In the US Heartland, we are hearing about more and more ethanol plants. The nearby “big little” town of Enid, Oklahoma, is working on a second plant, even before completing the first. So you know that this is big and exploding. But we are also hearing some contrarian voices, knocking ethanol as not all its…
Are you promoting Father’s Day sales? If you have a retail business, maybe you should be. Melody Vargas, guide to About.com’s Retail Industry page, says: A recent Brand Keys survey indicates that 75 percent of U.S. consumers will be celebrating Father’s Day, spending an average of $115 on their dads. Where will all of that…
For those of you who asked about my project to convert from an old windmill to a shiny new solar pump, you can now see some pics at my photo blog. small biz rural entrepreneurship POV
Nebraska is faced with familiar problems of rural decline: declining population and depressed economies. Some small towns are actively trying to promote entrepreneurship and development. The Blog for Rural America reports on a new program for those towns. The Building Entrepreneurial Communities Act (BECA) program, administered by the Nebraska Rural Development Commission and Department of…
From Inc.com: Businesses grow faster in states with higher minimum wages, according to a new study. As more states proceed with minimum wage increases on their own, a new study shows that small businesses grow faster in states with minimum wages above the federal level, which has remained at $5.15 since 1997. The study, conducted…
How do small towns react when outsiders move in and start development? It’s not always pretty. Here is one example, Kirksville, Missouri, profiled in the Kansas City Star. The outsider in this case is Big Louie Keen, owner of a “sprawling strip club complex along Interstate 44,” about 200 miles to the south of Kirksville….
One of our favorites at the SBDC is Darrell Zahorsky athttp://sbinformation.about.com/ and given that I love jelly beans this one really interested me! What Your Small Business Can Learn From Jelly BeansAn unusual experiment with Six Kinds of Jelly Beans at Wharton School University of Pennsylvania found that the more variety a consumer thinks they…
No. They don’t. Not in the US. Wayne Hogue writing in the The Shreveport Times takes on this myth: Attention! There is no such thing as a grant to start a for-profit business. Business startup grants are an urban legend; a myth that just will not die. I’m talking about grants (i.e. free money, not…
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