The Idea Friendly Guide, a new book from SaveYour.Town

You’ve been told you need to slow down. You have too many ideas. You need to wait for permission.

You need to form another committee. Sit through more meetings. Write yet another plan.

We tried that once. That’s not how we do things here. And what about liability??

What if you didn’t have to worry about all that?

You don’t need to struggle with difficult people. Those are not your people.

You don’t need permission from resistant leaders. 99% of the best things you can do don’t require anyone’s permission.

You don’t need to fix your broken community. It’s not broken. People are using broken methods because that’s how they’ve been taught for years.

You can transform your community by taking small steps, starting now, without waiting for permission, support or perfect conditions.

Communities like yours are doing this

This is how Webster City, Iowa, recovered from losing a major manufacturer. They filled 10 empty buildings and became their own heroes to save their movie theater.

Webster City theater marquee is lit up with neon and says Zero to Hero
They became their own heroes. Photo by Deb Brown.

The Idea Friendly Method is how communities across the USA, Canada and globally are nurturing new businesses, expanding libraries, and beautifying their towns. Not through grand plans and big committees, but through people using this new method together.

This is the Idea Friendly Method

Gather Your Crowd with an idea that entices others.

Build Connections to turn your crowd into a powerful network.

Take Small Steps to accomplish your idea together.

It doesn’t have to be any more complicated than that.

This framework helps communities like yours break free from the “slow down and ask more questions” trap that keeps good ideas from happening.

I’ve used the Idea Friendly Method over the last 6 years to create two downtown public spaces, including millions in investment from the city, and am now using it to grow affordable housing opportunities.

Kathryn Witherington

Walla Walla, Washington
The Idea Friendly Method helped our small team remove the barriers that events require committees, multiple meetings, and multiple levels of decisions. We were shocked that 75% of the event was done and what remained was manageable. People popped out of the woodwork to help once they saw the momentum.

Stephanie Ray

Stillwater County, Montana

Your community is next.

This book is for you if you genuinely care about your community and are ready to stop waiting for permission to improve it.

You might be a business owner building something meaningful in your town. An employee who chooses to live and work here because you believe in this place. An economic development professional who knows traditional approaches aren’t keeping up. A volunteer who’s tired of endless committee meetings. An elected official ready to support what the people themselves want to do. Or simply someone who loves where you live and wants to make it better.

We’re all in this together. We’re just in different towns.

Becky McCray wearing a winter coat and white scarf has one hand on a downtown building while three people listen to her ideas.
Becky McCray leads a downtown ideas tour in a small town in Idaho. Photo by Ana Blaisdell

I’ll be your guide.

I’m Becky McCray, co-founder of SaveYour.Town. I wrote this book because small towns have a future. I know because I’ve been a small town store owner, city administrator for a town under 1,000 people, and a lifelong cattle rancher. I make my home in Hopeton, Oklahoma, population 30. I don’t just talk about rural issues, I live them. And I’ve spent the past ten years helping communities take action, the Idea Friendly way.

What’s inside: Practical steps that seem manageable

You won’t be overwhelmed with an endless sea of “You should do it this way” advice. You’ll be having a conversation with me.

In the first chapter, we’ll walk through a complete example. Then we’ll explore each part of the method in depth, with examples and how to make each part work in your community. Then we’ll dive into the behaviors you need to make this stick as a lasting change. Finally, we’ll apply this method in different situations, from working with skeptics to transforming organizations to collaborating across groups.

Here’s a preview of the Table of Contents. The whole book takes about 3 hours to read. I’m preparing ebook, paperback, large print and audiobook versions.

Table of Contents of the Idea Friendly Guide with 12 chapters and a discussion guide for groups.

What early readers said

As a planner by trade, I know the value is in what we DO to make our communities better places. Becky McCray’s Idea Friendly Method provides the how–gather a coalition of the willing and try new ideas, then try some more. In the Idea Friendly Guide, you can find useful and practical examples of how people like us have done just that. Ideas you can put to work today.

John C. Shepard, AICP

Vice-Chair, APA STaR (Small Town and Rural) Division
Author at JCShepard.com
Becky has captured something I’ve spent a career trying to practice: how to move from overthinking to action, from bureaucracy to belonging. With both small-town roots and big-city experience, I can tell you—this is the kind of practical roadmap that makes change feel doable at any scale, and talks about it in a way that everyone can understand.

Tim Parsons

Senior Advisor, Idealist.org

What beta readers said in the comments

  • “Rich in content, full of notable lines and big aha moments”
  • “strongly motivating and makes me want to keep going”
  • “I started answering the questions as I read“
  • “EXCEPTIONAL!!! This right here is pure GOLD!!!“
  • “it not only gives the reader hope, but a set of steps to follow that seem manageable”
  • “You have so many success stories that inspire others and the storytelling IS powerful.”
  • “like you are having a conversation with the reader.”
  • “I feel called out, haha. How inspiring!“

Coming in December 2025 from Becky McCray, co-founder of SaveYour.Town

Sign up now to get updates and practical steps you can put into action every week:

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