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From Finance to Creativity: A Journey to Building an Experience-Based Business in Bellefontaine

By Jamie Beasley

A young girl carefully pours her own candle.

In today’s fast-paced world, many individuals find themselves stuck in careers that fail to ignite their passions. For some, the journey to rediscovering creativity can lead to unexpected and fulfilling paths. This is the story of one such entrepreneur who transitioned from a corporate finance job to creating a vibrant experience-based business in downtown Bellefontaine. […]

April 7, 2025 Filed Under: economic development, entrepreneurship, rural, success, trends Tagged With: building a business, entrepreneurship, events, experience economy, retail, rural, shop indie local, shop local, shop small, small business success, take small steps

Hands-on and experience-based businesses boost local economies

By Small Biz Survival

In a colorful room, a woman is offering instructions to two men seated at a craft table, preparing to pour their own candles.

Guest post by Jason Duff, founder of Small Nation Ever wanted to pour your own candle? Now you can right here in Downtown Bellefontaine! Triple Moon Designs in Bellefontaine, Ohio, recently added a new and exciting candle bar, offering a unique experience not typically seen in small towns. My team has had the chance to try it out […]

March 17, 2025 Filed Under: economic development, entrepreneurship, ideas, rural, trends Tagged With: economic development, entrepreneurship, experience, experience economy, guest post, rural, shop indie local, shop small, small business, small towns

Survey of Rural Challenges 2015 – 2025 results

By Becky McCray

10 Years of Rural Insights. What small town people see as their biggest challenges and what topics they most want help with. Survey of Rural Challenges, report written by Becky McCray and Deb Brown. Challenges, assets, actions

Download the PDF report Executive Summary The Survey of Rural Challenges asks rural people to share their ground-level insight into the challenges they face and the assets they can use. This report analyzes over 2200 responses from communities across the US and Canada from 2015 to 2024. The responses show what’s changing and what isn’t […]

February 3, 2025 Filed Under: announcement, community, economic development, entrepreneurship, resources, rural, success, Survey of Rural Challenges, trends, workforce, youth Tagged With: community development, economic development, Rural surveys and polls, rural trends, Survey of Rural Challenges

Boost your co-working space with social hours

By Becky McCray

A plain brick building in a small downtown has a window decal that says “Caldwell Workspace: create, connect, work your way” Next door is an ornate brick building from the late 1800s.

When I visited Caldwell, Kansas, the manager of the co-working site said they had filled their private offices, but struggled to attract day users. People who work from home like working from home. They don’t want a full time office, so they said they don’t want to use the coworking space. How can the coworking […]

December 5, 2024 Filed Under: community, economic development, entrepreneurship, rural Tagged With: coworking, remote work, rural, small business, small town, zoom towns

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