• Survey
  • Book Becky to speak
  • The book: Small Town Rules
  • 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

Introduce Yourself – Caroline Jordan from tiny Waterford, Maine

By Becky McCray

If you’re a rural small business person, I want you to introduce yourself. Our first proud rural entrepreneur is Caroline Jordan, from CashFlowRollerCoaster.com. 
——————————————
The sun peeks over Rice Hill shining into the bank of windows in my home office in Waterford, Maine (pop. 1450). My cats wander by and birds flit past the windows on their way to the bounty in the birdfeeders. The only sound is the tap-tap-tap of my keyboard as I write an article or a blog post. Later on today I’ll teach a class, work on a new product, and consult with a client by phone. Tomorrow may find me two hours away in Augusta, our state capitol, working on cash flow and startup issues with a client.

As a child, I dreamed of living in the woods and being a writer. Today I do live that dream. My office looks out over a little frog pond. In the spring, the frogs congregate there as soon as the frost is out of the ground. Each evening in my office during “frog season”, I hear them tuning up for an evening of singing and frivolity and I know it’s time to push back from my desk for the day. The singing and frivolity leads to the laying of copious amounts of frog eggs, cloudy and mysterious bundles of potential. The eggs give way to thousands of tadpoles whose progress through life I am able to follow each day when I take my “tadpole break.” I watch their little bodies change as they grow first legs and gradually lose their tails. Eventually, they travel on down stream to the big beaver pond and live out their frog lives, returning again the following spring in a grand circle of froggy life.

In winter, I see wild turkeys at my birdfeeders, consuming mass quantities of seeds and corn. They leave wandering tracks through the snow and startle easily when they see a face in the window. Deer, moose, coyotes and bears share the encircling forest. Living in the woods means that sometimes a grown woman can throw herself down in the snow to make snow angels without any human neighbors to see. And if they did see, well, I’ve decided they can chalk it up to the following explanation, “She writes.” That provides a great cover for a multitude of oddities. And here in Maine, we value our characters, those who don’t quite fit the mold. Those who wander a bit from the beaten path. And those who are “a little tetched in the head.”

Caroline Jordan has been called one of the foremost experts on small business cash flow and finances. She is the owner of The Jordan Result, a company that creates and provides real world, practical resources to help small business owners overcome cash flow problems, create sustainable businesses, and increase profits. She is the author Stop the Cash Flow Roller Coaster, I Want to Get Off! and Strength in Numbers.
————————————

Rural small business people, want to introduce yourself? Send me up to 500 words and two photos, max. Tell us about your business, yourself, your small town. I’ll share them on Wednesdays.

New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Get our updates.

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
  • Zoom Towns: attracting and supporting remote workers in rural small towns - December 10, 2020
  • In an economic crisis, spend your brainpower before your dollars - November 25, 2020
  • Video: How to fill empty car dealership buildings for the holidays - November 6, 2020
  • How has 2020 changed the challenges rural small towns face? Tell us here - October 20, 2020
  • The Idea Friendly Method to surviving a business crisis - October 6, 2020
  • Join me for the Rural Renewal Symposium online Oct 13 - September 26, 2020
  • Cheap placemaking idea: instant murals - September 11, 2020
  • Refilling the rural business pipeline - July 7, 2020
  • Huge vacant buildings: grants to renovate? - June 9, 2020
  • Economic self defense for small towns  - June 7, 2020

January 28, 2009 Filed Under: POV, rural

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

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 © 2021 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in