• 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

The assumptions you start with

By Becky McCray

Your downtown streetscape is too important to make quick, ill-informed decisions about.

We all start with our own assumptions about what is and is not possible in rural towns. Photo by Deb Brown. 

 

I operate with a set of assumptions about rural places and small towns. I want to share them with you so you’ll know what I’m assuming whenever I talk with you. (Yes, I know what happens when you assume. Call them basic beliefs instead of assumptions, if you prefer.)

When I tell you that I help you shape a better future for your small town, that includes the assumptions that small towns in general have a future, that your town in particular is worth shaping and that what you do will make a difference.

When I say we’ll do it no matter what the pessimists say or do, I’m assuming that you have pessimists, that you have at least a few optimists, too, and that you are strong enough to stand up again when those pessimists try to knock you down once more.

When I say that I’ll deliver practical steps you can put into action right away toward that brighter future, I’m building on my belief that you want to take action and that the advice to you can be practical, do-able and realistic.

Our underlying assumptions shape our world view and all of our actions. If you believe all small towns are dying because you’ve heard it said all your life, then you’ll act like small towns have no future, like our actions don’t matter in the end. If you believe that the pessimists have power over you, you’ll squelch your own best ideas rather than bring them up and face potential ridicule.

The good news is that your underlying beliefs can change. You can shift based on the new information you learn about the world and your small town. Spoiler alert: the pessimists can shift their mindset, too. It just takes a long time and a lot of love.

  • 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
  • Get started as an outdoor outfitter without breaking the bank
  • Revitalize Your Rural Community: Join Us for an Interactive Workshop at the 2023 IEDC Annual Conference
  • Empty Building idea: Make a Zen-like space for your people

May 16, 2016 Filed Under: economic development, entrepreneurship, rural

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!

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 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

Holyoke Hummus Company cart

How one food business keeps adapting, from table to cart to truck, to restaurant and back again

Make extra money from extra workspace: co-working and 3rd workplaces in small towns

Newspaper story headline says, "Made in Dorrigo Markets a bustling success"

Boost your maker economy with a “Made in” day

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2023 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in