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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
What Makes a Small Town Feel Like Home? 10 Stories About Business, Community and Belonging (Season One Wrap-Up)
What makes a small town feel like home? Maybe it’s knowing your coffee order before you reach the counter. Maybe it’s waving to the same neighbour for three years, or walking into a store for five minutes and staying for twenty because someone ...
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16: A Community Business Gem: What Keeps People Coming Back to This Small Town Store
What makes a community business become more than a place to shop? Sometimes the answer isn’t what it sells. It’s how deeply it becomes part of the life happening around it.In Athens, Ontario, JoAnne Sytsma owns The Village Store, a loca...
15: Built on a Handshake: The Business of Reputation in a Small Town
What does it mean to build a business in a small town where your reputation follows you everywhere—and a handshake still means something?For more than four decades, carpenter Ron Eagle has built his life and work into the fabric of Merri...
14: The Small Business Website That Was Good Enough... Until It Wasn't
A small business website doesn't always need to be the first thing you build. Sometimes, getting started matters more than getting everything perfectly in place.When I launched Small Town Stories, the show didn't have its own website. I ...
13: Small Town Arts: The Hidden Growth Lever for Rural Entrepreneurship
What role can the arts play in rural entrepreneurship and the economic growth of a small town? In Merrickville, Ontario, artists have spent decades helping shape the identity of a village known for creativity, craftsmanship, and a thriving smal...