Returning to Wabash isn't just coming back, it is coming home. How the Revolution really started in this Indiana town.

In the closing episode of season one of the Small Business Revolution – Main Street series, I told the town of Wabash, Indiana that coming to this community was like coming home. I wondered aloud how they could do that.

Nearly a year later, our Deluxe Corporation crew returned to Wabash for National Small Business Week 2017 to revisit the community, our six featured businesses, and to see what has changed (for the better or worse) during that period of time.

Wabash came from behind in national voting last year to win the first season of our Main Street series and the chance for a $500,000 makeover. They didn’t know what to expect from this opportunity and as a company, since we hadn’t made a reality television show about marketing before, we didn’t know what to expect either. Together, we went on a journey of discovery.

What we found from the beginning was a community willing to open their doors and their hearts to a process where we laid bare their dreams and goals. They cried with us, they challenged us and they shared intimate elements of their personal stories that made our series sparkle.

Our week in Wabash was impressive. Each of the six business has seen significant improvement since we left last year. In particular, Harry’s Old Kettle Bar and Grill and Ellen’s Bridal and Dress Boutique have thrived in the past year, thanks to the work the Small Business Revolution started. Harry Kilmer, who was working a second job to support the Kettle, has quit his other job and is focusing on being a chef and owner. Lisa Downs, owner of Ellen’s, tripled her sales year over year.

Schlemmer Bros., Thriftalicious, Eclectic Shoppe and Filament Tattoo are all flourishing eight months after the series launched. Having never done this type of show before, I couldn’t be more thrilled about the results. Yet while I am proud of the marketing expertise Deluxe delivered, it is the growth of the owners that is the most fulfilling.

I have said all along that small business owners never open their doors so they can build a beautiful website or create a logo. Yet without some basic business feedback, they don’t know what they don’t know.

When we interviewed the six business owners the first time, some were timid, even embarrassed about their economic numbers or their lack of a business plan. Coming back a year later, they were confident, using many of the techniques we taught them, from gathering emails for email marketing to using a booking function on the Ellen’s web page to packages and boxes and bags with new logos our creative team developed.

During Small Business Week, Deluxe brought marketing experts from our offices across the country, meeting with more than 60 small business owners in the area, offering free advice about how to better position businesses in small and medium sized markets. It was an incredible opportunity to reach business owners who normally would never ask for help directly in their backyard.

The goal of the Small Business Revolution has always been to start a movement, one where we celebrate and hold up our love of these small businesses. In 2015, we placed a spotlight on the power of small businesses. In Wabash, we found a community that ignited the movement. Last week, we found the movement is alive and well. Now on to Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania, where the revolution becomes firmly entrenched.

In October, 2017 we will launch the second season of Main Street with eight episodes about Bristol, Pennsylvania. Stay tuned to LinkedIn and Facebook and www.smallbusinessrevolution.org as we also launch our return on Wabash in late September. For more on the small businesses we feature, go to my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/amandakbrinkman/