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Small Biz Survival
  • Two musicians play guitar while seated on the sidewalk outside a brick storefront during a community event, with pedestrians stopped to listen and watch
    big company | entrepreneurship | marketing | rural | shop local | trends

    Small town marketing secret: Have something to invite people to

    February 24, 2026February 24, 2026

    People need a compelling reason to leave their homes and come experience your business with you. This feels like a very heavy lift. . You’re supposed to be exciting enough to pull people away from their phones, their families and the comfort of online shopping. You’re competing with everything else demanding their attention. Here’s the…

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  • My Local Newspaper Wouldn’t Hire Me, So I Started My Own–Online
    big company | entrepreneurship | ideas | POV | rural

    My Local Newspaper Wouldn’t Hire Me, So I Started My Own–Online

    April 3, 2017March 3, 2022

    Guest Post by Micah Choquette Owner, Editor and Author of the Sapulpa Times, Sapulpa, Oklahoma, population 20,000 Angrily, I hit “Send” on the message, certain that I was burning a bridge by doing so, but at this point, I didn’t care. It was 2015 and I had just spent far too long chasing a deal with…

    Read More My Local Newspaper Wouldn’t Hire Me, So I Started My Own–OnlineContinue

  • Small town, big company: Ditch Witch
    big company | rural

    Small town, big company: Ditch Witch

    September 22, 2015September 13, 2015

      How do utility lines get underground? Everything from water, sewer, cable, fiber optic, phone lines, natural gas and even electric lines have to be laid under streets, through yards and beneath buildings. Those lines are laid using a trenching machine. That type of equipment, and an entire industry of manufacturing it, was invented in the…

    Read More Small town, big company: Ditch WitchContinue

  • Small town, big company: Jiffy Mix
    big company | entrepreneurship | rural | success

    Small town, big company: Jiffy Mix

    August 17, 2015August 16, 2015

      If you live in the US, I’ll bet you have a Jiffy Mix in your kitchen cabinet right now. I have three. I counted. Even if you don’t, surely you recognize the iconic blue boxes with their simple branding, even though Chelsea Milling Company doesn’t spend a dime to advertise them. Chelsea, Michigan, is…

    Read More Small town, big company: Jiffy MixContinue

  • How SeaTurtle Sports found their Small Town Advantage
    big company | entrepreneurship | POV | rural | success | survivors

    How SeaTurtle Sports found their Small Town Advantage

    September 9, 2014March 3, 2022

      Guest Post by SeaTurtle Sports Co-founder Allen Bell and Allison Goldman, Director of SeaTurtle Sports Allen and Jeanne Bell launched SeaTurtle Sports in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2003 to design and manufacture premium beach and backyard games. As its founders, we observed a lack of new ideas in the category and what we felt was an unhealthy…

    Read More How SeaTurtle Sports found their Small Town AdvantageContinue

  • How a small town flag business went online and went international
    big company | entrepreneurship | POV | rural

    How a small town flag business went online and went international

    April 23, 2014March 3, 2022

    From Upstate New York town to Global Marketplace: How we got our flags off the ground Guest Post by Mike Cronin My business, Gettysburg Flag Works, is a manufacturer of flags and flag-related items. Although we love our brick and mortar operation, we realized that we needed a digital presence in order to remain competitive….

    Read More How a small town flag business went online and went internationalContinue

  • Building a tech startup in a small city
    big company | entrepreneurship | POV | rural

    Building a tech startup in a small city

    April 16, 2014May 26, 2022

      Simply Made Apps is a tech start-up based out of Fargo, North Dakota, population 110,000. They reached out to us because although that’s not really a small town, it is definitely rural and remote. Co-founder Brandon Medenwald talked about what it’s like to run a high-tech business in an isolated small city, far from…

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  • big company | entrepreneurship | podcast | POV | rural | survivors

    International Bonus: Building a business from a cabin in the woods

    November 28, 2013March 3, 2022

    A bonus for you in Canada and around the globe, while the US is busy with family and Thanksgiving: an interview with Canadian entrepreneur Gregg McLachlan.  MP3 download: Gregg McLachlan mini interview Gregg McLachlan built a nation-wide resource site in Canada from his cabin in the woods using dial-up internet access. He told me how in this…

    Read More International Bonus: Building a business from a cabin in the woodsContinue

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More of the best of Small Biz Survival

TREND 2025: Retail’s Big Split: what small town retailers can do now

Posted on December 11, 2024

99% of the best things you can do for your town don’t require anyone’s permission

Posted on January 2, 2024

Get started as an outdoor outfitter without breaking the bank

Posted on August 28, 2023

How to get customers in the door of small town and rural retail stores

Posted on February 19, 2023

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