You don’t have to settle for a normal business. Rural businesses are exploring new shapes, new locations and new ways of doing business. Here are six innovative ways people are building businesses in small towns today. 1. Pop-ups These are temporary business that may last from just one day to several months. You’ve seen short-term…
Running your own business from home can achieve two dreams at the same time: You are in charge, and you get to do it without leaving your living quarters. Many small-business owners have found a niche for their product or service. That niche allows them to work from home, thus minimizing overhead, ending long commutes,…
Coworking is like shared office space, except it’s more than that. Coworking works best when it’s a community, too. If you’re trying to build more entrepreneurship in your town, coworking is a smart place to focus. A new study from Emergent Research and partners showed that coworking spaces are human spaces. “The key finding…
InnovationLab helps rural businesses in Sonora, CA Guest post by Greg Falken Tuolumne General Hospital opened its doors in 1849, serving miners in the gold fields of California. By some accounts, the town of Sonora – now the county seat – was founded to address the miners’ urgent need for health care. TGH had six…
Simply Made Apps is a tech start-up based out of Fargo, North Dakota, population 110,000. They reached out to us because although that’s not really a small town, it is definitely rural and remote. Co-founder Brandon Medenwald talked about what it’s like to run a high-tech business in an isolated small city, far from…
Joel Bennett Joel Bennett Interview Joel Bennett of Pella, Iowa, helped pioneer a co-working space in his town, called Veel Hoeden (“Many Hats”). It has grown from just 4 offices to 9 offices plus space for more people who just drop in with a laptop. It has supported existing entrepreneurs, and it’s helped create new entrepreneurial ventures….
Now that most cell phones can access the internet, you might think that wifi access doesn’t matter for tourism. And no one would want to work while on vacation, right? Well, more than ever, wifi and work spaces are important to local tourism strategies, especially in small towns. Let’s start with this key point: Your…
While big companies go on debating work from home, remote work or telecommuting, small town businesses continue making the best of technology to get work done regardless of location. Barry Moltz said we are more productive alone, but more innovative together.* The productivity part comes from being able to focus on work without co-workers interrupting….
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