Rural communities were not immune to the chaos of 2020, but remained more concerned with ongoing challenges. To find out what rural people felt were their biggest challenges, SaveYour.Town and SmallBizSurvival.com surveyed over 280 rural people in the fourth quarter of 2020. The results make up this fourth edition of the Survey of Rural Challenges. Challenges…
Guest post by Rob Hatch Chris Brogan recently shared a story of a local bookstore in his hometown. He asked them to order a specific book for him that wasn’t in stock. The owner wrote down his name and phone number and told him she’d order it. The next week, when he walked in the…
Quick Summary: A “micropolitan area” is US term for smaller metropolitan areas between 10,000 and 50,000 people. Micropolitans provide shopping and services to their core population and even more rural people in surrounding regions. About 27 million US residents live in micropolitan towns. Nanopolitans are towns with between 1,000 and 10,000 people. Nanopolitans serve as…
By Becky McCray Small towns need good housing to retain population and to attract new residents, new industries and new entrepreneurs. There’s growing interest in living in small towns and rural communities, making good rural housing even more important. You might have heard about Zoom Towns, as more people choose remote work and live in…
By Becky McCray In each state that has decriminalized marijuana sales, there’s a usual pattern that happens. Immediately after it is allowed, cannabis dispensaries or legal weed stores start opening all over town, even in small towns. At the peak, it can feel like every other store front is a pot shop! Should city governments…
Why does downtown matter? I’ve been asked why downtowns matter to small towns. Why should you invest your time and money into revitalizing your downtown? What makes it more important than any other area of town? What about that highway frontage? Or the edge of town where the discounters locate? In our Survey of Rural…
People have been saying for years that they would prefer to live in rural areas. Trulia research in 2014 showed 7% more people wanted to live in rural places than did then. In 2018, Gallup asked people where they preferred to live. Rural came out on top for all age groups except for 18-29 year olds. With the 18-29…
Be frugal. One of the Small Town Rules is to spend your brain power before spending dollars. Be creative about how you handle challenges rather than to throw money at the problem. Venture capital vs. Bootstrapped We’ve all heard about startups that have been funded by whatever venture capitalist or angel that has just dropped a…
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