• Survey of Rural Challenges
  • Small Town Speaker Becky McCray
  • Shop Local video
  • SaveYour.Town

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS

Our best article from 2008

By Becky McCray

Joanna Young asked her readers to pick their best post of the year. What was our best small business article from all of 2008?  I think it would have to be our Checklists for starting your first business.

My friend Chris suggested the post at SXSW. I got some help from Maesz, and we wrote it up. Chris liked the post, bragged about it, and Lifehack picked it up from there. That put us on the Popular list at (what was at the time still called) del.icio.us. As of right now, the workshop I proposed based on this post is still in consideration for SXSW 09. (knock wood, hold thumbs, cross your fingers)

More importantly, a whole bunch of actual small business owners commented, asked questions, and joined the discussion because of it. Then it launched our Small Biz 100 series. So far we’re up to 30 posts focused on hands-on business basics for you. All because Chris made a suggestion. 

Joanna asked us to finish this sentence, in under 30 words:
This post is simply the best because…

it answers the questions that first time business owners would ask, if they only knew who to ask! 

If you got to pick, what post of ours would you say was simply the best? What about your own posts? Have a special favorite this year? 

New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Get our updates.

  • About the Author
  • Latest by this Author
Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.

www.beckymccray.com
  • Start smaller: Any local business can be your incubator
  • Should I ask competitors before I start a business in a small town?
  • Will trendy axe throwing and escape room businesses last? More experience-based retail: the Hat Bar

December 20, 2008 Filed Under: announcement

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

Comments

  1. Joanna Young says

    December 21, 2008 at 9:32 am

    Becky, thanks so much for taking part. I love the way you’ve described the origins of the post, and what it’s led to since then. That’s fascinating… and such a powerful example of social media in action.

    It’s a neat answer to the question too, and one that’s sure to get people clicking over!

    Joanna

    Loading...

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

Partners

We partner with campaigns and organizations that we think best benefit rural small businesses. Logo with "Shop Indie Local"Move Your Money, bank local, invest localMulticolor logo with text that says "Global Entrepreneurship Week"Save Your Town logotype

Best of Small Biz Survival

A few people shopping in an attractive retail store in refurbished downtown building.

TREND 2025: Retail’s Big Split: what small town retailers can do now

99% of the best things you can do for your town don’t require anyone’s permission

Three kids in a canoe

Get started as an outdoor outfitter without breaking the bank

A shopkeeper and a customer share a laugh in a small store packed full of interesting home wares.

How to get customers in the door of small town and rural retail stores

Rural Tourism Trend: electric vehicle chargers can drive visitors

Wide view of a prairie landscape with a walk-through gate in a fence

Tourism: Make the most of scant remains and “not much to see” sites with a look-through sign

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2025 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in
%d