THE RURBAN FRINGE

Study Reveals Big Box Store Subsidies Don’t Work

When public money is used to woo private chains, economic growth and job creation aren’t worth the cost, says Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.  Independent retailers also suffer.
Handling out enormous subsidies to large chains has become common in both the US and Canada, with such deals premised on the idea that new [...]

Groceries, Gas, Mail and More

In Flaxcombe, Saskatchewan, a small, sleepy village surrounded by grain and cattle farms, JC’s Little Valley Store is as much a necessity as it is a delight. 
Convincing my husband to arrive in a cloud of dust – with the sole purpose of getting gas and continuing on our way – it looks like the sort of  small, rural general store that was once [...]

If You Build It, They Might Not Come

Communities struggling to maintain their economies often buy into the belief that if they build it, the people will come.  That is, by focusing on physical improvements, the hope is that consumers, businesses and investors will inevitably flock to town.  Viewed this way, the point is obvious, but many communities have implemented massive physical improvement projects thinking that their work [...]

Tips to Improve Cash Flow for Rural Businesses

All too often, poor cash management skills are the stumbling block that lead to many small business failures. 
Cash, of course, is the money in the bank.  Cash flow, however, is the movement of cash into and out of a business.  If cash inflow exceeds the outflow, then the business has a positive cash flow.  [...]

Saving a Dollar, Losing Your Community and The Art of Listening

My online colleague Becky McCray at Small Biz Survival recently shared a ripping good blog post by Melyn Johnson, Main Street Manager for Guymon, Oklahoma.
The post, When Saving a Dollar Could Lose You a Community, is a great opinion piece about how and why you should support local businesses because, in the end, they are the ones [...]

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