Moving to the Country 

Things you should know

If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska

by Heather Lende

Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 07/09/2008)

Moving to the Woods 

We recently moved to a small town in the Northwest in a place also known as Bear Country. The woods are full of bears. There are many, many black bears and grizzly bears. Folks here are fond of their bears, but I have never been a fan of large, dangerous, wild animals, especially ones that wander into town.
Amy, my hairdresser, told me a cub (which can be a 300 pound animal) found her backyard apple tree last summer. He climbed to the top eating apples, got stuck and could not get down. She watched the tree swaying back and forth as she drank her morning coffee, then called the Forest Service who came and took the poor baby back into the woods. By the way, her house is downtown. (Guess you know we will NOT be planting any apple trees.)
Back before the Park Rangers began shooing bears off the road, folks would feed them from their cars. My mom tells a great story of when she was a kid traveling through Bear Country with her parents. They stopped to feed the bears and one of the grand creatures stuck its head INSIDE the car to share their watermelon. Sheesh-living on the edge with nature.
I'm collecting bear stories...if you have one pass it along.

Finding The Best Small Town For You 

If you're looking for small town life, here are some resources.

Find Your Spot

Take a free survey and locate your spot with one of the top relocation sites on the web.

Small Retirement Towns

Ten Small Towns That Make Great Places To Retire

Article

Small towns become more appealing

Small Town Gems

Recommendations for small towns from folks who've been there.

Small Wander For Travelers

Looking for a walkable small town for your next vacation? This site offers a database of cultural resources for lots and lots of towns with populations of 10,000 or less.

Affordable Small Town Property 

If you're looking for small town property, here's a site you might want to check out. It is a membership site (I haven't used their service, but the testimonials look good....)
Affordable Small Towns

Dakota Real Estate 

April 2, 2008

Just passin' along the information on some beautiful, praire property. Gotta love all that sunshine.

Sagebrush Realty has the Following Properties for Sale:
160 Acre w/very nice farmstead

119 Acres FSA Tillable, balance pastureland and farmstead-Eastern Hettinger County Very attractive property

800 Acre Horse Ranch Morton County, new New Salem, ND
Large heated indoor arena

160 Acres southern Grant County to be offered at Public Auction

Contact: Lyle Steinmetz 701-622-3286 or 701-220-0778

Jobs in Small Towns 

Helping You Find Your Small Town

Did you know that some of the job boards are sorting opportunities by rural and small town jobs? It's true! It's called a lifestyle search and people are getting more interested in those little places on the map.
If you are in the medical profession here's a site with jobs in small towns and rural areas--there are a few other kinds of jobs as well, but medical is their main focus:
Check It Out!

More Small Town Jobs 

May 2008

If you've been itchin to get out of the city, but don't know where to go, here are some job opportunties in beautiful southwest North Dakota.

A land of sunshine, clean air, herds of antelope, no traffic or crime.

Head Boys Basketball Coach
Head Girls Basketball Coach
Assistant Girls Basketball Coach

More information during normal school hours: Mr. Schweitzer 701-824-2795

Mail application letter to: Myron Schweitzer, Superintendent
Mott/Regent Public School Rt. 1 Box 280 Mott, ND 58646

Good Samaritan Society Mott, ND 701-824-3222
Full Time Director of Dietary Services
Planning, implementing and directing department in long-term healthcare setting.
Contact: email: gss6230 AT good-sam.com

You can also check with the really friendly, great folks at the local paper publishers for more community information.
Eido Connection Publishers

Small Town Recycling 

Recycling Means Business
Check out the Recycling Means Business link
Here are great stories of real, small town entrepreneurs building recycling businesses, everything from filtering anti-freeze and making mulch to reclaiming oil from filters.
People starting and running these businesses include everyone from teachers to moms and pops and young college graduates.
This links to a report from North Carolina's rural recycling businesses. They put thousands of people to work in the recycling industry every year.

From Waste To Wealth
Publications from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance that show community models from all over the world, reports on job creation from recycling-everything from computers, textiles and pallets to food scraps.

Zero Waste Toolkit
Here is a resource for communities interested in implementing comprehensive waste reduction and recycling plans. This website provides a link to the resources being developed as part of the Zero Waste project and used by small and large towns alike.

Recycling Manufacturing Businesses
The manufacturing process, from the scale of the mom-and-pop operation producing recycling tire mats or salvaged lumber birdhouses, to the large scale of a paper mill using recovered fiber, is the heart of recycling and a key contributor to establishing the recovered materials economy of the future.

Advancing Composte
Creating Jobs from Food Scraps!

Small Town Florist -- Big Time Biz 

And then there's the small town florist who went online in a very big way!

FlowersFast! is the result of one small town florist who really expanded his vision and used the internet to grow and grow. Click on the Teddy Bear Bouquet to see just what he's up to.

To read the interview with Bob Rankin the owner of FlowersFast check out Dave Taylor's Intuitive Life Business Blog

It really is possible to live anywhere and run a professional, successful business, even in a small town!

