Feb 17, 2026
What happens when a 25-year-old buys a quilt shop in a
town of 1,800 people?
(Spoiler: awesome stuff.)
In this episode, our very own TJ Roney shares how entrepreneurship,
creativity, social media, and community support collided to create
unexpected momentum.
It’s a powerful reminder that rural opportunity doesn’t always look
the way we expect it to, and that young people are, in fact,
interested in things that aren’t on their phones.
About TJ:
Hey there, my name is TJ, and I’m a 25-year-old grandma! I love
anything creative, and learned to sew when I was 5 years old.
Thanks to my grandma teaching me, sewing has become one of my
favorite hobbies and creative outlets.
A year after I moved back to my hometown, in January
of 2025, I was contacted about purchasing the quilt shop in town.
When I was first approached to purchase the quilt store, I'll be
honest, I didn't really want to! I was content not having the
responsibility of a business for the time being, and I wasn't sure
I wanted one of my favorite hobbies to become my job and risk no
longer enjoying it. But often it's better to have taken a risk and
learned from an experience than not to have taken a risk and looked
back with regret.
I'm so glad I made the decision to go for it. I have truly enjoyed
every second of owning this store and look forward to all that is
to come for me and my business!
In this episode, we cover:
How a hobby turned into an unexpected business opportunity
Why small-town retail can work—and often does
How social media became a growth tool, not the goal
The role of mentorship and thoughtful succession
What happens when young people are trusted to lead
Links + Resources Mentioned:
Website Link: https://www.quiltersmercantilend.com/
Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571935395357
TikTok Link: https://www.tiktok.com/@tj.roney?_r=1&_t=ZT-93Edvi6H7CR
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We Want to Hear From You!
We really, really do, and if you’ll let us, we’d love to feature
your actual message just like we did with Terri’s (with your
permission, of course!)
Some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener
call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing
Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re
have two “participation dance” elements of the show:
“Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things.
“Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that.
If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you!
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