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Want to Open a Cafe? Start With Wing Night Wednesdays

By Becky McCray

Red cafeteria tray with barbecue sandwich, beans, cookie, and drink sits on white-clothed table. Diverse diners of various ages eat and talk at long tables in community hall. Volunteers serve from kitchen area in background.

You want to open a place to eat in your small town. Maybe a coffee shop, a little cafe, a bakery. You’ve been thinking about it for months, maybe years. But you’re not sure if enough people will come. You don’t know what they’ll actually order. You’re not certain you can handle running it day […]

March 13, 2026 Filed Under: community, entrepreneurship, rural Tagged With: entrepenruship, food business, hospitality business, Idea Friendly Method, restaurant, small towns, take small steps

Use your loyalty card as your business card

By Becky McCray

A loyalty card from Millie Coffee

At the LaunchRuralOK Small Business Resource event in Alva, I overheard the owner of Millie Coffee from Fairview, Oklahoma, talking to a service provider she wanted to work with. She  apologized for not having business cards with her, then handed over her shop’s loyalty card instead. I looked over my shoulder and said out loud, […]

December 15, 2025 Filed Under: customer service, entrepreneurship, marketing, rural Tagged With: customer service, marketing, non-retail, retail, rural business, service businesses, small towns

Hands-on and experience-based businesses boost local economies

By Small Biz Survival

In a colorful room, a woman is offering instructions to two men seated at a craft table, preparing to pour their own candles.

Guest post by Jason Duff, founder of Small Nation Ever wanted to pour your own candle? Now you can right here in Downtown Bellefontaine! Triple Moon Designs in Bellefontaine, Ohio, recently added a new and exciting candle bar, offering a unique experience not typically seen in small towns. My team has had the chance to try it out […]

March 17, 2025 Filed Under: economic development, entrepreneurship, ideas, rural, trends Tagged With: economic development, entrepreneurship, experience, experience economy, guest post, Jason Duff, rural, shop indie local, shop small, small business, small towns

How to fill empty buildings: real world examples Deb Brown shared with Gowrie, Iowa

By Deb Brown

I attended the Chamber Dinner in Gowrie, Iowa and talked about small town ideas they could use. It was my pleasure to spend a couple of days there. This article talks about small town ideas for the community and by the community. Got empty buildings? Every small town has empty buildings and empty lots. Gowrie […]

July 25, 2023 Filed Under: community, economic development, rural Tagged With: beautification, Deb Brown, empty buildings, placemaking, small towns

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