While Concord Debates Caswell, Here’s What the North Country Can Do Right Now

Last week, the front page carried a headline that surprised many:

''A surprise and a disappointment’: As Executive Council stalls Caswell’s reappointment to BEA, lawmakers and business leaders have nothing but praise. 

The discussion came after Executive Councilor Joseph Kenney, who represents the North Country, raised concerns that our region wasn’t getting the focus it needs. Kenney cited industries like forestry and said he’d like to see leadership with a sharper focus on business development, manufacturing, and overall economic growth in the North Country.

Other lawmakers and business leaders countered with praise for Caswell, citing his track record in attracting businesses, supporting small enterprises, and promoting tourism. But one point was clear: the North Country’s economic future is in sharp focus at the state level — and questions are being asked about whether we’re getting the attention we deserve.

That’s the backdrop I carried with me into Tuesday morning's workshop at the Littleton Community Center, where many local business owners had gathered. While the State House debates leadership and strategy, we were talking about something each of us can control, no vote required: how we show up when someone searches for us online.

We started with a simple exercise: If you didn’t know you existed, what would you type into Google to find what you offer? 

Pens scratched, phones came out, and the room went quiet except for the tapping of screens. Lynne, who directs the local theatre company, grinned when her listing appeared at the top. Melissa, who sells vintage teddy bears, frowned. “It’s all sellers from Massachusetts,” she said. “Not one is me.” Barbara, who helps high school students navigate the path to college, found herself on Yelp — but the top match was The Common Man restaurant.

We laughed, but it was the kind of laugh you make when you realize the joke’s on you. In that moment, everyone could see that a first impression is no longer made when someone walks through the door. It’s made in the instant a search result appears — or doesn’t.

Councilor Kenney raised forestry and manufacturing because they’re bedrock industries in the North Country. In his statement about the Caswell nomination, he pointed to New Hampshire’s $1.4 billion forestry sector as “critical” in his district, said it’s falling behind Maine’s, and stated that he’d like to see leadership focus more on business development, manufacturing, and overall economic growth in the North Country.

Regardless of where you stand on Kenney’s concerns, one thing is true for all businesses: attention and competitiveness matter. If we want customers, visitors, and investment to choose our region, we have to make ourselves easy to find and evaluate. That work happens at the state level — but it also happens every day at each business’s digital front door.

For generations, the North Country has thrived on word-of-mouth. We’ve met new customers at the post office, at church suppers, or along the Littleton Riverwalk. But today, those conversations happen online. Ninety-seven percent of consumers now use the internet to find local businesses (BrightLocal, 2024), and seventy-six percent of people who search on their phone will visit a business within 24 hours (Think with Google). Even among adults 65 and older, seventy-three percent go online daily, and nearly half look up local services at least once a week (Pew Research, 2023). That “porch” where neighbors swap recommendations is still here — it’s just also in Google results, Facebook groups, and review platforms.

Tourism — one of the BEA’s key focus areas — is a cornerstone of our economy. The BEA’s Division of Travel and Tourism expects the forecast for visitation and spending for New Hampshire’s 2025 summer travel season to total just under 4.6 million, with visitor spending anticipated to come in slightly below $2.6 billion (NH DTTD, 2025). Caswell recently reported that Canadian tourism is down thirty percent from last year. With visitor numbers shifting, it’s even more critical that every potential customer can find accurate, appealing information about what we offer. Think of our region like a quilt: each business’s online presence is a square. Strong, visible squares create a pattern people want to wrap themselves in. Missing or frayed squares leave gaps. Too many gaps, and visitors — and dollars — drift elsewhere.

Barbara’s Yelp listing was funny in the moment, but it’s a serious problem. If a parent or student doesn’t know her name and searches “college prep near me,” they might never find her. Melissa’s missing teddy bear listings don’t just mean lost sales. They mean that a collector from Vermont or a grandparent in Whitefield searching for a unique gift will never even know her shop exists. These moments weren’t hypotheticals. They happened in real time, in a room full of our neighbors, and they’re happening quietly, every day, across the North Country.

The solutions aren’t complicated. Start with claiming your Google Business Profile — it takes under twenty minutes. Keep your hours and contact information consistent everywhere. Post recent photos. Reply to every review, both the good and the bad. These small, steady actions are like sweeping the porch or repainting the trim. They keep the welcome visible, not just to neighbors but to anyone passing by.

The truth is, we can’t pin the North Country’s economic future on any one commissioner, councilor, or agency — no matter how capable they are or how much they care. Growth requires both strong leadership in Concord and consistent, visible action from each of us here at home. The work done in state offices to attract visitors, investment, and new opportunities matters — but it can’t reach its full potential unless it’s matched by the day-to-day visibility and readiness of our local businesses. The real power sits with all of us, in the thousands of choices we make about how to present our work to the world. Each business that strengthens its digital presence strengthens the region’s collective visibility.

The state’s leaders will continue debating the best strategy for growing the North Country’s economy. But while those conversations play out in Concord, we have a responsibility and an opportunity right here. We can make ourselves findable. We can make ourselves appealing. And by doing so, we strengthen not just our own bottom line, but the North Country’s place in New Hampshire’s economic future. Because here, our livelihoods are woven together. Your presence lifts mine. My visibility supports yours. And together, we make the North Country a place worth finding — on a map, in a search result, and most importantly, in real life.

-Amanda