Small town residents have several things in common. Anyone who grew up in one of these places can tell you stories that sound similar to others with the same upbringing. The corner grocery, one stop light, local hardware store, and knowing everyone in town. This type of thing can be great, that is, unless you want to open a new business in one of these towns. My wife is from one such town and when we decided to move back there to be close to her parents I worried about finding a job. I am an HVAC technician by trade and there wasn’t even a dealership for miles around. I figured I could fill a need if I opened up a small repair shop. I could offer maintenance on home HVAC systems and get to know the people in town at the same time. The problem was, I wasn’t from there so I found that many didn’t want to do business with the new guy. Even though my wife was from there it was still really hard to earn the trust of the townsfolk. I had to convince my wife to work at the shop and answer the phone so that people could talk to someone that they knew. Slowly, people started to trust my abilities and I gained enough clients to pay the bills. I still show up and I am greeted by people asking me about my wife but I don’t mind. I guess I will never really be one of them but so long as I can run a successful business that is all that really matters.