The Pantry Peddler 

Featured Small Town Business

Shellee and Bekki, sisters and creators of The Pantry Peddler, were born and raised on a family farm in rural North Dakota. They were taught to appreciate good food and value fresh local sources.
Daughters of a third-generation wheat farming family, Shellee and Bekki were instilled with the ethics and values of their homesteading forefathers-perseverance, patience and a love of the land that kept settlers linked to the prairie and working hard.

Growing up on the prairie, food was the center of family gatherings. No matter the time of day, there was always a fresh batch of Grandma Sorenson's homemade doughnuts or Grandma Braun's delicious, cinnamon-laced kuchen pies cooling on the table, or some great family recipe waiting to be indulged.

Shellee and Bekki, being true entrepreneurs at heart, felt a desire and a need to share "a taste of the prairie" with others so in August of 2003, The Pantry Peddler was born.

Keeping in mind that family comes first, most of the Pantry items require only 1-2 added ingredients - yet, once completed, will evoke those same memories of Grandma's homemade doughnuts or cinnamon-laced kuchen. As they "peddle" their goodies from town to town - they invite you to take a step back in time - and simply indulge in it for a while!

Check out their lens: The Pantry Peddler

Small Biz Survival 

The Blog that's by and for small business people in rural areas and small towns.

Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

Small Town Businesses 

Small Town Marketing--How They Do It

At Home with the Kids

Look what Stephani does while she stays home with the kids. This can be done anywhere there's an internet connection. What do you know that you can share? What do you know that others will pay you to share?

Writing Reports For Fun and Money

Kevin Riley has created a great how-to write and sell information on the internet ebook. It's the best I've seen so far. I'm working on it as we speak, because I am determined to make a living in the country!

Small Town Artists Making It Big 

Prairie Fire Pottery

These folks have been working for years in a pretty remote town in North Dakota. They do quite well and tourists come from all over to visit!

Lone Prairie Artist

This artist lives in a town of around 200 and has done a great job getting her name and art onto the internet. She works very hard at marketing and sells her work all over the world. She has a great blog!

John Golden, Graphic Artist

John lives in a small town also uses several online venues to reach customers.

Montana Brass

Here's a small town musician marketing himself at the county fairs. If you love music, you've got to check out his website! He is native to Montana, has just released his first CD, and is doing a great marketing job. You can hear clips of his "Call For Dismissal From an Ordinary Life" CD on his website.

Litte Bear Canoes

Here is fine craftsman who I've seen selling canoes on Ebay from a small town. He even lists 'small town' in his Title, so people looking for small town products can find him. At the time I wrote this he had 228 positive seller feedback notes, which means he has probably sold at least 228 canoes on Ebay.

Marketing Your Arts and Crafts on the Internet 

James Dillehay: Craftsman and Marketer

Learn how You can market successfully online and offline with the Craft Business Success Package....

"We couldn't have imagined how much of an impact James Dillehay's advice would make on our business. We thought after perfecting our product everything would just fall into place, but it didn't until we started working with his suggestions. To our delight we are seeing results on a faster and larger scale than we expected in such a short period of time." ~ Ken Kobrick & Angela Greene, www.Passchal.com, featured on the Today Show

"Since reading your books, I have implemented many of the ideas. I am now happy to report that I have had some surprising success here in Santa Fe. My hang cards, booth design, and even my products themselves have been changed by your books. I have only been there 5 partial days and have sold about 4 times what I sold in the equivalent time last year. I changed the color of the walls, the height of the tables, the displays, the hang cards, the pricing and more. So, IT WORKS!" ~ Julie Anderson, CostumeSalon.com

"After reading his books, my business took on a new life. I changed my product slightly and the response was remarkable! My first order was triple what I had planned for, and other orders are pouring in! I continue to look to James for inspiration and I love his approach. Because of the techniques I learned from him, my business is thriving." ~ Cathy Marble, Chamisa Hill Designs

Ready to increase your craft sales and profits? Just click here to learn more about the Craft Business Success Package. Check It Out!

Handmade Arts & Crafts 

Ideas for Marketing Your Creative Works

Etsy Handmade Marketplace

Here's a place to list your handmade crafts for free. You can create your own store without any sign-up fee.

Creative Commerce

Here's a 'free tips' site on marketing your art. It's written by John Golden a graphic artist.

ArtByUs

This is an online auction site that is for artists and art buyers and there are NO FEES. Unless you want bold titles or featured listings, there are no costs for photos and selling your art. Give it a go, you have nothing to lose.

Small Towns Supporting Artists 

New Jobs

Swamp Gravy

Here is a very small town, far far away from any large towns that has developed a fabulous folk play and has received nationwide acclaim. They took what they had, stories, and gathered 300 town's folk and away they went. Several businesses have been started as a result of the growth in tourism.

Grow Nebraska

The result of one woman's dream, this entrepreneurial network has launched artists, crafters and food producers into success. Check out their businesses in small towns.

Handmade in America

North Carolina has been promoting its artists and crafters for years. This site has impact studies on how much money the arts and crafts businesses bring to a community.

