Helping small towns one talk at a time

Small Businesses - Getting feedback
Every business runs into problems. From the idea, through every stage of business life, problems and opportunities abound. For small business people immersed in day to day business, there is little time for reflection or idea generation. Sometimes, a short conversation or a long-term relationship with an outside person can make a huge difference in a business.


I help people think clearly about their business, evaluate options, and start building action plans. I help make connections with other resources and with a network of smart people. The experience I've gained working with retail, service, manufacturing, media and nonprofit organizations helps me to think differently, ask questions and generate useful ideas.We can also talk through effective ways for using social media or social networking in your business.
We can work together by phone (or Skype), in person if we're close enough, or you can join a monthly guided mastermind group, as space becomes available.




Meetings and Conferences
Has there ever been a harder time for conferences? Between the economy and the expanding technology of distance meetings, you have to provide exceptional value to even get people to turn out. For conferences focused on rural and small town issues, it's twice as challenging because of the distances involved. Plus, it's tough to find speakers who really understand small town and small business realities. And most techie speakers have trouble translating new technology into plain language.


I help conference organizers provide useful information to audiences, especially small business people, small town and rural residents. My successes and my failures help me connect deeply with people, and share some of the ways that small businesses can survive and grow in small towns. Because I use new technologies in my business and because I've taught hundreds of classroom hours on computer and business subjects, I speak from experience.


In the past, I've spoken to Entrepreneur Days, business groups, tourism associations, and chambers of commerce, with audiences ranging from 10 to 1,000. My topics have included social media, social networking and new technologies, business planning, marketing, and frequently I serve as event MC or panel moderator. Based on your schedule, we can arrange a workshop, keynote, or an all day seminar.


Where I've spoken lately

• Small Town and Rural Development Conference, 2009
• Leveraging Twitter to Grow Your Small Business webinar, 2009
  
• BlogWorld Expo, 2008
• Innovation Interactive: The Entrepreneurs Conference, 2008
• OpenBeta unconference, 2008 (video of my talk)
  
• Red Carpet Country Tourism Conference, 2008
• Small Biz Startup TV, video webinar, 2007
  

Grant writing and Project management


Small towns and small nonprofits are feeling the crunch of needing to do more with less budget. You'll find more about how I help with grants and projects at Becky McCray and Associates.


Getting Started
Email becky@smallbizsurvival.com to get started, together.