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Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource
  • economic development | entrepreneurship | ideas | rural

    More rural outsourcing firms to watch

    ByBecky McCray December 26, 2010May 26, 2022

    Rural sourcing is like outsourcing, except to rural areas with lower costs of doing business. It’s like off-shoring, only it’s on-shoring. We’ve talked about it before, most recently in “Rural sourcing can replace outsourcing.” Two more rural outsourcing firms to watch: Saturn Systems celebrated 20 years in 2010.  Rural America OnShore Outsourcing has a collection…

    Read More More rural outsourcing firms to watchContinue

  • economic development | ideas | rural

    What to do with empty downtown buildings

    ByBecky McCray December 22, 2010March 12, 2017

    Every small town downtown has some unused buildings and others used just for storage. They aren’t adding anything to the downtown economy. What can you do with them, besides ignore them? Use the storefronts to advertise other businesses. Yes, it will take cooperative building owners. And this only works if the front windows are in…

    Read More What to do with empty downtown buildingsContinue

  • ideas | resources | rural | tourism

    More ideas for rural tourism

    ByBecky McCray December 21, 2010August 27, 2014

    Need some new small town tourism ideas? Borrow some. It’s the rural tradition: swipe from the best. The Rural Information Center at the USDA has links to tons of resources and ideas on rural tourism. It can take a while to figure out their menu structure, but trust me, there is great info linked from there. It…

    Read More More ideas for rural tourismContinue

  • rural

    What the Midwest Rural Assembly lacked

    ByBecky McCray December 9, 2010August 27, 2014

    [I’ve held on to this post since August, a bit concerned about being critical. I think these points are worth discussing, so I’ve finally decided to share it. -Becky] Lots about the Midwest Rural Assembly impressed me in a good way. But I found myself feeling the lack of two elements I consider critical in…

    Read More What the Midwest Rural Assembly lackedContinue

  • Best of | entrepreneurship | marketing | rural | tourism

    How to respond to online flame attacks

    ByBecky McCray December 7, 2010August 27, 2014

    If you’re online for any length of time, you’re bound to get flamed. And in any group of people who are thinking about getting their small business or tourism destination online, there are always several who are seriously worried about being attacked online. I think this is a natural extension of our small town concerns….

    Read More How to respond to online flame attacksContinue

  • How to set retail prices and markups
    Best of | entrepreneurship | rural | Small Biz 100

    How to set retail prices and markups

    ByBecky McCray November 29, 2010July 1, 2023

        Setting retail prices is like some arcane art form. How the heck are you supposed to figure out what to markup items in your retail business when no one wants to give you real numbers? Here are two starting points for setting retail prices and markups. Keystoning Keystone pricing is simple and fairly common….

    Read More How to set retail prices and markupsContinue

  • entrepreneurship | marketing | rural

    Love Small Town America

    ByBecky McCray November 27, 2010August 27, 2014

    Nicole Godek tells about her new company, Love Small Town America. I met her at the Kansas MarketPlace by the Center for Rural Affairs. (If you don’t see the video, view it on YouTube.) New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Get our updates.

    Read More Love Small Town AmericaContinue

  • community | economic development | ideas | rural

    Refresh Kittanning reaches out for ideas

    ByBecky McCray October 27, 2010August 27, 2014

    [When Mike Rizzo explained the Refresh Kitanning story to me, I knew you would want to learn about it. Here is how people in one small town are taking an active approach to economic and business development. – Becky ] My name is Mike and I created a community website to hopefully inspire growth and…

    Read More Refresh Kittanning reaches out for ideasContinue

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