customers. In reality, a business plan has real value for every entrepreneur, since most people can’t build and retain a complete plan in their head. You still need a good business plan to start. As an advisor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m still surprised at how many people believe the myth that business plans are only required to appease big investors.He offers some practical entrepreneurship lessons I most often see talking about Silicon Valley: Colby is a living example of how it works there, starting with his Parengo Coffee Shop in Sikeston, Missouri. I was pleased to see these questions addressed in a classic book, “ Small Town Big Money,” by Colby Williams, focused on entrepreneurship and opportunity in today’s small towns. What does that mean for the rest of us, who reside or grew up in the thousands of small towns that cover most of the landscape? Is entrepreneurship ever viable or recommended in a small town? From the advice I hear these days, if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you need to be in Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, or one of the few other financial hubs around the world.

Raising work venture towns