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Small Biz Survival

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Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource
  • customer service | mistakes

    Mistakes: Thinking small about fees

    ByBecky McCray December 23, 2008August 27, 2014

    Scott White, The BIG Kahuna, shared a story of a small business mistake: Last night my wife and I went to a birthday dinner at one of the nicest St. Thomas restaurants. We really happen to like this restaurant. There were 8 of us in total. The food was fantastic. The service was white glove. What…

    Read More Mistakes: Thinking small about feesContinue

  • customer service | marketing

    Show what you do

    ByBecky McCray December 23, 2008September 27, 2016

    “We had a great morning with about 15 people at the Pillar Ranch open house! Anytime you show what you do, it’s more effective.”Royce Gomez, @rghorses on Twitter  Royce is right on. The best way to really connect with people, potential customers, is to show them what you do, to get them involved before they…

    Read More Show what you doContinue

  • entrepreneurship | resources | Small Biz 100

    Cooperative eXtension helps rural small businesses

    ByBecky McCray December 22, 2008August 27, 2014

    You’re in a small town; you’re running a business. Did you know your local cooperative extension has an entrepreneurship program to help you? Yes, the cooperative extension service. They’re probably in your county courthouse. In Oklahoma, the statewide entrepreneurship program includes more than the usual fact sheets.  Glenn Muske specializes in home-based and micro-business. Then…

    Read More Cooperative eXtension helps rural small businessesContinue

  • failure | success

    Failure is only the opportunity

    ByBecky McCray December 21, 2008August 27, 2014

    One who fears failure limits his activities. Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again. –Henry Ford  A man’s life is interesting primarily when he has failed–I well know. For it’s a sign that he tried to surpass himself. –Georges Clemenceau Shared by @DelWilliams on Twitter. I’m sharing these quotes because I’m still campaigning…

    Read More Failure is only the opportunityContinue

  • announcement

    Our best article from 2008

    ByBecky McCray December 20, 2008August 27, 2014

    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…

    Read More Our best article from 2008Continue

  • tools

    Dial2Do lets you call in emails or text messages

    ByBecky McCray December 17, 2008August 27, 2014

    Dial2Do is my new favorite tool to get things done on the go. Let’s start with basics. You can call in, Dial2Do records your message, and you can have it email or text that message to one of your contacts. You can also specify Reminder, and the service will transcribe what you say and email…

    Read More Dial2Do lets you call in emails or text messagesContinue

  • marketing | mistakes

    Mistakes: Going for ‘viral’ at any cost

    ByBecky McCray December 16, 2008August 27, 2014

    Not everything that goes “viral” is good for business. Example: Pizza Hut commissioned a short video, hoping for it to go viral and spread their brand. The video shows a couple of guys going into small independent pizza places and having a Pizza Hut pizza delivered to them there. What’s the message? It says nothing…

    Read More Mistakes: Going for ‘viral’ at any costContinue

  • entrepreneurship | rural | workforce | youth

    Interview on small business, small towns, Africa and more

    ByBecky McCray December 16, 2008August 27, 2014

    Deb Brown, a small town newspaper editor from Iowa, has interviewed me on a wide range of subjects! She has also shared the interview on her blog, Deb Works. We talked about making a living in a small town, Small Biz Survival, lessons I’ve learned from my businesses, social media for small town businesses, African…

    Read More Interview on small business, small towns, Africa and moreContinue

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