• Take the Survey of Rural Challenges
  • Small Town Speaker Becky McCray
  • Shop Local video
  • SaveYour.Town

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS

Small business is good for your community

By Becky McCray

When small town entrepreneurs prosper, they help their community prosper. It’s one of my core beliefs, and it’s supported by some scholarly research. Charles M. Tolbert, Baylor University, looked at the effects of small business on their local community. His research shows that more locally-oriented business establishments are associated statistically with: higher average income levels less […]

July 23, 2012 Filed Under: Best of, economic development, entrepreneurship, rural Tagged With: Support

Blog Post Planners and Social Media Calendars

By Becky McCray

Blogs and social media can be effective marketing tools for small town businesses, but they take planning to make the most of. This is true for small businesses and for tourism groups. Don’t let important events, holidays, and tie-ins sneak up on you. Use your calendar to connect your social efforts to the real world. […]

July 17, 2012 Filed Under: Best of, entrepreneurship, marketing, planning, social media, tourism Tagged With: Support

Smart tourism QR code tour

By Becky McCray

QR codes are everywhere, or so it seems. Most suffer from one or more of the 7 QR code mistakes that can kill your promotions. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, I saw one tourism campaign that actually avoids all those mistakes: The GR Tag Tour.   The signs are posted on existing sign posts, with enough […]

June 12, 2012 Filed Under: Best of, entrepreneurship, marketing, tourism Tagged With: Support

Hate business plans? I have alternatives

By Becky McCray

I’m weird. I love planning. I even like business planning, figuring out how to best present my business and fit it into the requirements and structure. Not everyone likes doing this. You, for example. You probably don’t like planning. You aren’t alone. I do love planning. I’m weird. And, I planned for this possibility, so […]

June 11, 2012 Filed Under: Best of, entrepreneurship, planning, Small Biz 100 Tagged With: Support

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Howdy!

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.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

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.

Shop Local

Buy local buttonReady to set up a shop local campaign in your small town? You'll need a guide who understands how we're different and what really works: Shop Local Campaigns for Small Towns.

Best of Small Biz Survival

What is holding us back? Why does every project take so long in small towns?

How any business can be part of downtown events by going mobile

Concert-goers talking and enjoying the evening in downtown Webster City, Iowa.

Why do people say there’s nothing to do here then not come to our concerts?

Retailers: Fill all empty space, floor to ceiling

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2023 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in