Ed Morrison writes a weekly roundup of stories and commentary. Three items came together for me today. I’ll try to tie them together to share with you. What does your small town need to grow? Entrepreneurs need mentors and networks of support. Education is economic development, especially early education. Tourism is a traded business just…
From Entrepreneur.com, at MSNBC. “I would argue 2004 was a great year to be an entrepreneur,” says Michael Alter, president of SurePayroll. “In 2005, everything just stopped.” Last year saw rising interest rates, energy prices and inflation that forced firms to absorb sizable cost increases without raising prices. And health-care costs continued to rise at…
Do you have complicated or expensive items to sell? Layering can help you to make more sales. The ProcessLayering is the process of giving info in small chunks. Rather than overwhelm a prospect with the whole story and every detail, break it into bite size pieces. Offer just what they want to know right now….
While writing about rural broadband, and the lack thereof, I decided to also share a bit about this blog. When I talk to small business people of all ages, I find myself explaining what blogs are. This type of technology still hasn’t penetrated to our target market: the small business owners and entrepreneurs of rural…
I thought you might be interested in this site, with stories of real people who have immigrated to the United States. Statistics do not tell the story of immigration. People do. Since its inception, this nation has been continually infused with the energy of newcomers. Yet their assimilation has seldom been smooth. The challenges we…
First, treat your customers as guests or as friends, but not as workers. Don’t expect them to do your part of the business. Second, let people know what you offer, repeatedly. Customers don’t study your business like you do, so you’ll have to tell them over and over. Take time to review your week, and…
Liz at Successful Blog is holding a car show for blogs, the Link Leak Blog-to Show. Take your pick of 12 up and coming interesting blogs to look over, kick the tires, and argue about. Of course, I mention this because we are featured. If you blog or want to start, add Liz to your…
Brad King, formerly of Wired News and now of Technology Review, is a proud Appalachian. That’s about as rural and small town as it gets. That’s why he has kept an eye on the slow progress of high-speed internet access, and the effect this has on business and culture.King looks at AT&T’s announced plans to…
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.
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.
We partner with campaigns and organizations that we think best benefit rural small businesses.
Copyright © 2006–2026 Becky McCray • Site by Webdancers