Building a Lasting Legacy in an Aging Town

Summary:

There’s a wistfulness for how Wyoming is often behind the times. It’s what adds to the beauty of our state. But our local businesses are at a crossroads: adapt to modern day strategies, or risk falling behind and ending a legacy. Wyoming’s economy is not as strong as it once was and our small businesses are facing the brunt of the consequences of remaining stagnant and slow to adapt along with the rest of the world.

The answer isn’t to give up on our Western authenticity. Instead, it’s about showing it off where modern customers spend their time: online. Businesses that are already woven into the community have a huge advantage, but only if they implement smart strategy and a strong digital presence. This isn’t about going high-tech. It’s about making it easy for the next generation to discover, connect with, and support the places and traditions that make Cody unique.

It’s a beautiful sight to see during the summer. Downtown Cody filled with paying tourists and locals alike shopping, connecting, engaging. It’s a busy time for our local business community which may give the illusion that we’re a thriving economy with thriving businesses. But once the tourists leave, the streets roll up and hours are cut back. Summer interns leave. “Help Wanted” signs and ads everywhere. And businesses panic about “surviving” winter. There’s a sinking feeling that their business will be forgotten. The realization that, if you don’t stay consistent or continue to bring in revenue, this might be your last year in business. And so, the cycle of desperate times call for desperate, short-sighted marketing decisions continue.

There’s a particular kind of complacency that settles over businesses in small towns. When “the way we’ve always done it” has kept the lights on—why should you change?

Cody isn’t dying. But the rest of the world has already changed, evolved, and adapted. And we’re choking on the dust.

The WBC’s Economic Development Strategy reports that Wyoming’s economic structure is built on industries that are declining nationally and globally. We “cannot sustain a high quality of life across all parts of the state”, the report warns. Without diversification and adaptation, we face “losses of jobs, income, access to opportunity, and funding for vital public goods and services.”

This isn’t a distant threat. It’s happening now.

We know that Wyoming has always been 20 years behind with technology. It’s what makes Wyoming such a magical place. But the world is moving a lot faster now and we need to pick up the pace for our own sakes. This doesn’t mean we give up our whole way of life, it simply means that it is time to kick up the dust and get to work. Not for ourselves, necessarily, but for our kids and the future generations who want to keep this culture alive and thriving. It’s time for us to cinch up and maintain this way of life throughout the ages. And to do that, we need to start paying attention and take action.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

According to research I found on Wyoming, our state has experienced “a sustained loss of jobs and a weakening of key drivers of growth for more than a decade.” While the Mountain West region has seen diversified growth, Wyoming continues to lag. The researchers found that “many more rural parts of the state have experienced continued population decline as they have lost sources of tradable income and consequently sources of jobs and opportunities.”

Wyoming has among the highest out-migration rates in the country. And it’s not retirees leaving. It’s working-age adults, particularly those under 40, who see limited opportunity and go somewhere else. As the state’s own research notes, only about 37% of University of Wyoming alumni who graduated between 2007 and 2024 still live in Wyoming.

This brain drain means fewer customers with disposable income. Fewer people starting families and buying homes. Fewer entrepreneurs with fresh ideas. The customer base that many established businesses have relied on for decades is literally shrinking which will make “surviving” winter even more difficult.

The Visibility Crisis

If your business isn’t visible online in 2026, you’re invisible to an entire generation of customers and I might argue to everyone else who has modernized their searching and shopping habits.

This isn’t about whether you personally use social media or think websites are necessary. It’s about where your customers are looking when they need what you sell. The vast majority of consumers research businesses online before visiting in person, even for local purchases. If they can’t find you, they’ll find someone else. And that other business is usually more active and engaging on their social feed or more credibly established online.

And yet, drive through any small Wyoming town and you’ll find established businesses with little to no web presence, or outdated websites, or social media accounts that went dormant or just non-existent. These aren’t failing businesses—many are profitable, respected, community fixtures. But they’re operating on borrowed time while the marketplace evolves around them.

