Deb Brown and I have kicked off a new podcast series as part of A Positive View of Rural and SaveYour.Town. Each week we bring you five news stories or articles you can use in your small town business or revitalization projects. We add our comments and ideas, and we always share the links….
Another reader emailed me last week to say they had formed a revitalization group for their town and asked for tips to attract businesses to their town. I don’t have any. Revitalizing a town is less about what you can attract from outside and more about what you can grow yourself. Experiment, try, fail,…
Going into business for yourself is always a scary idea, especially for the first-time business owner. You seem to have so much to do and so little time to get it done. The first-time business owner faces even more uncertainty because every step is a completely new experience. Running a business is a daunting task….
A reader asked me about outside food trucks invading a town of about 2,500 people. It’s a good question, and I’m glad to have a chance to share it with you. I am having a hard time in our small town with food trucks wanting to set up for a couple days of the week? I…
Some marketing tools are good. Others are great. Typically a great marketing tool is having others talking about your business. Not paid ads but your own brand ambassadors telling your story. What makes it effective? It is part of our nature to trust other people. That is why reviews on your home page or posted…
How to Wow the Big Town Farmer’s Markets, even if you’re not a farmer Guest Post by H. E. James Small town businesses like yours can often be limited in audience and market. Depending on how isolated your community is, it can be difficult to do business outside the community without simply going online. E-commerce…
Practically all of the guest blogs I write for Small Business Survival focus on tips to enhance the management or operational aspects of your business. This post, however, goes down a new road. I would love your thoughts on what you consider acceptable ratings, both as a consumer and as a business owner, when viewing customer…
Julie from the U.P. of Michigan has a question that I thought you all would also be interested in: We are looking to collect data from travelers to our area this summer season. In particular, we are interested in WHERE our tourists are coming from, so zip code would be really helpful. A lot…
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