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Small Biz Survival

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Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource
  • economic development | marketing | rural | social media | tourism

    The new billboard (video)

    ByBecky McCray July 10, 2012August 27, 2014

    Educator Kevin Honeycutt of Inman, Kansas, (population 1300) is working with other locals to create a “New Billboard”: a combination QR code, Foursquare tour. If you can’t see the video, click through to Small Biz Survival. The basic idea is to draw in visitors from the highway, and use tools like QR codes and Foursquare…

    Read More The new billboard (video)Continue

  • entrepreneurship | marketing

    Coopetition in action

    ByBecky McCray June 28, 2012August 27, 2014

    Three local stores in Alva, Oklahoma, are cooperating on a sale. Cheers to The Etc. Shoppe, Schuhmacher’s Gifts, and LaDEEda. Have you cooperated with other local businesses for a joint promotion? New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Get our updates.

    Read More Coopetition in actionContinue

  • Best of | entrepreneurship | marketing | tourism

    Smart tourism QR code tour

    ByBecky McCray June 12, 2012August 27, 2014

    QR codes are everywhere, or so it seems. Most suffer from one or more of the 7 QR code mistakes that can kill your promotions. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, I saw one tourism campaign that actually avoids all those mistakes: The GR Tag Tour.   The signs are posted on existing sign posts, with enough…

    Read More Smart tourism QR code tourContinue

  • entrepreneurship | marketing | shop local

    Local First, Shift Your Shopping

    ByBecky McCray May 23, 2012August 27, 2014

    Another report from the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies Conference, about the holidays “shop local” campaign that any business can participate in, called Shift Your Shopping. The facilitators were Laury Hammel, Sustainable Business Network Boston, and Joe Grafton, Somerville Local First. The goal is to get people to understand that shifting their shopping matters….

    Read More Local First, Shift Your ShoppingContinue

  • Best of | entrepreneurship | marketing

    Why you should start varnishing your customers

    ByBecky McCray May 15, 2012August 27, 2014

    Have you ever varnished something, the old-fashioned way, with a brush? Did you try hurrying the job by slathering on a thick coat? It makes a sticky mess, and doesn’t make for a good finish. Instead, the pros do lots of thin layers, maybe dozens. And the results are much better, shiny and smooth. First…

    Read More Why you should start varnishing your customersContinue

  • marketing | social media

    What to do when a blog post is suddenly popular

    ByJNSwanson May 2, 2012August 27, 2014

    By Jon Swanson I write blog posts five days a week. A post that I wrote three years ago, and reposted a year ago started getting a lot of traffic about three months ago. In fact, about three times as much traffic in the last three months as in the nine months before that. It’s…

    Read More What to do when a blog post is suddenly popularContinue

  • entrepreneurship | marketing | social media | tourism

    Make your destination website copy-proof

    ByBecky McCray May 1, 2012August 27, 2014

    Our friend Heather Thomas of Destin Florida Boat Rentals has been looking for ways to make her website “copy-proof.” See, other boat rental companies can say they offer the same services or the same tours, but of course it isn’t the same. How could she better show off her uncopy-able qualities? How can you add…

    Read More Make your destination website copy-proofContinue

  • entrepreneurship | marketing | tourism

    Is your website missing the #1 most used feature?

    ByBecky McCray April 24, 2012August 27, 2014

    “The most commonly visited section on a small brick-and-mortar business website is the store locator.  Customers want to know your store locations, your hours, and your phone number,” Alex Schmelkin of Alexander Interactive says. My store’s site putslocation and hoursright up top.  Here are the important implications for your small town business website: Put your…

    Read More Is your website missing the #1 most used feature?Continue

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