Speaking Startup: In a small town on the brink, entrepreneurs get creative

In Kimmswick, located about 25 miles downriver from St. Louis, flooding and the coronavirus pandemic have dealt back-to-back blows to local businesses and the municipal budget. Two major festivals in Kimmswick — the Apple Butter Festival and the Strawberry Festival — have been canceled the last two years. The events can draw 100,000 visitors to the small town and account for about 80% of municipal revenue. Business owners are struggling, too. In the latest installment of Outstate, our series on entrepreneurship in small-town Missouri, we look at how Kimmswick entrepreneurs are finding creative ways to attract customers to help both their businesses and the town. Plus, Global Entrepreneurship Week kicks off Monday. Because of the pandemic, the annual celebration of entrepreneurs has been forced to pivot this year. Jenny Miller of KCSourceLink, one of the event's lead organizers in Kansas City, joined the podcast to discuss how Global Entrepreneurship Week is going virtual.