The “We’re Different” Delusion

Every small town thinks it’s immune to larger economic forces. “Our customers are loyal.” “We don’t need that internet stuff.” “People here value relationships over convenience.”

YES! Your customers are loyal and people DO value relationships! But they’re not protection against the inevitable.

Park County’s tourism economy brought in $478.2 million in visitor spending in 2023. That’s not a customer base that knows you personally or feels obligated to shop local…at first. That’s a customer base that will find you through Google, evaluate you through reviews, and choose you—or not—based not only on how professional, accessible, and relevant you appear, but also on how authentically and creatively you present your brand and story.

The New Competition

The competition facing Wyoming businesses are the businesses in places like Billings and Denver that have invested in reaching customers digitally. It’s the now universal expectation that any legitimate business can be found, researched, and evaluated online.

But here’s what many established business owners miss: the solution isn’t to become Amazon. It’s about amplifying who you really are. It’s about going beyond what Amazon or any other big chain can offer. It’s about embracing your local, personal, authentic power while also being visible and found credible in the spaces where modern customers look.

This isn’t about abandoning what makes small-town businesses valuable. It’s about communicating that value better so that we maintain the legacy we’ve built here so it can continue to reach new customers.

The businesses that will thrive in Cody for the next decade are the ones that understand that you can honor tradition while embracing modernization.

Modernization does not mean losing who we are as a community. It doesn’t mean hanging up our cowboy hats or our traditional, western lifestyle. It’s about embracing who we are and sharing that authenticity and story in a modern way where people can actually find it, read it, be inspired by it, and connect with it.

Your story is what inspires people to buy, to become loyal customers every time they visit, to tell their friends about you, to integrate you in their own personal traditions.

What Adaptation Actually Looks Like

It’s not about becoming a tech company or abandoning everything that has worked in the past. It’s about fundamentals:

Visibility: Can customers find you when they search? Do you have accurate, updated information on Google? A website that works on phones? Social media that shows you’re still in business?
Story: Do potential customers understand who you are, what you stand for, and why they should choose you? Not just what you sell—but why it matters?
Connection: Are you building relationships that go beyond transactions? Are you part of the community conversation, or just waiting for people to walk through your door?
Strategy: Do you have an actual plan for growth, or are you just hoping next year looks like last year? What happens if it doesn’t?

QUICK TIP: Did you know that the Wyoming SBDC Network can give an initial assessment and help you navigate through all the different avenues available? The Market Research Center can even provide a website and social media analysis all at no cost to you! This is a low to no-cost option for those who don’t know how to get started and don’t have the budget to invest in marketing services yet.

Then, when you are ready to take the next step, you’ll have all the information you need to help a marketing strategist or other business service better help you go beyond your competitors.

The Wake-Up Call

The good thing about this economic disruption is that it creates opportunity for those paying attention.
New entrepreneurs entering this market don’t have twenty years of “but we’ve always done it this way” to overcome. They can build modern businesses from the ground up, designed for how customers actually behave in 2026.

But established businesses have advantages too—if they’re willing to leverage them. Reputation. Relationships. Local knowledge. Community trust. These things have enormous value. They just need to be paired with visibility, strategy, and a willingness to evolve. And arguably, they will have the upper hand against any new business coming to town if they allow themselves to adapt.

Building a Lasting Legacy

The businesses that will build lasting legacies in Cody are the ones that are rooted in what matters while reaching customers where they actually are.

Every established business that invests in strategy and visibility demonstrates that traditions and legacies don’t have to die with this modern-age. Every business owner who updates their online presence helps make their community more visible.

The Cody Journal’s mission is to be the Voice of Cody – our platform is here to help our local businesses and community thrive. We work with you to amplify your message and go beyond the stereotypical marketing tactics.

Contact the Cody Journal to learn more.

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