Tag: small towns

community | economic development | entrepreneurship | marketing | rural | shop local | social media | tools
Let’s Talk Newspapers: Working Together Locally
ByDeb Brown April 17, 2026April 29, 2026
Hometown newspapers are small businesses, just like the hardware store, the cafe, or the auto repair shop. They’re not just “media.” They’re employers, sponsors, storytellers, and neighbors, and their work ripples through every corner of the community. This year, collaboration is a focus of ours at SaveYour.Town, and I want to talk about how newspapers…
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community | entrepreneurship | rural
Want to Open a Cafe? Start With Wing Night Wednesdays
ByBecky McCray March 13, 2026
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…
Read More Want to Open a Cafe? Start With Wing Night Wednesdays
customer service | entrepreneurship | marketing | rural
Use your loyalty card as your business card
ByBecky McCray December 15, 2025
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,…
Read More Use your loyalty card as your business card
economic development | entrepreneurship | ideas | rural | trends
Hands-on and experience-based businesses boost local economies
BySmall Biz Survival March 17, 2025April 4, 2026
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…
Read More Hands-on and experience-based businesses boost local economies
community | economic development | rural
How to fill empty buildings: real world examples Deb Brown shared with Gowrie, Iowa
ByDeb Brown July 25, 2023July 7, 2023
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…
Read More How to fill empty buildings: real world examples Deb Brown shared with Gowrie, Iowa
economic development | rural | workforce
Eye-popping Main Street employment stat
ByBecky McCray July 13, 2023July 6, 2023
Main Street districts employ almost as many people as Amazon Hannah White, Interim President and CEO of Main Street America, dropped this little statistic at the Main Street Now National Conference in Boston in 2023. Designated Main Street Districts in the US include over 1.1 million jobs, almost as many people as Amazon. Amazon’s approximately…
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economic development | entrepreneurship | rural | tourism | trends
Rural tourism trends say small towns are still cool
ByBecky McCray March 27, 2023March 23, 2023
But you already knew that Tourism Currents, experts on social media for tourism, wrote about 5 travel trends to blog about right now, and there’s a lot for rural communities to latch onto there. 1) Wellness Travel Sheila says, “where people can go to relax, detox, relieve stress, get a massage and spa treatments, eat…
Read More Rural tourism trends say small towns are still cool
community | economic development | rural
Has your community made negativity a habit?
ByPaula Jensen July 6, 2022July 5, 2022
Living in a small town, we are often inclined to see change in our community as a threat to ourselves and our way of life. When we feel threatened by change, uncertainty rears its ugly head and our negativity often takes over. We say things like “What’s wrong with the way we’ve always done it?”…
Read More Has your community made negativity a habit?

Small Biz Survival

Want to Open a Cafe? Start With Wing Night Wednesdays

Use your loyalty card as your business card

Hands-on and experience-based businesses boost local economies

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

Eye-popping Main Street employment stat

Rural tourism trends say small towns are still cool

Has your community made negativity a habit?

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