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Zoom Towns: attracting and supporting remote workers in rural small towns

By Becky McCray

Zoom Towns: Remote Work Ready from SaveYour.Town

People have been saying for years that they would prefer to live in rural areas. Trulia research in 2014 showed 7% more people wanted to live in rural places than did then. In 2018, Gallup asked people where they preferred to live. Rural came out on top for all age groups except for 18-29 year olds. With the 18-29 […]

December 10, 2020 Filed Under: economic development, entrepreneurship, rural, trends, workforce Tagged With: attraction, economic development, entrepreneurs, remote work, rural, rural sourcing

In an economic crisis, spend your brainpower before your dollars

By Becky McCray

Book shelves with divided cardboard boxes filled with wine bottles

Be frugal. One of the Small Town Rules is to spend your brain power before spending dollars. Be creative about how you handle challenges rather than to throw money at the problem. Venture capital vs. Bootstrapped We’ve all heard about startups that have been funded by whatever venture capitalist or angel that has just dropped a […]

November 25, 2020 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, management, rural, survivors Tagged With: economic crisis, economic downturn, entrepreneurship, frugal, good management practices, recession, small business success

Video: How to fill empty car dealership buildings for the holidays

By Becky McCray

Empty buildings during the holidays are a drag on local shopping Who wants to shop downtown when it looks so empty? Car dealerships are an especially tough type of building to fill. Not many businesses need such a large space, and the layout of the space can make it tough to find a good fit. […]

November 6, 2020 Filed Under: community, economic development, rural, shop local Tagged With: holiday shopping, local, retail, shop local

How has 2020 changed the challenges rural small towns face? Tell us here

By Becky McCray

Survey Crew Ahead. Photo by RustyClark on Flickr

Seems like there have been a lot of coronavirus-related surveys this year. This survey is different: we’ve been asking for and listening to your rural challenges since 2015. Of course rural challenges are different this year with COVID-19. That doesn’t mean all your other challenges disappeared, but it might mean your priorities have changed. We’d like your […]

October 20, 2020 Filed Under: announcement, community, entrepreneurship, rural Tagged With: ABCD, assets, coronavirus, covid-19, COVID19, survey, Survey of Rural Challenges

The Idea Friendly Method to surviving a business crisis

By Becky McCray

Holyoke Hummus Company cart

Small towns have endured boom and bust cycles, commodity crashes, mill and factory closures, environmental disasters and losing their economic reason for existing. Rural communities have reinvented themselves before, and rural businesses are re-inventing the way they do things.  How Holyoke Hummus stays Idea Friendly through a crisis John is the owner of Holyoke Hummus […]

October 6, 2020 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, management, rural, survivors Tagged With: business crisis, business success, change, coronavirus, COVID, covid-19, COVID19, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Holyoke Hummus Company, idea friendly, Idea Friendly Method, Innovative Rural Business Models, SaveYourTown, small business, small business success, success, take small steps

Join me for the Rural Renewal Symposium online Oct 13

By Becky McCray

Join me for the Rural Renewal Symposium hosted by Oklahoma State University. It’s an online event on October 13, 2020. What is the Symposium about? The Symposium is meant to raise awareness, attract resources and stimulate research toward solving grand challenges facing rural communities. And goodness knows we have some grand challenges. I’ll be facilitating […]

September 26, 2020 Filed Under: announcement, rural Tagged With: academic, Becky McCray, events, Oklahoma State University, research, rural, Rural Renewal, speakers, virtual events

Cheap placemaking idea: instant murals

By Becky McCray

2020 has taken a toll on downtown shopping and placemaking. There’s no time to waste on big master plans and no money for expensive consultants. Start taking action now to show life and new activity with small inexpensive steps. Murals add life and color to a downtown and are highly visible even to people driving […]

September 11, 2020 Filed Under: community, rural, shop local, survivors Tagged With: 2020, art, cheap, Climate, downtown, idea friendly, inexpensive, murals, placemaking, recession, shop local, tactical placemaking, tactical urbanism, temporary

Sometimes, YOU just need to make your town a good place to live!

By Paula Jensen

Paula Jensen

Guest post by Paula Jensen I watched Jon Stewart’s Political Comedy ‘Irresistible’. The story is set in small-town Wisconsin. The community has recently suffered a devastating loss of their main employer. In response, a failed political consultant from Washington, D.C. lands himself a gig helping a local veteran run for Mayor against the long-time incumbent. […]

August 24, 2020 Filed Under: community, mistakes, POV, rural Tagged With: guest post, negativity, Paula Jensen, stereotypes

Why “Small Town” Might Become the Sexiest Brand In the World

By Chris Brogan

Small Town Buildings

Guest Post by Chris Brogan The COVID-19 quarantine has crushed so many small businesses and the economy at large. It’s truly been the worst financial crisis unfurling in this country since the 1930s. And while some measures are in place to help this not reach that level of despair, many people are finding themselves out […]

August 7, 2020 Filed Under: economic development, entrepreneurship, rural, shop local, trends Tagged With: Chris Brogan, coronavirus, COVID, covid-19, COVID19, entrepreneurship, guest post, recession, recovery, recruiting, remote work, rural, rural sourcing

Masks are the new “no smoking” for small businesses

By Chris Brogan

Small Town Main Street Business

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash Guest post by Chris Brogan The whole quarantine and COVID-19 situation has impacted small businesses even more than the big guys because it’s not like anyone has massive reserves of cash around so that you could deal with shutting down for months at a time. And now, as different […]

July 13, 2020 Filed Under: customer service, entrepreneurship, rural Tagged With: Chris Brogan, coronavirus, COVID, covid-19, COVID19, masks

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Retailers: Fill all empty space, floor to ceiling

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