Small Biz Survival

Share your challenges and assets on our Survey

Becky McCray — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 12:00:23 +0000

The survey is a project of SaveYour.Town and SmallBizSurvival.com, and it is open for responses every other year. People participate mostly from across the US, Canada, and other countries, including Australia, the UK, and New Zealand. Since 2015, over 2200 people have answered the survey. Rural experts Becky McCray and Deb Brown analyze the results and share them on both websites as public…

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Astrotourism for small towns and rural areas

Sheila Scarborough — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 15:18:51 +0000

If you are working to promote tourism in a rural area or small town, consider the niche travel trend called astrotourism. It’s just a fancy term for attracting people who like stargazing. A friend of mine asked what I knew about it, because she’s gotten inquiries from small towns about how they can take advantage of their dark skies to attract more visitors.

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The Rural Double Rainbow: economic development, retail chains and local businesses

Deb Brown — Fri, 29 May 2026 14:59:32 +0000

Erik Reader is a rural friend of ours, and much like us, out there everyday doing his best to make a difference and help somebody out. Erik is the president of Reader Area Development , and is a downtown revitalization professional with more than 15 years of hands-on experience working inside the realities of small towns. He shared this piece he wrote with us, and we think you might like it too.

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What Our Research Has Revealed About Rural Entrepreneurship Support

Marci Goodwin — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 18:04:25 +0000

By Marci Goodwin, co-founder of SmartStart Business Development Over the past few months, the SmartStart Business Development team has been deep in the weeds researching rural entrepreneurship programs to better understand what is actually happening on the ground with local microbusinesses and how communities support them. Microbusinesses are those with less than 10 employees and make up…

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Let’s Talk Newspapers: Working Together Locally

Deb Brown — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 14:02:23 +0000

Hometown newspapers are small businesses, just like the hardware store, the cafe, or the auto repair shop. They’re not just “media.” They’re employers, sponsors, storytellers, and neighbors, and their work ripples through every corner of the community. This year, collaboration is a focus of ours at SaveYour.Town, and I want to talk about how newspapers and local businesses can truly work…

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The Treasure Hunt Economy: exciting retail experience for small towns

Small Biz Survival — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:54:34 +0000

I’ve been noticing something interesting happening across the small towns we work in, and I don’t think it’s temporary. In a time where inflation is still pinching wallets, customers aren’t just spending less, they’re shopping differently. They’re hunting. Not just for cheap, but for value, uniqueness, and the thrill of the find. You see it everywhere right now. Packed thrift stores…

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Review of The Idea Friendly Guide book by Becky McCray

Small Biz Survival — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 14:09:05 +0000

Thank you to Paula Jensen, one of our contributors, for sharing her thoughts on my book, The Idea Friendly Guide. I’m particularly honored because Paula has worked and lived in rural communities for decades. She sees and understands small towns in a way that few people do. She liked the guide so much, she ordered copies to share with others and hopefully spark community book and action clubs! …

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How a Two-Alarm Fire Almost Ended Our 30-Year Candle Business, But Didn’t

Small Biz Survival — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:42:03 +0000

I run A Cheerful Giver out of Elmer, New Jersey. The population is about 1,300. We make candles. Been at it since 1991. January 11, 2025, I got the phone call. Our building was on fire. Two-alarm. They had to bring in trucks from Gloucester County to help put it out. By morning there was nothing left. Thirty-something years of equipment, raw materials, finished product. Gone. So yeah.

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Want to Open a Cafe? Start With Wing Night Wednesdays

Becky McCray — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 21:58:35 +0000

You want to open a place to eat in your small town. Maybe a coffee shop, a little cafe, a bakery. You’ve been thinking about it for months, maybe years. But you’re not sure if enough people will come. You don’t know what they’ll actually order. You’re not certain you can handle running it day after day. Here’s how to find out before you spend serious money: borrow the community hall and start…

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Want your town to do well? Welcome new people as leaders

Paula Jensen — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 19:34:56 +0000

In small rural communities, leadership matters. But are we unintentionally shrinking our own leadership pool? We care deeply about who leads. We trust the people who show up, pitch in, and carry history with them. But over time, we’ve absorbed quiet assumptions about who qualifies as a leader, and those assumptions may be holding us back more than we realize. We assume leaders must be deeply…

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