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Solve Rural Community Challenges the Idea Friendly Way – stories from IEDC

By Deb Brown

Guest post by Deb Brown What attendees learned from attending the Idea Friendly Session by SaveYour.Town at the International Economic Development Council Conference — Big Ideas you can copy in your town  Becky McCray and I were excited to lead an interactive Idea Friendly workshop at the International Economic Development Council Conference in Dallas in […]

November 9, 2023 Filed Under: community, economic development, ideas, rural, youth Tagged With: big ideas, childcare, downtown, housing, idea friendly, volunteers, youth

Small town retail topics from IEDC conference: getting owners to improve their buildings, recruiting chain groceries and supporting local retail startups

By Becky McCray

IEDC 2023 annual conference logotype over a nighttime skyline of Dallas, Texas.

I’m sharing notes from sessions and conversations at the International Economic Development Council annual conference in Dallas. First up: Retail! Lacy Beasley of Retail Strategies moderated a panel on retail real estate and development. While it was mostly big city stuff, several topics were relevant for smaller towns. How to convince a property owner to […]

October 9, 2023 Filed Under: economic development, rural, trends Tagged With: chain stores, dilapidated properties, recruiting businesses, retail

October is the new December: Shop early, shop indie local

By Small Biz Survival

Heads up, rural retailers: holiday shopping has already started! Guest post by Jen Risley, AMIBA Why promote Shop Indie Local early this holiday season? Because more of us are shopping early for holiday gifts. From National Retail Federation: Over the last decade, consumers have been kicking off their holiday shopping early in order to spread […]

October 5, 2023 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, marketing, rural, shop local Tagged With: retail, shop indie local, shop local, shop small, small business

Turn free advice requests into paying clients

By Becky McCray

Becky McCray is talking with a woman with dark skin and hair who cradles her head on one hand while thinking.

Years ago, Thursday Bram asked me some questions about how freelancers and other consulting and professional folks can avoid giving away too much of their knowledge for free. Her article at Freelance Switch is no longer online, so I thought it was time to share it here, as well. Here’s some of my best advice […]

October 3, 2023 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, marketing, rural Tagged With: building a business, coaching, consulting, freelancing, selling services, service businesses

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