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Move Your Money and Bank Local

By Becky McCray

Graphic of US currency with the text Move Your Money, bank local, invest local

April is traditionally Move Your Money Month in the shop local community. Bank Local and Invest Local are the financial parts of the shop local movement. In 2023, the timing couldn’t be more noticeable. High profile bank failures, lots of talk about other banks in trouble, and a serious debate about the financial system (AGAIN!) […]

March 22, 2023 Filed Under: economic development, finance, rural, shop local, survivors Tagged With: economic development, local investing, shop local

Improving Rural Housing: turning blighted dilapidated houses into new homes

By Becky McCray

By Becky McCray Small towns need good housing to retain population and to attract new residents, new industries and new entrepreneurs. There’s growing interest in living in small towns and rural communities, making good rural housing even more important. You might have heard about Zoom Towns, as more people choose remote work and live in […]

May 7, 2021 Filed Under: community, economic development, rural, success Tagged With: housing, local investing, locavesting

Economic self defense for small towns 

By Becky McCray

Carlos Moreno presents a slide saying, "They will never fix it. There is no they."

Editorial by Becky McCray Not everyone who says they’ll help your town is telling you the truth.  If you want a resilient small town economy and prosperity for the people in your town, I have some self-defense ideas for you.  Focus more on your own people, less on attraction.  Stop paying people to bring business […]

June 7, 2020 Filed Under: Best of, economic development, entrepreneurship, mistakes, POV, rural, survivors Tagged With: community development, diversity, economic development, local investing, locavesting, opinion, remote work, rural sourcing, zoom towns

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