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Small Biz Survival

Small Biz Survival

Practical ideas for small town business and community builders

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Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource
  • entrepreneurship | marketing

    Get professional website help

    ByBecky McCray August 30, 2011August 27, 2014

    Small businesses struggle with website options. With all the do-it-yourself tools available, it’s tough to know when to turn to a professional for help. Long ago, Martin Kelly put this up as a comment here. I think it’s still relevant and helpful to small business owners. A few of the do-it-yourself website choices A few…

    Read More Get professional website helpContinue

  • rural

    What business should I start?

    ByBecky McCray August 28, 2011August 27, 2014

    Wondering what business to start? Looking for business ideas? Andy Hayes offers an excellent coaching package, two hours of one-on-one brainstorming and planning. He calls it Fireworks and Firebombs: Find a Business Idea that Gets You Excited and Will Pay the Bills. Disclosure: Andy Hayes is a friend. I am not an affiliate and do…

    Read More What business should I start?Continue

  • failure

    Failure can lead you somewhere better

    ByBecky McCray August 27, 2011August 27, 2014

    Harrison Ford caught at the premier ofCowboys and Aliensby jyw104 on Flickr “What made you choose acting as a profession?”“Failure in all other fields.” Harrison Ford. (found on IMDB) Part of our series on the importance of failure and how you respond to it. New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see?…

    Read More Failure can lead you somewhere betterContinue

  • brag basket

    Back to school brag basket

    BySmall Biz Survival August 26, 2011December 15, 2014

    The Brag Basket is our tradition of sharing. The basket is always free and open all weekend, this one August 26-28, 2011. Baskets of school books.Photo by Katie Day on Flickr. Even though I call this the Brag Basket, it’s not really about bragging. It’s about sharing. What can you do in the Brag Basket?…

    Read More Back to school brag basketContinue

  • entrepreneurship | success

    Keeping your fire alive

    ByBecky McCray August 23, 2011August 27, 2014

    Another lesson I learned from my time as a Mary Kay consultant. A new Mary Kay consultant was sitting next to a more experienced director next to a fireplace. Keep your fire alive. Photo by Becky McCray The new consultant asked, “Why should I waste one night each week going to success meetings? I could…

    Read More Keeping your fire aliveContinue

  • economic development | finance | rural

    Another alternative financing source

    ByBecky McCray August 20, 2011August 27, 2014

    With small business lending incredibly tight, more innovative alternatives to financing are coming up. This one has a big string attached: a complete change in how you manage your business. Springfield Remanufacturing Company is a small city success, based in Springfield, Missouri. They got famous for using completely open book management, calling it the great…

    Read More Another alternative financing sourceContinue

  • brag basket

    The Brag Basket is worth waiting for

    BySmall Biz Survival August 19, 2011December 15, 2014

    The Brag Basket is our tradition of sharing. The basket is always free and open all weekend, this one August 19-21, 2011. Even though I call this the Brag Basket, it’s not really about bragging. It’s about sharing. What can you do in the Brag Basket? introduce yourself share some great news from this week…

    Read More The Brag Basket is worth waiting forContinue

  • rural | tourism

    How to use historic photos and postcards in tourism

    ByBecky McCray August 17, 2011August 27, 2014

    Small towns change slowly, but they do change. Historic photographs and photo postcards show how your town used to look. But how do you share those with visitors? They’re on display in the museum, right? Well, young people aren’t going to your museum. So, let’s reach those young people where they live, right on their…

    Read More How to use historic photos and postcards in tourismContinue

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Since 2006, this site has been helping people like you in small towns move forward without waiting on outside experts, big budgets, or perfect plans. You don’t need any of that to get started.

If you care about your business, your downtown, or your community, you’ll find ideas here you can actually use. Take one. Try it out. Let me know how it goes for you.

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