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Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource
  • The Brag Basket isn’t really a basket
    brag basket

    The Brag Basket isn’t really a basket

    May 31, 2019April 28, 2019

      The Brag Basket is open! This one is for May 31-June 2, 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…

    Read More The Brag Basket isn’t really a basketContinue

  • People moving along a picnic serving line
    community | rural

    Getting people to mix at an event

    May 27, 2019May 26, 2019

      Holding an event and want to get people to mix across some divide? Put the drinks and plates on one side, the food and cups on the other. See what you did there? You’ve separated the food from the plates, and the cups from the drinks. This simple trick of making people move around…

    Read More Getting people to mix at an eventContinue

  • We tried that before and it didn’t work!
    community | mistakes | planning | rural

    We tried that before and it didn’t work!

    May 26, 2019April 28, 2019

    Guest Post by Paula Jensen When was the last time you heard someone say, “We tried that before and it didn’t work!”  In my early days as a local leader those words spoken by an experienced leader often stopped me in my tracks. Their words indicated to me that they had the experience of knowing…

    Read More We tried that before and it didn’t work!Continue

  • The Brag Basket isn’t really a basket
    brag basket

    The Brag Basket isn’t really a basket

    May 24, 2019April 28, 2019

      The Brag Basket is open! This one is for May 24-26, 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…

    Read More The Brag Basket isn’t really a basketContinue

  • Coffee shop with local art displayed on the walls
    customer service | entrepreneurship | marketing | rural | Small Biz 100

    Crowdsourced ideas for coffee shops and other third places

    May 20, 2019March 12, 2025

      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…

    Read More Crowdsourced ideas for coffee shops and other third placesContinue

  • The Brag Basket isn’t really a basket
    brag basket

    The Brag Basket isn’t really a basket

    May 17, 2019April 28, 2019

      The Brag Basket is open! This one is for May 17-19, 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…

    Read More The Brag Basket isn’t really a basketContinue

  • Post signs with your tourism hashtag where visitors will see them
    marketing | rural | social media | tourism

    Post signs with your tourism hashtag where visitors will see them

    May 13, 2019May 2, 2019

    This one is a simple idea that came up when I was visiting Cathlamet, Washington, population 553: Post your local hashtag where visitors will see it. The Cathlamet Chamber of Commerce does an awesome local photo contest. Most of the photo submissions come from locals. They use these on their annual events calendar and other…

    Read More Post signs with your tourism hashtag where visitors will see themContinue

  • The Brag Basket isn’t really a basket
    brag basket

    The Brag Basket isn’t really a basket

    May 11, 2019April 28, 2019

      The Brag Basket is open! This one is for May 10-12, 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…

    Read More The Brag Basket isn’t really a basketContinue

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