Small towns have endured boom and bust cycles, commodity crashes, mill and factory closures, environmental disasters and losing their economic reason for existing. Rural communities have reinvented themselves before, and rural businesses are re-inventing the way they do things. How Holyoke Hummus stays Idea Friendly through a crisis John is the owner of Holyoke Hummus…
2020 has taken a toll on downtown shopping and placemaking. There’s no time to waste on big master plans and no money for expensive consultants. Start taking action now to show life and new activity with small inexpensive steps. Murals add life and color to a downtown and are highly visible even to people driving…
Editorial by Becky McCray Not everyone who says they’ll help your town is telling you the truth. If you want a resilient small town economy and prosperity for the people in your town, I have some self-defense ideas for you. Focus more on your own people, less on attraction. Stop paying people to bring business…
Survival skills for small town businesses in the Coronavirus era By Chris Brogan As the world starts to ask what’s going to happen when this pandemic is finally over and we can look at what it will take to jumpstart the economy again, one venture capitalist says we have to save Main Street and not…
Monica Bailey of Rock Port, Missouri, sent in this question that I think you can relate to: Thank you ladies, as always, for supporting small towns! My question is super generic but it is giving me sleepless nights. I am our counties economic/community development director and I’ve been scrambling to support our small businesses…
There have been too many years of disinterest and disinvestment in rural America and at times I grow weary of defending the value of the rural place I call home to a national audience. I have read multiple articles about the rural underclass and the poverty that plagues our landscape from Bloomberg Business, NY…
Note: This is the second guest post by Whitney Hoffman. She’s sharing some thoughts about being ready for and recovering from disasters. -Becky Guest Post by Whitney Hoffman, Township Supervisor in Kennett Township PA Small towns across the Country are facing a Communications Crisis. We’re seeing contracting media markets, where hometown newspapers fold or go digital. TV…
Note: This week and next week, I’m pleased to share these guest posts by Whitney Hoffman. She’s sharing some thoughts about being ready for and recovering from disasters. -Becky Guest post by Whitney Hoffman I’ve been a Township Supervisor in Kennett Township PA for over three years now. We’re located in what some people call…
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