Rather than seek outside funding to get started, Shawn Anderson grew his kettle corn business from his yard and on the road before buying an existing business in Webster City, Iowa. Photos via Deb Brown.
If you need outside funding to get to the next step in your rural small business, your next step is too big.
Before you bet big on your business idea, test it with small steps. Make some sales from your front yard, then try a booth, then a trailer, then think about moving up to a small building.
Before you borrow money to buy a new piece of equipment, find a smaller step you can take. Borrow or rent equipment temporarily. Share equipment with another business, splitting the cost. Subcontract out that part of production to another business. Redesign your product or process so you don’t need that equipment after all.
Before you go into debt to fix up an older building, think smaller. Find a tiny space to occupy first. Share space with an existing business. Go mobile. Open smaller in a few towns rather than bet everything on a single location.
Go Small or Go Home
This is some hard-won rural wisdom. Better to stay small than go into big debt. Expect that you’ll face some zero income times. Don’t take on more responsibilities than you can cover. Be ready for banks to be bought out, loan portfolios to be sold and resold to unsympathetic lenders. These are part of the Small Town Rules: Be Small to Grow Big, and Plan for Zero.
Have you taken small steps?
If you have a story about taking small steps to stay independent, I’d love to hear about it.
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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.
