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Move Your Money and Bank Local

By Becky McCray 1 Comment

Move Your Money, bank local, invest local

April is traditionally Move Your Money Month in the shop local community. Bank Local and Invest Local are the financial parts of the shop local movement. In 2023, the timing couldn’t be more noticeable. High profile bank failures, lots of talk about other banks in trouble, and a serious debate about the financial system (AGAIN!) […]

March 22, 2023 Filed Under: economic development, finance, rural, shop local, survivors Tagged With: AMIBA, Bank Local, banking, economic development, local investing, Move Your Money, shop local

Using a building as a warehouse or storage in a small town? Put up a sign

By Becky McCray Leave a Comment

A building used as business storage with an old faded sign that says "Carrier Air Conditioning"

Repurposing empty buildings as business storage or a warehouse is a common small business practice in small towns. Putting up a sign is a good idea for at least two reasons.  Retail businesses may be storing extra merchandise. Manufacturers might have extra materials or finished product ready to ship. Service and repair companies have to […]

March 13, 2023 Filed Under: economic development, mistakes, rural Tagged With: community development, emtpy buildings, non-retail, retail, rural, service businesses

Rural Tourism Trend: electric vehicle chargers can drive visitors

By Becky McCray

Electric vehicle chargers are a perfect place for tourism wayfinding signs. EV charging stations are popping up in lots of rural places, especially along interstate highways and along the coasts in the US. They’ve become relatively common at some motels as well. Chargers are also popping up globally in rural places. Deb Brown reported seeing […]

January 15, 2023 Filed Under: economic development, rural, tourism, trends Tagged With: Electric Vehicles, EV, EV Charging, placemaking, rural, tourism, trends, wayfinding

2023 trends for rural and small town businesses

By Becky McCray

Finding rural trends buried in big reports Business Insider rounded up the trends reports from LinkedIn, Pinterest and other social-driven sites. They didn’t dig out the best trends for rural businesses and small town entrepreneurs, so I did that for you. Retail is recycling Pinterest points to vintage and mixed decor trends. That’s a good […]

December 26, 2022 Filed Under: economic development, entrepreneurship, rural, social media, tourism, trends Tagged With: ecommerce, GenZ, influencer marketing, innovation, materials, retail, sustainability, vintage

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