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…
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…
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…
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! …
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.
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…
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…
You’re supposed to be exciting enough to pull people away from their phones, their families and the comfort of online shopping. You’re competing with everything else demanding their attention. Here’s the big secret: You don’t have to create all that energy yourself. Your community probably already has regular events that pull people out of their homes. Art walks. First Fridays.
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