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Small Biz Survival

Practical ideas for small town business and community builders

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Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource
  • Best of | entrepreneurship | marketing

    How to Write Your Business Bio

    ByBecky McCray December 28, 2009August 27, 2014

    by Deb Brown What is a bio Start with short overview Use professional picture Short detailing of what you do Fuller accounting of what you do Contact Info Let’s first determine what a bio is. It’s certainly not a resume. A resume follows a structured format of Education and Professional Experience and is usually in…

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  • marketing | social media | tourism

    Do Facebook ads work for tourism?

    ByBecky McCray December 15, 2009August 27, 2014

    Facebook ads may be one of the most underutilized forms of local advertising. No matter how small your town, I’ll bet you have locals present on Facebook. My home town of Alva, Oklahoma, has hundreds of Facebook users. And when you start thinking about how many people in your target area are online, you’ll realize…

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  • marketing

    The right way to let customers set your price

    ByBecky McCray November 30, 2009August 27, 2014

    Letting customers set your price sounds crazy. But Radiohead made a $10 million success out of letting customers name their own price to download their album, In Rainbows. Others have experimented with this business model, too. Here is one of the most interesting twists I’ve read: let your loyal customers help you determine the right…

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  • customer service | marketing

    Idea for customer appreciation events

    ByBecky McCray November 24, 2009August 27, 2014

    Our friend Bruce Christensen, CEO of PartyWeDo, sent me this idea. It’s from a yarn store in Florida, but anyone could use it. Basically, the store allows customers to bring in yarn, or any fiber related gift, all wrapped up like a present. Then at a designated time, they play white elephant exchange. Read the…

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  • entrepreneurship | marketing | POV | social media

    J.C. Hutchins and Zero Budget promotion

    BySmall Biz Survival November 11, 2009January 2, 2018

    Our friend Chel Wolverton helped me connect with award-winning novelist J.C. Hutchins to talk about promoting on little or no budget. I thought small businesses could take some lessons from his success. J.C. is best known for his high-tech 7th Son thriller trilogy, which he released as free serialized audiobooks from 2006-07. With more than 5 million…

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  • marketing | social media

    6 big Facebook tips for small business

    ByBecky McCray November 4, 2009September 29, 2014

    Facebook can be a powerful tool for small business, and our friend Shama Hyder of Click to Client (2013 update: Shama’s firm is now called Marketing Zen) shared some outstanding tips in her presentation at BlogWorld Expo. Tip 1: Create a fan Page, not a personal Profile, for your business. Fan pages are the best way for…

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  • entrepreneurship | marketing

    Is it worth paying for help with free tools

    ByBecky McCray October 31, 2009September 27, 2016

    Many times, it is worth paying for help with what seem like free tools like social media, websites, or even photography. Look at it this way. If you want to build a house, you probably already have a hammer and all the tools you need. You can find some lumber pretty cheap. There are even…

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  • marketing

    Do you send holiday cards from your business?

    BySmall Biz Survival October 26, 2009January 2, 2018

    [Please welcome back our friend, frequent guest poster, and smart copywriter Denise McGill, with a timely reminder. -Becky] By Denise McGill If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to order those holiday business cards to let clients know they are appreciated! It’s no news that the economy is performing at below par…

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Since 2006, this site has been helping people like you in small towns move forward without waiting on outside experts, big budgets, or perfect plans. You don’t need any of that to get started.

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