“I enjoy local foods.” I say and I hear that statement more and more. And as we are right in the middle of another season, this seems like a good time to think about the good tastes among other reasons for supporting local food. We know that agriculture is a big part of our economy….
Read anything offering marketing tips and you will be encouraged to learn who your customers are. You want to understand the demographic make-up as well as their likes and dislikes and, of course, what they buy. Yet, so often that is the end of the effort. Getting the data can be done with registration information,…
In most small-business startup manuals, you, the owner, are encouraged to define your audience. While a great early step, it often is done incorrectly. The instructions ask you to define your customers or potential customers in terms of: What they like to do Where they gather What they buy What drives them Where they live…
Did you know that: You will find a family business in one out of every 10 households. Family businesses contributed over $10 trillion, by one estimate, into our U.S. economy. Family businesses generate over 50% of U. S. business revenue. Family businesses employ over 50% of the U.S. workforce. Do you get a sense of…
As you probably know, if you are going into business, the odds your business will be around in five years are not good. But they aren’t as bad as you may think, either. Approximately one-third of businesses close within two years. At the five-year mark, about one-half of all businesses have closed. We don’t approach…
Late last year, I did a blog post looking at how clustering of competitors may have positive results (https://smallbizsurvival.com/2016/11/competition-and-clustering.html). Recently I was asked about this idea in terms of small rural town cafes. If any of you have lived in the Great Plains region of the country, you know the towns and the cafes I…
How often aren’t we told to “trust our gut?” You see this comment made often for people starting a small business or when small-business owners need to make an important decision. Yet a recent article from Entrepreneur challenged this and indicated that this idea may be a myth. So who do you believe? Which view…
We are right in the middle of SMALL BUSINESS WEEK! Two of the owners of such endeavors are: I’m a small-business owner. Becky McCray is a small-business owner (here at Small Biz Survival, Allen’s Retail, and a cattle ranch). In the last week, I have needed several small-business owners. For example, I: Got coffee several…
Since 2006, this site has been helping people like you in small towns move forward without waiting on outside experts, big budgets, or perfect plans. You don’t need any of that to get started.
If you care about your business, your downtown, or your community, you’ll find ideas here you can actually use. Take one. Try it out. Let me know how it goes for you.
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