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How one town stopped business owners and staff from parking in front of downtown businesses

By Becky McCray

Without making people mad! One common small town parking complaint is business staff taking up customer parking. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this brought up in discussing downtown businesses. Sometimes business owners or business employees park right in front of their business or along the Main Street. They might park out […]

October 21, 2024 Filed Under: economic development, entrepreneurship, mistakes, rural, shop local Tagged With: business district, downtown, main street, parking, retail

These small town neighbors bought vacant buildings, brought them up to code. Here’s what happened next

By Becky McCray

A two-story brick downtown building has been recently rehabbed with new windows and updated paint. A small "for sale" sign is in the window.

  Waynoka, Oklahoma, had a lot of vacant run-down buildings in their downtown. In a town of 900 people, the prospects didn’t look great. At an all-class reunion, a group of alumni got together and decided to change that. They called themselves Project Waynoka, our friend and early contributor Jeanne Cole said. They started raising money. […]

April 18, 2024 Filed Under: rural Tagged With: community development, downtown, empty buildings, revitalization, rural

Solve Rural Community Challenges the Idea Friendly Way – stories from IEDC

By Deb Brown

Guest post by Deb Brown What attendees learned from attending the Idea Friendly Session by SaveYour.Town at the International Economic Development Council Conference — Big Ideas you can copy in your town  Becky McCray and I were excited to lead an interactive Idea Friendly workshop at the International Economic Development Council Conference in Dallas in […]

November 9, 2023 Filed Under: community, economic development, ideas, rural, youth Tagged With: big ideas, childcare, downtown, housing, idea friendly, volunteers, youth

What small town businesses can do during events to capitalize on the extra people

By Small Biz Survival

A diverse crowd watches a marching band in a small town parade

Guest post by Jeremy Zeller Do your homework – WHO WILL BE ATTENDING the event? Cater to that audience. Families, College students, Car enthusiasts, Cosplay…yes, even them. If you do not want to keep your store open, set up a SIDEWALK STAND or TABLE and sell there. An assortment of products and swag to just […]

June 9, 2023 Filed Under: economic development, marketing, rural Tagged With: downtown, events, experience economy, guest post, Jeremy Zeller, marketing, promotion, retail, sponsorships

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