For years, we’ve all worked on SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, to get our names out there and associated with specific words and phrases we knew our customers would type into a search engine to find us. Now that customers are saying their searches out loud, how does that change things? Today’s voice searches…
A small town official wrote in to ask me what business would work on empty land. This town had acquired an old industrial site with 30 acres of empty land in the middle of town. They’d like to build a city within a city, maybe a mix of residential and commercial. To get there,…
Brother released their small business trends for 2019, and two struck me as particularly good for small towns and rural businesses. Remote workforces will continue to rise Brother says: “2018 was a pivotal year for remote working and as we head into 2019 that is not going to slow down. Good talent is becoming…
Guest post by Micah Lorenc Let’s talk about a topic that’s commonplace in business schools, but not as familiar to rural small businesses. I’m talking about Sunk Costs. I recently had a conversation with a close friend who is pursuing a new business opportunity, building a gym in a small, rural town in Southern Utah….
Older downtown buildings in small towns are a good use for “smart home” technology. Small businesses struggling with vintage or outdated electrical systems can use smart outlets to control displays more easily. I thought of this when I was in a local retail store at closing time. The owner and a clerk were talking…
“This product is great! It will save your marriage, improve your bank account and make you slimmer!” OK, enough with the benefits overload! I can’t believe your benefits claims because you didn’t show me why they’re believable. Sales pages online are drowning in benefits, but without any hint that they connect to an actual…
Small towns are so different, there is no one business will work in every small town. But there’s one business idea that almost every single small town I’ve visited needs: small spaces. Every rural town could use smaller spaces for locals to start tiny retail businesses. Not everyone can afford to rent an entire…
When you hold events downtown, the businesses that aren’t located downtown sometimes feel left out. There’s one bank not in downtown, that figured out a great way to participate in the First Thursday fun in downtown Colfax, Washington. They could have done what other groups are doing and set up a booth on the…
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