If you live in the US, I’ll bet you have a Jiffy Mix in your kitchen cabinet right now. I have three. I counted. Even if you don’t, surely you recognize the iconic blue boxes with their simple branding, even though Chelsea Milling Company doesn’t spend a dime to advertise them. Chelsea, Michigan, is…
This article is a reprint from my separate weekly newsletter, called A Positive View of Rural. It’s not the same as this you’re reading right now. Once a week, I send this other email to deliver practical steps to shape the future of your town and share the products and services I offer to help you….
There will be times in business when your income is zero. You might as well plan for that right now. For farmers, a wheat crop might be entirely hailed out, and they may lose the entire year’s income. They have to plan for that or it’s going to put them out of business. The…
Everyone faces challenges when thinking about going into business. Being based in a rural area adds some special challenges. You may not have immediate access to anyone who can sit down with you in person. You can’t just drop in on a small business support center, because there probably isn’t one for 50 miles…
Daily Yonder reported recently that the number of rural businesses declined. The article is very good with detailed analysis. But I was struck by what it didn’t talk about: non-employer businesses. You know, self-employed people. Self-employment is a critical part of the rural business picture, moreso than in urban areas. Stephan J. Goetz predicted that 25%…
Take this simple quiz. When I think of last year’s tax return time, I’d say it was: A breeze. I just printed out one or two reports and answered a few questions from my tax preparer. A bit of a mess. I had to do some work to catch up and then answer a…
This is a story from the “You may have missed the real lesson” files: A business owner mentioned taking a walk in their own downtown on a Saturday evening after dinner. Apparently, it was a popular time for walking downtown because the business owner saw folks peering into the front window of their own business….
Coworking is like shared office space, except it’s more than that. Coworking works best when it’s a community, too. If you’re trying to build more entrepreneurship in your town, coworking is a smart place to focus. A new study from Emergent Research and partners showed that coworking spaces are human spaces. “The key finding…
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