#382. Small Town Rules

Small Town Rules

We have been huge fans of Becky McCray’s for a number of years. Becky is a small town entrepreneur in Woods County, Oklahoma. A recognized small business and social media expert, she has spoken internationally to over 100 conferences on small business, rural issues and social media. She publishes one of the top 20 small business blogs in the world, Small Biz Survival, focused on small town small business. In 2011, she was named one of 100 Small Business Influencers, and she is listed as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women on Twitter.

We want to share with our readers Becky’s latest work: Small Town Rules – How Big Brands and Small Businesses Can Prosper in a Connected Economy. The book is a collaboration with Barry Moltz, a fellow entrepreneur. In it, Barry and Becky show how the business world is like a global small town, and how even the largest companies must compete for customers as if they were small, local businesses. They reveal the seven “rural-style” solutions that have become invaluable to even the largest companies, most dominant brands, and most cosmopolitan businesses.

Those seven Small Town Rules include:
The Change in the Economy
– Rule 1. Plan for zero. There will be tough years ahead.
– Rule 2. Spend creative brainpower before spending dollars.
– Rule 3. Multiply lines of income to diversify your risk.
The Change in Technology
– Rule 4. Work anywhere, “anywhen” through technology.
– Rule 5. Treat customers like community.
The Change in Society
– Rule 6. Be proud of being small.
– Rule 7. Build your local connections

Who should read Small Town Rules:
Big Brands and Urban Businesses: Small Town Rules was written to help large brands and urban businesses that are struggling with the uncertain economy, radical changes in technology, and seismic shifts in society. Today, brands find themselves trying to compete for local customers, while being bombarded by inbound messages from consumers and fans, while also coping with drastic changes in revenue. Small town businesses have been juggling this set of challenges for decades. Small towns become the learning labs for business today.

Small Business Owners: Because Barry and Becky are both entrepreneurs, Small Town Rules addresses the challenges of small businesses, no matter how urban or sophisticated.

The book also includes Special Features different from most other books, including:
– Between chapters, Powerhouse Small Town Brands are profiled, including L.L. Bean, Walmart, Winnebago Industries, and Viking Range.
– To help readers implement the ideas, an appendix of Resources includes specific tools, references and links for each small town rule.
– An appendix of Business Ideas Inspired by the Small Town Rules profiles more than 20 different business ideas. Businesses of any size can use these ideas for expansion, innovation or to change the game.

Becky and Barry have put together a great website to share information about Small Town Rules – www.smalltownrules.com. If you are in business, whether large or small, you will undoubtedly find tips in this book to help your business be successful in today’s global small towns!