Author: Becky McCray

I thought you’d like this, from a recent local economic development newsletter that I received: “We just finished our annual business count. We use this comprehensive employment database to drive our economic development, planning and to keep aware of trends….We don’t include home-based or mobile businesses.”  Anyone else see something wrong with that or is…

The conversation over pie for breakfast in a tiny local cafe started with Mike telling me how small town retail, at least in his town of 1100, was really something from the past.  “They’d have to have some kind of economy of scale to survive now,” he said.  “No,” I said. “In fact, the smaller…

There’s a good reason I don’t make these emails easy for you to share on Facebook. I know you want to share them. You like the message, and you want to get it to more people. That’s good. Why on earth would I stand in your way?  Because I want people not to just read…

Last weekend, I spoke to an audience of mostly big city marketers in Tulsa. Despite our differences in scale, we all face some similar challenges. After all, we are all trying to sell some kind of change.  That struck a chord with Eric T. Tung, and he made this graphic on the spot:  Often, what…

Last week, we talked about where to find potential entrepreneurs locally. Then I saw a Tweet from my friend Jon Swanson, saying he’d just opened a tiny storefront online.* That’s when I realized I forgot to list the online places to look for local entrepreneurs.  Right now, rural people from all over are making at…

You and I talk a lot about encouraging more entrepreneurs in your community. Maybe you’re wondering about where to find those potential entrepreneurs. A couple of people have asked that question lately, so let’s look into it. The more you cut down barriers to entry, the more people will be able to try different entrepreneurial…

“Every one of your Innovative Rural Business Models is illegal!”  That was the code enforcement guy at a recent event I spoke at. I just agreed. Yes, sure they are in some towns or in some circumstances. But so what?  Don’t let a law or rule stop a great project for your community.  The code…

It’s kind of a hidden place, upstairs in the newly-reopened movie theater in Elkhart, Kansas. It’s a little bar, almost a little speakeasy, tucked above the ticket booth and concession stand, with exposed brick walls and uncovered rafters, and a view out the little windows that overlook the whole downtown. It’s a small space, a…

When I was speaking about how everyday people can shape the future of their towns, an audience member asked about local governments. How can they survive, even as they need to do more with less money? How do they keep the water flowing and maintain all the other essential services? It’s a critical question, and…

After last week’s discussion of people using downtown buildings for storage, Linda replied to me. She’s one of those people who owns a downtown building.  Here’s what she said: This one hit me hard…..Guilty. Truly.The best laid plans….Change of plans……Plans fell through, fell flat, fell . . . Hard times, no time, wrong time . . ….

onday I led a session on filling empty buildings in your downtown. One of the thorny issues that came up was buildings used to store junk. I think every town has a few of these. They’re doubly annoying because not only are they hogging a building that some active business could locate in, they are…

When Deb Brown and I spoke at the RuralX Summit, one of the ideas we mentioned was the tiny business village, where businesses pop up inside of storage sheds in Tionesta, Pennsylvania.  Dylan Fulton and Camden Breitling, high school students from Miller, South Dakota, heard that idea and ran with it. Together with some supportive…