Rural Economy

Rural Business Weekly News – April 11, 2009

April 11, 2009

Here are a few interesting blogs and online articles I found this week with news that relates to Rural Business, ending April 11, 2009: Rural Broadband The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began work this week on its national strategy to bring high-speed broadband internet into every American home. Under the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus plan, [...]

Read the full article →

When East Meets West – A New Chicken and Egg for Rural America

April 10, 2009

My husband Tim and I had a brief discussion today with a local government employee, whose son will graduate from college next month. We inquired about what his son had majored in, where he wanted to live, what kind of job he hoped to go after. Of course that led us to share some thoughts [...]

Read the full article →

Five Obstacles To Every Sale

April 2, 2009

“Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.” Zig Ziglar American Motivational Speaker and Author

Read the full article →

Do Second Home Owners Kill Rural Villages?

March 31, 2009

Do second home owners kill villages? In an article on the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) blog, that’s the question asked. Apparently Great Britain is struggling with changing rural industry, like so many other areas in the United States and around the world. Manufacturing no longer exists, tourism is becoming more important, and young people are [...]

Read the full article →

Renegotiating Your Fixed Costs

March 30, 2009

An interesting read today in The New York Times, in “Nothing is Set in Stone, So Renegotiate:” “Maybe your fixed costs are not as fixed you think. With the recession continuing in full force, you may find that everyone — from the company that supplies your office with water to your neighborhood banker — is [...]

Read the full article →

Rural Change at the Speed of White Lightning

March 25, 2009

A few weeks ago I mentioned that a vote was taking place in my area as to whether ‘liquor by the drink’ would be allowed and become legal in the ‘downtown’ of my county. Here’s what I said earlier this month: “The choice to sell alcoholic beverages or not is still a controversial one in [...]

Read the full article →

Self Employment in Rural Nebraska

March 23, 2009

A University of Nebraska sociologist has found that the decreasing rural population of Nebraska is changing the way business is conducted in the state. Randy Cantrell with the Nebraska University Rural Initiative, reports that in most rural counties of Nebraska self-employment accounts for 18 to 30 percent of jobs and pretty much all job growth. [...]

Read the full article →

Rural Business Weekly News – February 14, 2009

February 14, 2009

There will be lots of articles in the coming weeks that try to tell us exactly what was in the stimulus package that just passed and what it all really means, but here’s the coverage from the Associated Press published today. Supposedly the 7 billion in grants for rural broadband are intended for small town [...]

Read the full article →

Small Business Provisions of The Economic Stimulus

February 10, 2009

The United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Ranking Member Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, spoke on the floor of the Senate about the key small business provisions included in the Economic Recovery Package, and renewed their call for elevating SBA Administrator position to Cabinet-level status. The bill includes [...]

Read the full article →

New Agritourism Resource Available on LinkedIn

February 9, 2009

Operators of vineyards, farmers’ markets, roadside stands, u-pick-it farms and anyone else involved in the agritourism industry now have a new online tool to exchange ideas, ask questions and learn from others. A discussion group specific to “agritourism” has been created on www.LinkedIn.com. LinkedIn is a social networking site. The purpose of LinkedIn is to [...]