Courtesy of Glenn Muske: The North Dakota State University Extension Service and University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Service have teamed up to release a new self-directed program, “Marketing Agritourism Online,” to help agritourism enterprises attract business. The program is FREE and available at http://go.unl.edu/agritourism I learned about “top working” pecantrees on an agritourism tour ofCircle’s Pecans. …
The sharpest marketing advice I’ve heard came not from some marketing guru but from a small town photographer, one who built a global business from a home base in a small town. Mike Klemme found a niche, filled it,and killed it. And that is how hebuilt a global business. Mike Klemme is a professional photographer…
In Scotland, while staying in Stirling, we picked up a driving tour brochure. It listed a monument to the McRae Clan in the nearby Sheriffmuir area. Being good McCrays, we had to go try to find it. The problem is that the instructions were nearly indecipherable to us. They were crammed into one long block…
Economic development is notoriously complex, frequently involving many different government agencies and multiple different departments in just one business opening. The traditional way of structuring economic development is to have one person with the title of economic development director. (If you’re a small town, that might be a half-time person, or shared with a larger…
It’s the stereotypical small town business: the bait shop, tire store, and gas station all in one. But multiplying your lines of income is much more than just cramming more businesses into your building. It’s also about businesses that stick to one niche, but find more than one way to produce their income. Multiple businesses:…
Guest Post by Lance Trebesch I’m not your typical rural businessman. Though my office may be located in the countryside these days, I actually began my career managing and growing startups in Silicon Valley. I spent more than fifteen years in the “heart of the concrete jungle,” helping companies turn their promising new businesses into…
Reader Dan Johnson, from the Main Street Mall and Perkins Pizza Factory in Perkins, Oklahoma, asked about getting noticed when you’re in the middle of the block. With a row of brick storefronts, it can be tough to stand out! When you’re one business on a long block,how can you stand out?This block is in Traverse City,…
Following up on what CASUDI wrote yesterday about the “Take It or Leave It” section in her local recycling facility, that’s a pretty darn good business idea, too. Hey, if people will bid on stuff for silent auctions,maybe they would buy it from a recycling business. Imagine all those garage sale leftovers, estate items that…
Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.
We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.
Meet our authors on the About page.
Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.
Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.
We partner with campaigns and organizations that we think best benefit rural small businesses.
Copyright © 2006–2026 Becky McCray • Site by Webdancers