If your town can’t get its act together enough to accept help or seek opportunities, should outside groups spend any of their limited time and resources on you? Or should they focus instead on the places with the best prospects of success? When I first had this conversation with Joe Borgstrom a few years ago,…
If you’re a business owner, which appeals more: spending $20 to capture a new customer or spending $1 to retain an existing customer? These numbers represent broad averages but reflect reality, according to research. This means developing a sustainable business requires focusing first on building customer loyalty. Every business needs to build its customer base,…
The world we live in is not a static place. This is true in every aspect of life, including small business. For small-business owners, things are changing, and those changes are happening at an ever-increasing pace. Doing business tomorrow will be different than doing business today. And doing business next week might be something we…
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…
Today, you have unprecedented support available to help you build and improve your business and to survive any economic conditions. No matter how small a town or isolated an area you live in, internet access connects you to astounding resources. You can read advice from experts, including those in your own field. You can connect…
If starting a business is in your plans, determining your primary reason for such an effort is vital. You may think that is an odd comment to make because people obviously start a business to make money. That’s true for some, but people start businesses for lots of reasons. Money is not always the primary…
A common assumption among people wanting to start a business is that coming up with the idea is the hardest part. When you talk with people already in business, though, they often comment that the business idea was the easiest step to take. Small-business owners mention that they didn’t realize how hard it would…
Going into business is a huge commitment. It is a commitment of money, time and mental stamina. Yet for all of the commitment that a business owner might put into it, he or she has no guarantee that any small business will succeed. Achieving success is the goal, but finding it is the challenge. Besides…
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