Video Remote Work Ready: Zoom Towns

Position your town for the future of remote work

31 minute video to watch on your schedule

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“The pivot to remote work is the biggest, fastest transformation of the labor market since the World World II mobilization.”

UpWork

You've seen the headlines about remote workers flocking to rural "Zoom Towns."

You've seen your own people struggling with working from home and distance learning.

How are you getting your town ready for the future of work that's already here?

How will you attract location independent remote workers if you can't meet the needs of your own residents?

Is there any hope for regular towns? Can non-resort, non-tourist towns compete?

Will your youth graduate and join your growing remote workforce, or will the lack of support for remote work push them out of town?

Is your town remote work ready?

This video will show you practical ways you can:

Make the most of your Internet service and your places for people to work remotely.
Create the sense of community remote workers are looking for.
Respond to resistance and build local support for remote working and remote workers.

Everything you'll learn is do-able, affordable and scaled for small towns.

SaveYour.Town's Becky McCray and Deb Brown share their real world experience.

Becky has been writing about this trend since 2006.

It's been part of her small town trends briefings for years. "Work anywhere, anywhen" is one of the Small Town Rules from her 2012 book.
The decoupling of work and place has been a long time coming, and then it happened all at once.

Now that everyone is suddenly talking about rural remote work, you can trust Becky and Deb because they both live this experience, working remotely from rural towns for years now.

You'll learn to position your small town for the future of remote work, without breaking your budget

Thanks to Jon Swanson, C.C. Chapman and Sheila Scarborough for sharing their remote work photos.

Improve your Internet

A simple hotspot loaner project that is working in small towns right now
The trick to expanding wifi without huge investments

Expand coworking

Uncover unofficial coworking spots that instantly boost your work spaces
The simple trick to make any coworking hub work before you build it

Attract remote workers

Finding the hidden remote workers in your town right now
Cheap and quick research into what attracts people to your town now
The secret source of new remote workers no one is talking about

Build connections

What Jelly has to do with it
Network your way to the resources that match your town
Dealing with stubborn opposition to new residents and change

You don't have to pay for expensive research on remote work trends, because we found it for you.

You are getting the best ideas we've gleaned from over a decade of watching research and reports on this trend.

What successful towns do to attract remote workers:

Qatalyst Research Group shared their findings from a review of current programs from big cities and small towns all over the world that attract remote workers. Common tactics included:

offering financial incentives
providing coworking spaces
building a community of remote workers

What that means for you and what you can do now:

This video won't waste time on financial incentives because we know small towns don't have the deep pockets to out-bid big cities. You want to focus on the do-able: building community, and finding workspaces. And you can go a step beyond to address internet issues and deal with opposition.

You'll also hear the results of remote worker surveys done by small towns in Montana.

Hear which kinds of towns have remote workers now and what attracted them.
Then you'll learn how to do your own quick research and find out what attracts people to your town now.

You'll get a 31 minute video you can watch on your own or share with others in your community.

Get your town remote work ready

Use the Idea Friendly Method to start with the assets you already have
Support remote workers with the places and resources they will need
Know what makes your town attractive now so you can attract and retain the best

This is not another tiresome live webinar

Short, to the point and interactive 31 minute video
Watch instantly on your schedule: anytime, on demand, starting now
Recorded so you can pause, stop, rewind or watch again immediately

Here's a quick sample

Becky McCray and Deb Brown lay out the trends and what you're going to learn in this video

Zoom Towns: Getting Remote Work Ready video

31 minute video
Available immediately - no waiting

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Will this video be recorded so I can watch later?

Yes, the video is recorded, and you'll be able to watch it immediately as soon as you complete your purchase. You are welcome to watch the video more than once, start and stop, or go back and watch again. You're not limited to watching from a single computer or with just one group.

What are your videos like? Will there be slides?

Not like the usual webinar! You get a short, straight to the point video you can watch anytime on demand. You see our faces, and we connect with you personally. There are no boring slides, and we focus on real-world examples, not theoreticals.

What if I have questions?

You can ask questions two ways: in the comment box or via email. We always answer you personally. You can also share stories or examples you've seen. That helps everyone!

Will the video play on my computer? Or on my phone?

Either one! If you can watch a YouTube video, you can watch this video. That means you can use any device, any screen that can load a web page for you to login. Any PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android phone or tablet, smart TV or TV with a streaming box or stick should work.
You don't need blazing fast internet.

How long is the video?

The video runs around 31 minutes. For a virtual watch party, schedule 40-50 minutes. You'll want that extra time to discuss what you watched and to network and talk with each other.

Can I share the video with other people?

Yes! Once you’re registered, you can schedule more than one viewing so you reach as many people as possible. We encourage you to watch on your own or set up a virtual watch party.

Who should I invite?

Your friends who love to do things with you
Visionaries like yourself
Positive thinkers and doers
Leaders and officials
Downtown associations, Main Streets, chambers
Community foundations
Economic development folks
Elected officials from your local municipalities, counties, or tribes
People who care about your town

What's included?

You get the complete video with closed captioning, a transcript for your own personal review, an audio only version for listening on the go, suggested conversation starters and hints for watch parties, and a comment box where you can ask any questions or share your own stories.

What people say about SaveYour.Town videos

This video stimulated lots of note-taking and conversation between the business owners gathered at my house. Deb and Becky gave us some new ideas and several excellent examples of known models. I think some of us are thinking of pivoting our summer’s plans after participating in Wednesday’s event. Thanks for a well-thought out presentation!

Jonya Pacey, Minnesota

What a TERRIFIC marketing Video. I had 20 businesses show up to watch and they all left with new ideas and an excitement to get back and start implementing! I’ve already had 5 businesses reach out in less than 2 hours after it ended, that are already putting your ideas into action.

Mandy Walsh, City of Lampasas, Texas

There are always great take-aways from the videos that can be put into place immediately. One of my favorites is changing your store's evening vibe (different music, lighting, etc.) because evening shoppers are not the same as day time shoppers.

Diane Moore, Wheaton, Illinois

"The strength of this trend will be determined by how communities position themselves to leverage this growing interest in rural and small towns."

Main Street America

Is this Zoom Towns thing just a fad? No. People have been saying for years that they would prefer to live in rural areas.

Trulia research in 2015 showed 7% more people wanted to live in rural places than did then.

In 2018, Gallup asked people where they preferred to live. Rural came out on top for all age groups, except for 18-29 year olds, where rural came in a surprising second.

When Pew Research compared people's preferences and how they changed from 2018 to 2021, they found way more people prefer rural than urban, and the gap is increasing. Many more people said they'd prefer to live in a rural place than live there now.

Now people have a choice, and millions of them are moving, planning to move, or have moved to small towns.

In October 2020, UpWork found that anywhere from 14 to 23 million Americans were planning to move as a result of remote work.

In November 2021, the American Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) noted that Americans are moving to rural areas in record numbers. And GlobalNews reported on Canada's Small Town Boom.

In April 2022, Pew's Stateline reported that small towns drew the most new pandemic residents.

We've been waiting for this small town moment, for a long time.

The technology and the social trends have come together.

What we make of this chance is up to us.

The name Zoom Town may just be a fad. Idea Friendly towns that are open to new ideas will endure and prosper.

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