• 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

About Paula Jensen

The Community Coach. Having a passion for community leadership and economic development is what drives Paula Jensen’s personal and professional life. Paula lives in her hometown of Langford, South Dakota, population 318+. She serves as a community coach with Dakota Resources based in Renner, South Dakota. Dakota Resources is a mission-driven 501(c)(3) Community Development Financial Institution working to connect capital and capacity to empower rural communities.
Contact her at paula@dakotaresources.org

Want your town to do well? Welcome new people as leaders

By Paula Jensen

group of volunteers sitting at a table

The Leadership Myth That’s Holding Us Back The Community Coach | Paula Jensen In small rural communities, leadership matters. But are we unintentionally shrinking our own leadership pool? We care deeply about who leads. We trust the people who show up, pitch in, and carry history with them. But over time, we’ve absorbed quiet assumptions […]

March 1, 2026 Filed Under: community, rural Tagged With: building community, community coach, emerging leaders, guest post, leadership

Unlocking Community Potential: The Catalyst Approach for Change

By Paula Jensen

A group seated around a table in a meeting room

Who do we envision ourselves becoming? The big framing question, “Who do we envision ourselves becoming?” was written in wide black marker on a large flip chart and placed at the front of the room for easy viewing. I introduced the question and gave some context. The ten local leaders stared blankly at it. The […]

June 5, 2024 Filed Under: community, rural Tagged With: community development, guest post, Paula Jensen

How might we put ‘unity’ back in community?

By Paula Jensen

Paula Jensen

Communities are the foundation of our society, and their strength and success lie in the unity of its members. Yet, often at the heart of so many communities is disunity. As a community coach, I collaborate with rural leaders to build local capacity and engage community members in working on local priorities so their community […]

December 11, 2023 Filed Under: community, rural Tagged With: community building, conflict management

What’s behind your community’s historic population shift? Census map links

By Paula Jensen

Paula Jensen

By Paula Jenson I spent some valuable time last month doing a bit of data discovery about rural communities. In my search I explored an interactive map* showing the percent change in total population from the 2010 to the 2020 Census at both the state and county levels. I first zoomed in to view the […]

August 21, 2023 Filed Under: community, economic development, rural

Next Page »

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.

Partners

We partner with campaigns and organizations that we think best benefit rural small businesses. Logo with "Shop Indie Local" Move Your Money, bank local, invest local Multicolor logo with text that says "Global Entrepreneurship Week" Save Your Town logotype

Best of Small Biz Survival

A few people shopping in an attractive retail store in refurbished downtown building.

TREND 2025: Retail’s Big Split: what small town retailers can do now

99% of the best things you can do for your town don’t require anyone’s permission

Three kids in a canoe

Get started as an outdoor outfitter without breaking the bank

A shopkeeper and a customer share a laugh in a small store packed full of interesting home wares.

How to get customers in the door of small town and rural retail stores

Rural Tourism Trend: electric vehicle chargers can drive visitors

Wide view of a prairie landscape with a walk-through gate in a fence

Tourism: Make the most of scant remains and “not much to see” sites with a look-through sign

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2026 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in