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Using a building as a warehouse or storage in a small town? Put up a sign

By Becky McCray

A building used as business storage with an old faded sign that says "Carrier Air Conditioning"

Repurposing empty buildings as business storage or a warehouse is a common small business practice in small towns. Putting up a sign is a good idea for at least two reasons.  Retail businesses may be storing extra merchandise. Manufacturers might have extra materials or finished product ready to ship. Service and repair companies have to […]

March 13, 2023 Filed Under: economic development, mistakes, rural Tagged With: community development, emtpy buildings, non-retail, retail, rural, service businesses

Rural Tourism Trend: electric vehicle chargers can drive visitors

By Becky McCray

Electric vehicle chargers are a perfect place for tourism wayfinding signs. EV charging stations are popping up in lots of rural places, especially along interstate highways and along the coasts in the US. They’ve become relatively common at some motels as well. Chargers are also popping up globally in rural places. Deb Brown reported seeing […]

January 15, 2023 Filed Under: Best of, economic development, rural, tourism, trends Tagged With: Electric Vehicles, EV, EV Charging, placemaking, rural, tourism, trends, wayfinding

Has your community made negativity a habit?

By Paula Jensen

Paula Jensen

Living in a small town, we are often inclined to see change in our community as a threat to ourselves and our way of life. When we feel threatened by change, uncertainty rears its ugly head and our negativity often takes over. We say things like “What’s wrong with the way we’ve always done it?” […]

July 6, 2022 Filed Under: community, economic development, rural Tagged With: community coach, community development, guest post, habits, negativity, Paula Jensen, rural, small towns

3 Major factors in rural remote work: incentives, flexible workspaces, and a sense of community

By Becky McCray

Remote work will dominate the future small town workforce Your current residents Your current small town residents will increasingly work from home or remotely. Gallup looked at jobs that could be done remotely and the locations where workers actually did them. Four times as many workers will work remotely going forward, compared to the number […]

June 6, 2022 Filed Under: community, economic development, rural, trends, workforce, youth Tagged With: community, coworking, internet, remote work, resident recruitment, rural, zoom towns

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