Audio: A Diamond in the Rough – Mentoring
Read the quotes and lists from this podcast. small biz rural entrepreneurship mentoring podcast New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
Your best economic developers are successful entrepreneurs
Your community’s best economic developers are not on the payroll at your development authority or the local government. Lots of times, they are the successful entrepreneurs. Pat Matthews, author of Small Town, Big Ideas blog, is a perfect example. As many of you know, I think that Blacksburg has a lot of potential as a…
Ethanol: Myths and Realities
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…
Father’s Day: An $8 Billion Retail Holiday
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…
POV: My solar power project
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
Grants help in Building Entrepreneurial Communities in Nebraska
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…
How do minimum wage increases affect small business?
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 one small town reacts to "outsider" development
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….
