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Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource
  • Wide view of a prairie landscape with a walk-through gate in a fence
    Best of | economic development | rural | tourism

    Tourism: Make the most of scant remains and “not much to see” sites with a look-through sign

    October 11, 2022March 25, 2023

    Here’s a tourism tip from a roadside stop from my long drive to visit rural communities in Eastern Colorado. The Santa Fe Trail wagon ruts are still visible near Lakin in Western Kansas. You can walk across the little dam, past the tree and right out to the original trail, but there isn’t a lot…

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  • Ideas to fill empty display windows
    entrepreneurship | marketing | rural

    Ideas to fill empty display windows

    April 2, 2019March 31, 2019

    Every small town has some empty windows downtown. Some are empty buildings, some are buildings being used for storage, and some are service businesses that just don’t have a lot to put in their windows. Here are three ideas I saw on my trip through Cowlitz County, Washington. Make a mini-museum. Work with the local…

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  • Dress up empty buildings with these creative window ideas
    economic development | marketing | rural

    Dress up empty buildings with these creative window ideas

    June 11, 2018March 8, 2019

      Every small town has empty buildings downtown. Whether they are completely empty or just used for storage, they can make your downtown look vacant. If the building has windows, though, there’s an opportunity to dress them up a bit and maybe even promote another business at the same time. In the picture above, a…

    Read More Dress up empty buildings with these creative window ideasContinue

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