Bike tourists exploring the scenic byways through Baker County, Oregon. Photo (CC) by Baker County Tourism on Flickr. Guest post by Mark Matthews, Chief Executive of Advance Cairns (Australia) ON YOUR BIKE….!!! Mountain biking has experienced rapid growth over the past 20 years as riders seek out new trails and new experiences. And some communities are…
For the first time, Shop Small Saturday is promoting local small businesses in the UK on December 7, 2013. The dedicated UK Small Business Saturday website offers an easy and quick download of digital marketing tools, like posters, logos, and suggested social media posts. There’s also a kit of printed posters, stands and badges you…
“What you say before the event is an explanation, after it’s an excuse.” Guest post by Jurek Leon, Perth, Australia Brisbane dentist Paddi Lund makes this point in his fascinating book Training customers to treasure your business. He has a ‘Welcome Book’ which is given to all new patients before their first appointment. This explains…
This article comes from my friend Stephanie Ward. She’s originally from Oklahoma, but currently lives in The Netherlands. She wants to help you become a more meaningful entrepreneur, making a difference in the world. While this article isn’t specifically written for rural entrepreneurs, I think outsourcing is a small town issue. Outsourcing doesn’t just mean…
A headline like, “Regional and rural small businesses outperform metropolitan-based businesses,” is sure to get my attention. This one is from Australia, and mirrors U.S. trends. In Australia: Business looks good at the Exchange Hotel, in Grenfell, Australia (population 1900).Photo (CC) by Pip Wilson. All small business monthly growth for October 2011 was 2.8%, while regional and rural…
Our friend Des Walsh from Australia sent me a great email, that I just had to share with all of you. You might not have known but we had a Federal election here on Saturday. The outcome hangs in the balance (although I don’t think there are any hanging chads), with the likelihood of a…
Onshore Technologies office CNN Money published a feature on rural sourcing, “Forget India, outsource to Arkansas.” Dubbed “ruralsourcing,” “rural outsourcing” and “onshoring,” the practice relies on two simple premises: Smaller towns need jobs, and they offer a cheaper cost of living than urban centers. So businesses that outsource work to these areas can expect to…
Wind turbine, Cumbria, by S John Davey This week, a monumental report on rural England’s problems and rural potential hit the media with headlines like “Rural England key to economic recovery.” Rural England is leading the way to economic recovery, thanks to high levels of entrepreneurship in the countryside, a report has revealed. Another news…
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