When you bring together the idea of pop up (temporary) businesses with the tiny house movement, you get tiny business villages. They make great sense for small towns and rural places. Garden Sheds Turned Incubator: Tionesta Market Village Tionesta, Pennsylvania, (population 500) had a lot that was vacant for 10 years after a fire…
Knowing what your customer wants is the base to building a successful business. Of course, you still must meet that need, let customers know you have what they want, and price it at a level that customers feel is acceptable. But the process begin with knowing the problem they are trying to solve. Market research is…
Is 2015 the year you want to start your small business? If so, have you sat down to develop your business plan yet? Check out most how-to business guides and you will find a section on writing a business plan. Yet ask business owners and you often hear that they did a plan only because…
I’ve been thinking about a long list of challenges for small town businesses and for people who care about shaping the future of their towns. Rather than me deciding which ones are most important for you, I’ve decided to ask you directly. So I have a four-question survey. I’d love to hear about your challenges….
Guest Post by Deb Brown, Webster City, Iowa, Area Chamber of Commerce My friend Kevin told me a story. Kevin has just bought the business he’s worked in for over 15 years, located on Main Street in my small town, Webster City, Iowa. He’s renamed it Interior Spaces because he’s a decorator and he…
Today is National Agriculture Day in the US. I’m proud to be in agriculture as a rancher here in Oklahoma. I’m also proud of the role that agribusiness plays in small towns all over the world. Agriculture is a key part of rural prosperity. Ag-based businesses in the US are almost unbelievably diverse. farms ranches…
This is another list of ideas that came from a question by a real business owner. How do you get the word out about events in small towns? They were kind of stuck for ideas, past having the Chamber of Commerce send an email and creating a Facebook event. So what else could they do?…
Businesspeople want to know why they ought to pay dues to a business association. The association wants to know why businesses that don’t pay should reap any benefits. When an association helps produce events, advertises, puts up signs, produces brochures or maps, all the businesses profit from the betterment of the town whether they…
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