Billings Gazette: Guest opinion: Small business people build up Montana

In a state like Montana, known around the world for our work ethic and hospitality, building up people and building relationships is the undisputed strength of our businesses. That’s why, in 2014, when we were asked by Gov. Steve Bullock to provide our perspective as small business owners on his Main Street Montana Project, we were excited to help. Between the two of us, we’ve been in the Montana business community for five decades. We both feel that the communities where we live and do business are our stakeholders as much as our customers who work hard and play hard outdoors. During the time we’ve both been in business, we’ve seen the global economy change and our local downtowns transform. In the face of these big transitions, we’ve always found it helpful to keep the lines of communication open with our neighbors, our peers, our customers and our elected leaders.