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Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource
  • A tray of cookies on a craftsman-style table
    entrepreneurship | marketing | rural

    Need a downtown business idea? Try a Cookie Crawl

    July 22, 2019July 22, 2019

      Our friend Maury Forman of Washington state, sent us this idea from Madras, Oregon: On February 16 the Madras Downtown Association and Petite Sweets hosted the first-ever Cookie Crawl. Participants paid $5 and received a box and map that listed all the locations where the beautifully decorated cookies were available. Petite Sweets decorated cookies…

    Read More Need a downtown business idea? Try a Cookie CrawlContinue

  • "Brag Basket - add your good news" over a photo of a basket in a field of flowers
    brag basket

    Join the community in the Brag Basket

    July 19, 2019June 22, 2019

    The Brag Basket is open! This one is for July 19-21, 2019. Bring your good news, big or small, to share with everyone. What can you share in the Brag Basket? introduce yourself share some great news from this week celebrate progress, even baby steps congratulate a friend applaud for each other confess your undying…

    Read More Join the community in the Brag BasketContinue

  • Kettle corn being sold from a stand in a yard, from a mobile trailer and from a coffee shop
    economic development | entrepreneurship | finance | management | rural

    Need funding for the next step in your business?

    July 17, 2019June 24, 2019

      If you need outside funding to get to the next step in your rural small business, your next step is too big. Before you bet big on your business idea, test it with small steps. Make some sales from your front yard, then try a booth, then a trailer, then think about moving up…

    Read More Need funding for the next step in your business?Continue

  • "Brag Basket - add your good news" over a photo of a basket in a field of flowers
    brag basket

    Any good news this week?

    July 12, 2019June 22, 2019

    The Brag Basket is open! This one is for July 12-14, 2019. Bring your good news, big or small, to share with everyone. What can you share in the Brag Basket? introduce yourself share some great news from this week celebrate progress, even baby steps congratulate a friend applaud for each other confess your undying…

    Read More Any good news this week?Continue

  • Young man helps abuela with a cell phone
    community | economic development | entrepreneurship | ideas | rural | tech | youth

    Youth business idea: phone clinics

    July 8, 2019June 24, 2019

      Looking for the perfect instant summer business idea for young entrepreneurs? Try phone clinics. I saw this idea pop-up in a meeting that involved a cross section of the town of Cathlamet, Washington. People of all ages were there: students from the high school, county commissioners, chamber of commerce members. One of the adults…

    Read More Youth business idea: phone clinicsContinue

  • "Brag Basket - add your good news" over a photo of a basket in a field of flowers
    brag basket

    Share little victories in the Brag Basket

    July 5, 2019June 22, 2019

    The Brag Basket is open! This one is for July 5-7, 2019. Bring your good news, big or small, to share with everyone. What can you share in the Brag Basket? introduce yourself share some great news from this week celebrate progress, even baby steps congratulate a friend applaud for each other confess your undying…

    Read More Share little victories in the Brag BasketContinue

  • Chain link fence made into a mural of a stream
    community | rural | youth

    Chain link is everywhere in downtowns. Here’s how to dress it up.

    June 30, 2019November 11, 2019

      You’ve seen it before: a chain link fence right in the middle of a downtown. Usually there’s barbed wire at the top. Let’s face it, barbed wire is not the friendliest look for a downtown. We can do better. Why chain link in the first place? When a business ends up with an empty lot…

    Read More Chain link is everywhere in downtowns. Here’s how to dress it up.Continue

  • "Brag Basket - add your good news" over a photo of a basket in a field of flowers
    brag basket

    Every town has some good news and the Brag Basket is here for you

    June 28, 2019June 2, 2019

    The Brag Basket is open! This one is for June 28-30, 2019. Bring your good news, big or small, to share with everyone. What can you share in the Brag Basket? introduce yourself share some great news from this week celebrate progress, even baby steps congratulate a friend applaud for each other confess your undying…

    Read More Every town has some good news and the Brag Basket is here for youContinue

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