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Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource
  • A very busy, full planner with many notes, highlights and scribbles.
    entrepreneurship | management | planning | rural | Small Biz 100

    You don’t have 52 weeks this year

    ByRob Hatch December 9, 2024December 9, 2024

    By Rob Hatch Thirty-six weeks. Part of my process for planning my business for the New Year is to do a little reality check on exactly how much time I have to work with. What are you talking about, Rob? You have a year. Technically, that’s true. However, on closer inspection, I only have 36…

    Read More You don’t have 52 weeks this yearContinue

  • Seasonal business: How to beat the annual “no bookings!” panic
    entrepreneurship | management | planning | rural | Small Biz 100

    Seasonal business: How to beat the annual “no bookings!” panic

    ByBecky McCray August 8, 2022

    Do you tend to panic about a lack of business at a certain point during the year? Do you always feel like you’ll never get enough bookings for the fall? I know several independent professionals who feel like this: a professional photographer who always worries in late summer that there won’t be enough bookings for…

    Read More Seasonal business: How to beat the annual “no bookings!” panicContinue

  • Small Steps with kettle corn
    entrepreneurship | planning | rural | youth

    How to start a real small small business

    ByBecky McCray December 17, 2021

      Your fellow reader Ava asked a great question: If I am already working, in school, and wanting to start up just a real small small business, then how would that work differently from someone who is coming from a completely different stand point, like not working or in school and is just generally starting…

    Read More How to start a real small small businessContinue

  • Community engagement planning: old way vs. Idea Friendly way
    community | economic development | mistakes | planning | rural

    Community engagement planning: old way vs. Idea Friendly way

    ByBecky McCray October 3, 2021October 1, 2021

    You’re familiar with the traditional way of handling community engagement. Once every few years, an outside consultant comes in and leads a community engagement planning meeting. There are lots of flip charts and post it notes.  Most of the people who attend hold official titles or formal leadership roles. Almost all are professional middle class…

    Read More Community engagement planning: old way vs. Idea Friendly wayContinue

  • Did America Get Too Big? Next steps for small businesses right now
    entrepreneurship | global | management | planning | rural | survivors

    Did America Get Too Big? Next steps for small businesses right now

    ByChris Brogan April 17, 2020April 12, 2020

    Survival skills for small town businesses in the Coronavirus era By Chris Brogan As the world starts to ask what’s going to happen when this pandemic is finally over and we can look at what it will take to jumpstart the economy again, one venture capitalist says we have to save Main Street and not…

    Read More Did America Get Too Big? Next steps for small businesses right nowContinue

  • Paula Jensen
    community | planning | rural

    What would you be doing this weekend, if the world hadn’t fallen apart?

    ByPaula Jensen April 12, 2020April 12, 2020

    Guest post by Paula Jensen I was on my second video conference of the day earlier last week and a peer in the meeting said, “Time-out! I need to ask everyone a question.” We all agreed, and he said, “What would you be doing this weekend, if the world hadn’t fallen apart?” Some people answered…

    Read More What would you be doing this weekend, if the world hadn’t fallen apart?Continue

  • Small Steps with kettle corn
    economic development | entrepreneurship | family business | planning | rural | success

    Business plans are not worth the paper they’re written on

    ByDeb Brown February 6, 2020January 29, 2020

    by Deb Brown At least, the old way of doing them Writing a business plan is an intense project that takes up a lot of your time. You spend weeks and weeks on it, and you’re not even sure everything in it is correct. Your financial projections are just wild guesses. You’re not even open…

    Read More Business plans are not worth the paper they’re written onContinue

  • We tried that before and it didn’t work!
    community | mistakes | planning | rural

    We tried that before and it didn’t work!

    ByPaula Jensen May 26, 2019April 28, 2019

    Guest Post by Paula Jensen When was the last time you heard someone say, “We tried that before and it didn’t work!”  In my early days as a local leader those words spoken by an experienced leader often stopped me in my tracks. Their words indicated to me that they had the experience of knowing…

    Read More We tried that before and it didn’t work!Continue

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