Kenda Morrison is back living in the small town. The move back has brought back an old frustration for her. Service businesses that cater to residents but not tourists seem to get overlooked by the chamber of commerce, etc. “All too often I see them floundering in the Tourism environment and a complete lack of…
You’ll get more work done when you’re dressed professionally. Shama Hyder Kabani is dressed for an important presentation. That’s a good guideline for dressing to be productive. Why? Because you feel different. You feel more professional when you are dressed to match. I even find shoes make a difference. If I’m wearing shoes, I get…
This article comes from my friend Stephanie Ward. She’s originally from Oklahoma, but currently lives in The Netherlands. She wants to help you become a more meaningful entrepreneur, making a difference in the world. While this article isn’t specifically written for rural entrepreneurs, I think outsourcing is a small town issue. Outsourcing doesn’t just mean…
Picking the right niche for your business is a large task. I hear from many small business people who have several different targets, but can’t pick one to be their niche. This seems to be especially true for freelancers, consultants, and other independent business folks. Time to pick a direction. If you have trouble deciding…
When I talked to regular everyday tourism professionals and volunteers and business people at the Nebraska travel conference about social media, several said this was the best piece of advice I gave them: Talk less about you, and more about them. It’s hardly revolutionary. You’ve probably heard it before. You might even have said it…
You are not your target market: You know too much. You’re pretty smart. You’ve been around your industry or subject area for several years, maybe longer. You have studied, learned, tried, failed, learned some more, succeeded, and learned some more. In short, you are no longer the same as your customers. Now, this is good…
You are not your target market: What you like doesn’t equate into what customers like. I don’t like country music. I don’t like pop up newsletter subscription boxes. I don’t even like the idea of whipped cream flavored vodka. None of that should influence my marketing. What should? My customers. What do my customers like? What music…
You are not your target market. This simple sentence is powerful. It is my best advice for recruiting volunteers. And on the plane ride home from BlogWorld, it inspired three more stories. Here’s the first one: Quit hanging around with your own people. Go find the customers. I see many business owners or freelancers talking…
Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.
We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.
Meet our authors on the About page.
Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.
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