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Pop Up in An Empty Lot

By Deb Brown

empty lot pop up

Part of our Global Entrepreneurship Week celebration Nov 13-19, 2023. Starting a business the old way is hard On an Idea Friendly visit to Jackson County, Kentucky, I visited with a group of artists/entrepreneurs. This group had created a loose organization called the Jackson County KY Creative Community. They wanted to start businesses, but were […]

November 15, 2023 Filed Under: economic development, entrepreneurship, rural, success Tagged With: Deb Brown, economic development, entrepreneurship, events, Global Entrepreneurship Week, guest post, Innovative Rural Business Models

Get started as an outdoor outfitter without breaking the bank

By Becky McCray

Three kids in a canoe

Our latest Survey of Rural Challenges said natural resources are rural communities’ best rural assets, but most places don’t have enough outfitters to take advantage of them as tourism development. Here’s how rural people like you can take small steps to grow into outdoor outfitters.  Gather Your Crowd to attract groups and organizations that want to help […]

August 28, 2023 Filed Under: economic development, entrepreneurship, ideas, rural, Survey of Rural Challenges, tourism Tagged With: economic development, Idea Friendly Method, natural resources, small business, Survey of Rural Challenges, tourism

Move Your Money and Bank Local

By Becky McCray

Move Your Money, bank local, invest local

April is traditionally Move Your Money Month in the shop local community. Bank Local and Invest Local are the financial parts of the shop local movement. In 2023, the timing couldn’t be more noticeable. High profile bank failures, lots of talk about other banks in trouble, and a serious debate about the financial system (AGAIN!) […]

March 22, 2023 Filed Under: economic development, finance, rural, shop local, survivors Tagged With: AMIBA, Bank Local, banking, economic development, local investing, Move Your Money, shop local

Tip for better pop-ups and shed businesses

By Becky McCray

When you’re planning to add pop-up businesses or shed businesses to your small or rural community, concentrate them in one area. Better to have four sheds or pop up businesses together on a single lot, than fourteen vendors spread out all over. Your goal is to make it feel like a concentrated burst of new […]

December 5, 2021 Filed Under: economic development, mistakes, rural Tagged With: economic development, entrepreneurship, pop up businesses, rural, shed markets, small business, success

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