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Survey of Rural Challenges 2015 – 2025 results
ByBecky McCray February 3, 2025February 3, 2025
Download the PDF report Executive Summary The Survey of Rural Challenges asks rural people to share their ground-level insight into the challenges they face and the assets they can use. This report analyzes over 2200 responses from communities across the US and Canada from 2015 to 2024. The responses show what’s changing and what isn’t…
Read More Survey of Rural Challenges 2015 – 2025 results
Best of | entrepreneurship | marketing | rural | shop local | Survey of Rural Challenges | trends
TREND 2025: Retail’s Big Split: what small town retailers can do now
ByBecky McCray December 11, 2024March 12, 2025
Remember the Retail Apocalypse around 2017? In a media interview this week, I brought up that it was actually Retail’s Big Split, not an apocalypse, and it’s ongoing. The reporter asked me to explain, so here’s my update for today’s retail landscape. “Everything gigantic in American life is about to get smaller or die.”…
Read More TREND 2025: Retail’s Big Split: what small town retailers can do now
entrepreneurship | management | planning | rural | Small Biz 100
You don’t have 52 weeks this year
ByRob Hatch December 9, 2024December 9, 2024
By Rob Hatch Thirty-six weeks. Part of my process for planning my business for the New Year is to do a little reality check on exactly how much time I have to work with. What are you talking about, Rob? You have a year. Technically, that’s true. However, on closer inspection, I only have 36…
Read More You don’t have 52 weeks this year
community | economic development | entrepreneurship | rural
Boost your co-working space with social hours
ByBecky McCray December 5, 2024December 2, 2024
When I visited Caldwell, Kansas, the manager of the co-working site said they had filled their private offices, but struggled to attract day users. People who work from home like working from home. They don’t want a full time office, so they said they don’t want to use the coworking space. How can the coworking…
Read More Boost your co-working space with social hours
economic development | entrepreneurship | mistakes | rural | shop local
How one town stopped business owners and staff from parking in front of downtown businesses
ByBecky McCray October 21, 2024October 18, 2024
Without making people mad! One common small town parking complaint is business staff taking up customer parking. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this brought up in discussing downtown businesses. Sometimes business owners or business employees park right in front of their business or along the Main Street. They might park out…
Read More How one town stopped business owners and staff from parking in front of downtown businesses
community | economic development | marketing | rural | tools | tourism
Make a “What to do in…” Pinterest Board
ByBecky McCray September 11, 2024March 12, 2025
— How many times have you heard it? Someone lamenting, “There’s nothing to do here!” Worse yet, hearing someone tell visitors that. “What is there to do around here?” “Nothing, really. I don’t know.” Enough with that. Let’s give people an easy way to answer, and let’s do it the Idea Friendly way. Make a…
Read More Make a “What to do in…” Pinterest Board
customer service | entrepreneurship | marketing | rural
New sidewalk sales idea: Sell through the fence
ByBecky McCray September 2, 2024September 2, 2024
In the small town of Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, Marilyn Pope Francis ran a restaurant with a fenced patio for tables and chairs. She set up hot serving dishes and a cold drinks station in the gazebo to serve customers. Here’s the part where we learn that Marilyn is a low-key business genius. Next to…
Read More New sidewalk sales idea: Sell through the fence
community | rural | trends | youth
Young Americans Returning to Rural for More than Just Holiday Dinners
BySmall Biz Survival August 7, 2024
by Caroline Tremblay, The Daily Yonder August 5, 2024 Kansas: Elevate the work of younger people In rural Kansas, if you’re between the ages of 21 and 39ish, you might be considered a PowerUp — but not just because of your age or location. A PowerUp is someone who is rural by choice. “The name…
Read More Young Americans Returning to Rural for More than Just Holiday Dinners

Small Biz Survival

Survey of Rural Challenges 2015 – 2025 results

TREND 2025: Retail’s Big Split: what small town retailers can do now

You don’t have 52 weeks this year

Boost your co-working space with social hours

How one town stopped business owners and staff from parking in front of downtown businesses

Make a “What to do in…” Pinterest Board

New sidewalk sales idea: Sell through the fence

Young Americans Returning to Rural for More than Just Holiday Dinners

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