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Small Town Stories | Local Business Marketing, Small Town Business, Entrepreneurship
Are you trying to grow a small town business while feeling like most entrepreneurship advice was never designed for the reality of local business?
Do you ever wonder why some Main Street businesses become thriving community staples while others struggle to stay visible in a world that’s changing faster than ever?
And are you craving more honest conversations about what it actually takes to build something meaningful in a small town today — from marketing and creativity to reinvention, tourism, leadership, and community?
If that sounds like you, you’re in the right place!
Welcome to Small Town Stories, the podcast exploring the business behind Main Streets across Canada, the U.S., and beyond. Each week, we’re diving into conversations about local business marketing, entrepreneurship, and the realities of building a small town business in today’s modern world.
I’m Jan Ditchfield — top-ranked podcast host, marketer, entrepreneur, and longtime storyteller. After spending years building businesses and working in marketing, media, and online entrepreneurship, I eventually found myself back in the small town where I grew up: Merrickville, Ontario.
And what I realized very quickly is this... small town business works differently.
The relationships are different. The visibility challenges are different. Reputation matters differently. Word of mouth matters differently. And yet most business advice completely ignores the nuance of what it takes to grow a local business in a tight-knit community.
That’s why I created this show!
Inside the podcast, you’ll hear interviews with entrepreneurs, founders, creatives, shop owners, community builders, tourism leaders, and the people shaping modern small town life today. You’ll also hear solo episodes where I break down the marketing strategies, customer experience ideas, local branding lessons, and business insights that help small businesses stand out and grow sustainably.
We talk about everything from local tourism and community-driven growth to small business marketing, creativity, entrepreneurship, customer loyalty, destination businesses, and what it really means to build a business people want to keep coming back to.
So whether you own a storefront, run a service-based business, dream of opening something one day, or simply love the culture and character behind Main Street businesses, I’m so glad you’re here.
Hit follow, subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and join us every Thursday for new conversations about the people, places, and strategies shaping small towns today.
And if you want to connect beyond the podcast, you can visit thesmalltownstoriespodcast.com and follow along on Instagram at @thesmalltownstoriespodcast for guest announcements, behind-the-scenes updates, and more stories from small towns across North America.
Small Town Stories | Local Business Marketing, Small Town Business, Entrepreneurship
Latest Episodes
03: Why Some Small Businesses Are Impossible to Forget
What makes certain businesses impossible to forget?Lately, it feels like we're all consuming the same advice, following the same trends, and watching businesses race to keep up with whatever the algorithm rewards next. And somewhere alon...
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02: What Nobody Tells You About Starting a Small Town Business
Starting a small town business sounds simple enough until you're actually doing it.The storefront might be ready. The business plan might be finished. But what happens when your customers are also your neighbours, your reputation spreads...
01: What Small Town Businesses Know That the Internet Forgot
There’s something small town businesses understand that the internet seems to have forgotten.Not everything meaningful can be optimized. Not every relationship should move fast. And not every business is meant to scale at the speed the o...
Why Small Town Business Is Different Today | Small Town Stories Trailer
Small town business is different — and after years of working in marketing, entrepreneurship, and online business, it’s something I didn’t fully understand until I moved back to the small village where I grew up.Welcome to Small Town Sto...