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Empty Building idea: Make a Zen-like space for your people

By Becky McCray

Steal this healing and calming idea for your downtown! At the Main Street Now Conference in Boston, I joined a trolley tour of the six Dorchester Main Streets. We got a chance to walk through The Guild‘s expansive building. While this space is only one of many projects of The Guild, it was the one that […]

August 2, 2023 Filed Under: community, rural, survivors, trends Tagged With: community building, experience economy

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, marketing, retail

How to get customers in the door of small town and rural retail stores

By Becky McCray

A shopkeeper and a customer share a laugh in a small store packed full of interesting home wares.

  If you have a retail store in a small town, you know how difficult it can be to attract customers in the door. With so much online competition and limited resources, it is hard to get people in the store and buying your products. In this article, we’ll share some of our best ways […]

February 19, 2023 Filed Under: Best of, marketing, rural, shop local Tagged With: effective marketing, entrepreneurship, experience economy, retail, shop indie local, shop local, shop small, small business, small business success, store

Extra agritourism revenue from camping, cabins and RVs with HipCamp

By Becky McCray

After we discussed Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome, our friends at Marketing Delmarva pointed out HipCamp. One of our local blueberry farms does this with an app called HipCamp. Folks literally camp in the middle of a historic fruit farming operation. Well, not quite the same; they don’t trade blueberries for campsites, but you DO […]

December 12, 2022 Filed Under: economic development, entrepreneurship, rural, tourism Tagged With: agritourism, experience economy, RV, tourism, vanlife

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