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Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource
  • Getting local businesses to cooperate with you: Shop Hopping Around Brownsville
    Best of | economic development | entrepreneurship | marketing | rural | shop local | trends

    Getting local businesses to cooperate with you: Shop Hopping Around Brownsville

    ByBecky McCray December 16, 2019March 25, 2023

      Getting local businesses to cooperate can be a challenge in any small town. Everyone is busy in their own business, and few have time to dedicate to working with other businesses. Whether it’s a formal project put on by a group like the Chamber of Commerce or an informal get-together, there are big benefits…

    Read More Getting local businesses to cooperate with you: Shop Hopping Around BrownsvilleContinue

  • Logo with "Shop Indie Local"
    entrepreneurship | marketing | rural | shop local

    Shop Indie Local adds a new twist to tired Buy Local campaigns

    ByBecky McCray November 11, 2019

      Shop Indie Local summary: Shop Indie Local campaign website This campaign’s advantage:  Usable year round, adaptable to local events and needs, not just a single day “Indie” message is resonating well right now, better than plain “local” campaigns Share the right message: People already think they want to shop local, just need a timely…

    Read More Shop Indie Local adds a new twist to tired Buy Local campaignsContinue

  • Using events to promote service and industry businesses
    entrepreneurship | marketing | rural

    Using events to promote service and industry businesses

    ByDeb Brown September 11, 2019September 9, 2019

    Events that showcase your non-retail small business  You want people to learn about your business. Events sometimes help with that. You’re just not sure how to create an event for non-retail businesses that people will come to. Who goes to the insurance agency if they don’t need insurance? Who goes to the packing plant unless…

    Read More Using events to promote service and industry businessesContinue

  • For easier social media marketing, fill in the blank
    entrepreneurship | marketing | rural | social media | tourism

    For easier social media marketing, fill in the blank

    ByBecky McCray August 5, 2019August 4, 2019

    Sheila Scarborough and Leslie McLellan of Tourism Currents laid out a simple starting point for all your social media efforts. Good news: it’s as easy as filling in the blank. Fill in the Blank (Our company) is where (our customers) find (the thing we offer) with (this benefit) So all you have to do is…

    Read More For easier social media marketing, fill in the blankContinue

  • A tray of cookies on a craftsman-style table
    entrepreneurship | marketing | rural

    Need a downtown business idea? Try a Cookie Crawl

    ByBecky McCray July 22, 2019July 22, 2019

      Our friend Maury Forman of Washington state, sent us this idea from Madras, Oregon: On February 16 the Madras Downtown Association and Petite Sweets hosted the first-ever Cookie Crawl. Participants paid $5 and received a box and map that listed all the locations where the beautifully decorated cookies were available. Petite Sweets decorated cookies…

    Read More Need a downtown business idea? Try a Cookie CrawlContinue

  • Old fashioned illustration of a farm couple with a three legged stool and milking pail
    economic development | marketing | rural

    Stop using “3 legged stool” to describe any idea

    ByBecky McCray June 24, 2019July 1, 2023

      There are dozens and dozens of 3 legged stool analogies. The Three Legged Stool of Retirement Planning …of Politics …of Sustainability …of Accounting …of Organizational Architecture. And all the headlines: Why Leadership is Like a Three Legged Stool. Apple’s three-legged stool at WWDC 2019. ‘The three-legged stool’: McDonald’s recipe for franchise success. Think about…

    Read More Stop using “3 legged stool” to describe any ideaContinue

  • How to publicize your biking trails before they’re finished
    economic development | marketing | rural | tourism

    How to publicize your biking trails before they’re finished

    ByBecky McCray June 10, 2019June 9, 2019

      Have you got a “coming soon” biking trail? Or a biking trail that is not completely finished yet? Well, don’t keep it a secret! A couple of places I’ve visited lately, I’ve heard about trails that are in the partially-finished stage. Some segments of the trail have been improved, others are still rough. “Once…

    Read More How to publicize your biking trails before they’re finishedContinue

  • Coffee shop with local art displayed on the walls
    customer service | entrepreneurship | marketing | rural | Small Biz 100

    Crowdsourced ideas for coffee shops and other third places

    ByBecky McCray May 20, 2019March 12, 2025

      At the Main Street Now conference, I sat in on a session about coffee shops. I wrote down bunches of ideas that the audience shared. I thought you might know a coffee shop person, or you might think of ways to use these with other types of small town businesses. Hold trivia nights or…

    Read More Crowdsourced ideas for coffee shops and other third placesContinue

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