I’d like to add a new dimension to what we do here. We’ll still focus on equipping rural entrepreneurs to prosper so their communities can prosper. But together we can support some organizations that make a difference to entrepreneurs in small towns and rural areas. Some examples of rural entrepreneurship organizations that leap to mind:…
Time to get your business finances under control. I recommend you do it the easy way: make the computers do most of the work. I’ve long been a fan of Outright. It asks you to track only the minimum of detail required to do your income taxes. (As a sole proprietor, that’s a Schedule C.)…
Rural sourcing is like outsourcing, except to rural areas with lower costs of doing business. It’s like off-shoring, only it’s on-shoring. We’ve talked about it before, most recently in “Rural sourcing can replace outsourcing.” Two more rural outsourcing firms to watch: Saturn Systems celebrated 20 years in 2010. Rural America OnShore Outsourcing has a collection…
Even though I call this the Brag Basket, it’s not really about bragging. It’s about sharing. I started this so you can introduce yourself, share some good news, or congratulate a friend. My sister’s family The basket is open all weekend, from December 24-26, 2010. Merry Christmas! Share some joy! Speak up and add yourself…
Every small town downtown has some unused buildings and others used just for storage. They aren’t adding anything to the downtown economy. What can you do with them, besides ignore them? Use the storefronts to advertise other businesses. Yes, it will take cooperative building owners. And this only works if the front windows are in…
Need some new small town tourism ideas? Borrow some. It’s the rural tradition: swipe from the best. The Rural Information Center at the USDA has links to tons of resources and ideas on rural tourism. It can take a while to figure out their menu structure, but trust me, there is great info linked from there. It…
The narrower your niche, the wider your opportunity. Sounds contradictory, doesn’t it? It seems like if you chose a narrower niche, you’ll have fewer potential customers. Actually, it works just the opposite in the real world. Let me give you an example. When Sheila Scarborough sat down to draw our target market for Tourism Currents,…
Even though I call this the Brag Basket, it’s not really about bragging. It’s about sharing. I started this so you can introduce yourself, share some good news, or congratulate a friend. The basket is open all weekend, from December 17-19, 2010. Since we’re wrapping up 2010, let’s continue sharing year-long accomplishments. What are you…
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.
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