Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops

Tiny businesses in storage sheds: a rural economic development tool

By

When Deb Brown and I spoke at the RuralX Summit, one of the ideas we mentioned was the tiny business village, where businesses pop up inside of storage sheds in Tionesta, Pennsylvania.

Dylan Fulton and Camden Breitling, high school students from Miller, South Dakota, heard that idea and ran with it. Together with some supportive adults including Tammy Caffee, they planned and held an event called Cozy Cabin Christmas.

They convinced a storage shed retailer to play host to four temporary businesses during their community’s month-long Christmas on the Prairie celebration. The businesses were:

  • a photo booth
  • local-themed vintage t-shirts and license plates
  • holiday baked goods
  • Asian food

A great implementation of the Innovative Rural Business Models, these pop-up businesses are Tiny, Temporary, and Together. They are small and short term, so more people can try them, and they all benefit from being in the same location.

This projects also includes all 3 Idea Friendly elements:

  • Take Small Steps – a quick small project that you can test immediately is better than any number of grand plans that never happen
  • Gather Your Crowd – it served as a public declaration of the kind of town they want to become
  • Build Connections – they connected to the existing holiday event, connected the businesses to each other, and connected the community with new potential businesses

I’m sure a lot of conversations happened around the fire ring, too, building a sense of community.

Tammy sent along these photos, via Dakota Resources. I hear there’s already talk about next year, though maybe in summer when it’s warmer.

Deb and I will be back at the RuralX Summit in July 2017. Come join us.

If you want me or both Deb and me to speak at your event and spark some change in your community, tell me about it here.


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.

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

More of the best of Small Biz Survival