January 2009

Rural Business Optimism in Rural America

January 21, 2009

Yesterday I awoke excited about Inauguration Day, knowing that President Obama will create much change in America, and hopefully many opportunities for Rural Business. I think a lot of other people woke up feeling the same way, because our web orders were triple yesterday what they usually are on a daily basis. Today’s web sales [...]

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The Visionary Entrepreneur

January 20, 2009

The entrepreneur is our visionary, the creator in each of us. We’re born with that quality and it defines our lives as we respond to what we see, hear, feel, and experience. It is developed, nurtured, and given space to flourish or is squelched, thwarted, without air or stimulation, and dies. Michael Gerber

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Rural Business The Way Google Sees It

January 19, 2009

This weekend a customer mentioned how lucky I was that Google ranked our business so high in its listings. She said she typed in ‘handmade soap North Carolina’ as the search terms and we came up ‘Number 1’ on Google. Of course I was happy that our customer was able to find us so easily! [...]

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Entrepreneurship: No Wonder We’re In Trouble

January 18, 2009

I found an ‘Entrepreneur Quiz’ at CNN this week, a short eight question survey called ‘’Do You Have What it Takes?“ The purpose of the quiz is to help you determine what your natural aptitude at entrepreneurship might be. It is based on the research of a Harvard professor, successful corporate executives and management consultants. [...]

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Rural Business Weekly News 01/17/09

January 17, 2009

Here are a few interesting blogs and online articles published this week that relate to Rural Business, ending January 17, 2009: Handmade toy makers, doll makers, fiber artists and seamstresses need to keep careful watch over the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act becoming law next month. Here’s a little bit of news specifically about the [...]

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Heads Up for Handmade Business Owners

January 16, 2009

In July 2008 Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. This law was created in response to dangerous levels of lead and phthalate (a chemical in plastic materials) found in toys and other children’s products. This law is scheduled to go into effect February 10, 2009. This new law poses a big problem for [...]

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Rural Business as a Work of Art

January 15, 2009

There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.  Henry Ford In my experience, rural business owners seem to be more observant of their environment. Perhaps that’s partly because they live closer to nature and observe the seasons and daily changes with a closer eye. But rural business owners also seem [...]

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The Goals of Rural Business Life

January 14, 2009

There are two things to aim at in life; first to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind has achieved the second.  Logan Pearsall Smith 

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Rural Microbusiness in 2009

January 13, 2009

The stories of gloom and doom are everywhere. Surprisingly enough, I ran across an article in the Wall Street Journal that discussed what was happening in North Carolina. It even focused on the town of Hickory, located just one hour away from me. “North Carolina’s widely lauded economic transformation of the last three decades — [...]

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The Skinny on Rural Broadband

January 12, 2009

As we look forward to the inauguration of President Elect Barack Obama we don’t know much about how the needs of rural America will be addressed in his economic stimulus plan. We do know that the plan will contain some funds to increase internet broadband access in rural America. Three recent online articles to read [...]