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How one town stopped business owners and staff from parking in front of downtown businesses

By Becky McCray

Without making people mad! One common small town parking complaint is business staff taking up customer parking. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this brought up in discussing downtown businesses. Sometimes business owners or business employees park right in front of their business or along the Main Street. They might park out […]

October 21, 2024 Filed Under: economic development, entrepreneurship, mistakes, rural, shop local Tagged With: business district, downtown, main street, parking, retail

Seasonal businesses: post signs year-round

By Becky McCray

Two people are pointing to features on a brick building in a small town downtown

Marketing tip: keep signs up year-round even if you’re a seasonal business. When I toured several small towns in Washington and Idaho with the Inland Northwest Partners, I noticed many part-time and seasonal businesses did not have signs up during their off season. In the town of Deary, Idaho, (population 500) there is a wine […]

April 22, 2024 Filed Under: economic development, entrepreneurship, marketing, mistakes, rural Tagged With: effective marketing, entrepreneurship, retail, seasonal business, service businesses, signage, small business marketing

Using a building as a warehouse or storage in a small town? Put up a sign

By Becky McCray

A building used as business storage with an old faded sign that says "Carrier Air Conditioning"

Repurposing empty buildings as business storage or a warehouse is a common small business practice in small towns. Putting up a sign is a good idea for at least two reasons.  Retail businesses may be storing extra merchandise. Manufacturers might have extra materials or finished product ready to ship. Service and repair companies have to […]

March 13, 2023 Filed Under: economic development, mistakes, rural Tagged With: community development, emtpy buildings, non-retail, retail, rural, service businesses

Check your small business website for outdated pandemic changes, missing info

By Becky McCray

Hands on a laptop, working

My friend Rob just told me he was checking out a local fitness place. He was interested until he saw their website included some pandemic-related changes that probably aren’t still true, like canceled classes and limited hours. Since he doesn’t know for sure, he moved on to looking into a different place. This is a […]

January 31, 2023 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, marketing, mistakes, rural Tagged With: checklist, COVID, marketing, pandemic, website

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