• 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 small towns that survive will be the ones that are open to new ideas

By Becky McCray

What can a business do when downtown is packed full of people who aren't shopping for what you sell? RAGBRAI cyclists in downtown Webster City, Iowa. Photo by Deb Brown, used by permission.

Can you make a small town more open to new ideas? Yes, and it may be the most important thing you can do. Photo by Deb Brown, used by permission.

 

In a world driven by frenetic change, which small towns are going to thrive?

We know rural people play a key role in our society, so some small towns will have a future. Some small towns are innovative and progressive. Other small towns are stuck in the past.

Is there anything that tells us which towns will survive and prosper? The key factor is openness to new ideas.

Openness to new ideas is an advantage for rural areas addressing change, a Christian Science Monitor article said, pointing to work by Dr. David Peters, Iowa State University, and Dr. Linda Lobao, Ohio State University.

Small towns that are open to new ideas will be the best positioned to thrive no matter what change comes their way.

Great. Now what? How do we make our towns more open to new ideas? There are three parts to making your rural community more Idea Friendly.

Gather Your Crowd

It doesn’t do any good if you are the only person in town open to new ideas. You’re going to need a crowd of people. The crowd here isn’t like a mob with pitchforks or a crowd of people watching a train wreck. It’s crowd sourcing the future of your town, a crowd of people with a positive intent.

You draw a crowd with a big vision. You start a public discussion about the kind of town you want to live in. You create the public focal point for the kind of discussion you want to have.

You can take actions like talking to people about the big vision, posting on social networks, showing public appreciation for others, giving awards for people who try new things, and welcoming newcomers.

Build Connections 

You turn a crowd into a capable network through building connections. You need to connect your people to each other so they become more than just a crowd, they become a network. In order to make your people even more capable, you connect them with resources and training.

You can take actions like holding networking events or backroom tours. You can help create shared workspaces like co-working, maker spaces, shared arts studios or business incubators, so participants get a chance to connect with others like them.

You can also build connections outside your local network. Bring in outside resource people to provide training or information. Connect aspiring artists or entrepreneurs with the resources that exist outside your town.

Take Small Steps

You and the crowd accomplish the vision through small steps. When you start by taking small steps you make it possible for more people to be involved, you cut down the scale of the vision from huge and scary to small and doable. You also make it easier to fail (and learn) at a small scale rather than crash and burn with a huge effort all at once.

You can use the Innovative Rural Business Models to take small steps to going into business. You can use the lighter, quicker, cheaper model to take small steps in governance and infrastructure.

Learn more about Idea Friendly

Deb Brown and I put together a 30 minute video explaining how to use these concepts. We give real world examples from small towns and share practical steps you can put into action right away to make your town more Idea Friendly. Sign up for it at no charge at SaveYour.Town.

Get our newsletters for regular updates on Idea Friendly and more for your small town



  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About 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.
  • Move Your Money and Bank Local - March 22, 2023
  • Using a building as a warehouse or storage in a small town? Put up a sign - March 13, 2023
  • How to get customers in the door of small town and rural retail stores - February 19, 2023
  • Check your small business website for outdated pandemic changes, missing info - January 31, 2023
  • Rural Tourism Trend: electric vehicle chargers can drive visitors - January 15, 2023
  • 2023 trends for rural and small town businesses - December 26, 2022
  • Local reviews on Google Maps drive enduring value - December 17, 2022
  • Extra agritourism revenue from camping, cabins and RVs with HipCamp - December 12, 2022
  • Harvest Hosts attract vanlifers and RV tourists, Boondockers Welcome - December 2, 2022
  • Holiday 2022 marketing: Tell your founding story - December 1, 2022

August 29, 2016 Filed Under: Best of, community, economic development, rural Tagged With: idea friendly

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.

Shop Local

Buy local buttonReady to set up a shop local campaign in your small town? You'll need a guide who understands how we're different and what really works: Shop Local Campaigns for Small Towns.

Best of Small Biz Survival

What is holding us back? Why does every project take so long in small towns?

How any business can be part of downtown events by going mobile

Concert-goers talking and enjoying the evening in downtown Webster City, Iowa.

Why do people say there’s nothing to do here then not come to our concerts?

Retailers: Fill all empty space, floor to ceiling

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2023 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in