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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
  • Where’s your town’s future mural?
    community | rural

    Where’s your town’s future mural?

    ByBecky McCray April 22, 2019May 26, 2022

    Every town needs a future mural, or a series of them. Seems like every small town has a history-themed mural, but very few have a future-themed or even modern-style mural. Many towns use old photos as displays, including in empty buildings. They do get people talking about what you used to have. But how are you…

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  • Plenty of space in the Brag Basket
    brag basket

    Plenty of space in the Brag Basket

    BySmall Biz Survival April 19, 2019March 31, 2019

      The Brag Basket is open! This one is for April 19-21, 2019. Bring your good news, big or small, to share with everyone. What can you share in the Brag Basket? introduce yourself share some great news from this week celebrate progress, even baby steps congratulate a friend applaud for each other confess your…

    Read More Plenty of space in the Brag BasketContinue

  • women using laptops
    customer service | entrepreneurship | marketing | mistakes | rural

    The secret to effective follow up: What NOT to say

    ByBecky McCray April 15, 2019April 11, 2019

    You probably know better than to follow up with someone like this: “Just following up!” You realize that doesn’t really help either of you. But you still might be making this mistake: “Did you do that thing you said you were going to do?” That feels like it’s helping, but from the customer perspective, it’s…

    Read More The secret to effective follow up: What NOT to sayContinue

  • The Brag Basket is the “good news” market
    brag basket

    The Brag Basket is the “good news” market

    BySmall Biz Survival April 12, 2019March 31, 2019

      The Brag Basket is open! This one is for April 12-14, 2019. Bring your good news, big or small, to share with everyone. What can you share in the Brag Basket? introduce yourself share some great news from this week celebrate progress, even baby steps congratulate a friend applaud for each other confess your…

    Read More The Brag Basket is the “good news” marketContinue

  • How church buildings can do more for the community
    community | economic development | entrepreneurship | rural

    How church buildings can do more for the community

    ByBecky McCray April 8, 2019March 31, 2019

    This week at SaveYour.Town, we’re sharing how to take big empty buildings and divide them up for multiple small businesses. One model is co-working spaces, which offer shared office and workspace. Then our friend Jon Swanson sent us an article on rural churches doing innovative things, including one doing a co-working space. This seems like…

    Read More How church buildings can do more for the communityContinue

  • Laundry basket
    brag basket

    Let’s clean up in the Brag Basket

    BySmall Biz Survival April 5, 2019March 31, 2019

      The Brag Basket is open! This one is for April 5-7, 2019. Bring your good news, big or small, to share with everyone. What can you share in the Brag Basket? introduce yourself share some great news from this week celebrate progress, even baby steps congratulate a friend applaud for each other confess your…

    Read More Let’s clean up in the Brag BasketContinue

  • Ideas to fill empty display windows
    entrepreneurship | marketing | rural

    Ideas to fill empty display windows

    ByBecky McCray April 2, 2019March 31, 2019

    Every small town has some empty windows downtown. Some are empty buildings, some are buildings being used for storage, and some are service businesses that just don’t have a lot to put in their windows. Here are three ideas I saw on my trip through Cowlitz County, Washington. Make a mini-museum. Work with the local…

    Read More Ideas to fill empty display windowsContinue

  • Good news goes swimmingly in the Brag Basket
    brag basket

    Good news goes swimmingly in the Brag Basket

    BySmall Biz Survival March 29, 2019February 22, 2019

      The Brag Basket is open! This one is for March 29-31, 2019. Bring your good news, big or small, to share with everyone. What can you share in the Brag Basket? introduce yourself share some great news from this week celebrate progress, even baby steps congratulate a friend applaud for each other confess your…

    Read More Good news goes swimmingly in the Brag BasketContinue

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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.

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