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Survey of Rural Challenges 2019 results

By Becky McCray

What small town people see as their biggest challenges And what topics rural people most want help with Wouldn’t it be great if the people who say they want to help rural people would actually listen to rural people’s own challenges?! That’s why we created this survey! We use the results to create practical steps […]

December 5, 2019 Filed Under: announcement, community, economic development, rural, trends Tagged With: community, diversity, rural, small business, survey, Survey of Rural Challenges, surveys

Crowdsourced ideas for coffee shops and other third places

By Becky McCray

Coffee shop with local art displayed on the walls

  At the Main Street Now conference, I sat in on a session about coffee shops. I wrote down bunches of ideas that the audience shared. I thought you might know a coffee shop person, or you might think of ways to use these with other types of small town businesses. Hold trivia nights or […]

May 20, 2019 Filed Under: customer service, entrepreneurship, marketing, rural, Small Biz 100 Tagged With: coffee shops, coffeesoutside, community, crowdsourced, customer service, food business, gathering, restaurant, small business, small business success, success, third places

Small Businesses, Communities Share a Relationship

By Glenn Muske

Small businesses form the cornerstone of local economies. In larger cities they are important, but in rural areas, they are crucial, not only economically but for the variety of products and services they provide. To begin with, the economic impact of the small business is sizable. Research shows that for every $100 spent, $68 dollars […]

January 14, 2016 Filed Under: community, Small Biz 100 Tagged With: community, community growth, economic development, small business, success

Small Businesses: The Cornerstones of Communities

By Glenn Muske

Small Business Week

May 4-8 is Small Business Week in the U.S. this year. So what do you see when you walk into or drive by your local small businesses? If you are like many of us, you see a place that offers you goods and services, a place you can go to and get what you want. […]

April 30, 2015 Filed Under: rural Tagged With: community, community development, small business

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