Fairfield, Iowa 1st Fridays Artwalk

Check out this small town in Iowa. They created an event to celebrate local artists and have family fun and they had so much fun it became the 2005 Iowa Tourism Event of the Year!

Val's Art Diary 

Creative Marketing At Its Finest!

My First Really Rural Adventure 

Moving to the Prairie

It was frightening in a way I never expected. All that space. Huge sky and empty land as far as the horizon. In the city, I was always on guard for some predator-aware of where I was, who was around me and what they were up to. Out on the prairie there didn't seem to be anyone anywhere. What an amazing sensation.

It was quiet in a way I never experienced before. No honking horns, no sirens blaring, no electronic signs screaming some commercial that stuck in my head for days. As I traveled down the State Highway, to my new job on the prairie, I slowed to view a flock (gaggle? herd?) of wild turkeys with their feathers shimmering blue-green and fluffed by a breeze. They didn't even seem to notice me-just kept clucking (cackling?) alongside the road.

Rolling fields, dotted with flat-topped buttes, kept my eyes wandering off the empty road. An honest to goodness, official Department of Transportation sign was posted in the middle of one of those fields. It read: ROAD CLOSED. I would never have considered driving through a field. No city person I know would need that sign, but in the country, I have been repeatedly told by local residents, things are done remarkably different.

If you are lucky enough to find yourself in the country, be sure to watch for wild things and new roads.

Rural Retreats and Farm Vacations 

Your first rural experience

Weatherbury Farm

A kid-friendly farm vacation.

Animal Vacations

Here's a directory of vacations that include animal experiences.

Indian Creek Guest Ranch

Western hospitality in the heart of Idaho.

Playing Farmer 

Now Here's something all would-be farmers might want to check out BEFORE they leave the city for a new life on the farm.
A third generation dairy farmer came up with this board game idea and won the 2006 Teachers Choice award, met Willie Nelson, and took first place in the Brainerd Inventor's Fair!
(There's even a preschool version!)
Life on the Farm Game

Small Town Life 

Small Town Parade 2

Small Town Parade

Small Town Event 2

Small Town Events

Badlands

Dakota Landscape

Fencing

The Round Up

Cowboys

Field of Neighbors i...

The Expert Roper

Roping the Calves

Main Street

The Old Sinclair Sta...

Small Town After Sch...

Country School

Ning Around Your Small Town 

I've found a new place to play. Much better than MySpace, as far as I'm concerned. When I could not control my age or delete the Zodiac sign from the MySpace profile, I was no longer interested in hanging out...part of the fun of online is that I don't have to tell anyone how much of a boomer I am. Do they really need to know how close to elderly I am to meet the essence of me? Don't answer those questions.
Anyway, I found the Ning network which is a great place for creating your small town community without paying an arm or leg for webdesign or hosting. It is FREE! Check out some of the networks and see how easy it is to get your local groups, schools, business or art clubs meeting and sharing online. Here are a couple I found and one I am starting.
Live Ireland
Small Town Stories

The Online Auction or Cleaning the Barn 

Business Idea for Small Towns

You moved to your dream home in the middle of nowhere. You love the land, the animals and the people, but still don't have a job. Here's my favorite suggestion.

Ebay is huge. The numbers are staggering and if you have an internet connection in your town, you have a business opportunity.

What about setting up an ebay service center in one of those old empty buildings. You put in a computer line, get a digital camera and some shelves and call everyone you know to bring you stuff they want to get rid of.

You can make your money a couple of ways. Charge a membership fee, or a per-item fee or simply charge a percentage of the sale.

Put together a contract that includes these sales agreements and create an inventory sheet for each client.

If it were me, I'd also require they bring their own packaging with the product or charge a higher percentage for those you have to find boxes and filler for. I would also talk to any local grocers to recycle boxes.

You could also set up a do-it-yourself location and charge a membership fee or training fee to teach others how to do ebay or simply put together one ebay site that everyone would post products to and call it something like "MySmallTown" Shop so you can get the name of your town out there as well as just selling products.

A lot of small towns have computers with online access at schools or libraries or some other public place. Many of the grants that funded these computers stipulated that the public must have access to the computers, so maybe you could work with the school to do a lot of online business after school hours on those "public access" computers if you need more connections for your Ebay Business Club.

You might also want to approach folks with big barns or garages to see if they would contract with you to sell their 'junk' for them. Vintage is very hot!

Get Started With Ebay 

No better time than the present

Sign up today and do an advanced search to find out what those barn items are actually selling for! Tip: Do an advanced search for what you want to sell, such as mason canning jars, milk cans, etc and check the box that says completed listings. This will give you the finished auctions and show the actual price that items sold for.




You may want to consider PayPal as well, since a lot of buyers want to use their credit cards or PayPal and you don't have to set up a merchant account to take credit cards! Personal accounts are free!

Absolutely MUST HAVE for the Ebay Newbie 

If you have a really limited budget but want to get started right (quickly and in the best possible way) then you really need to invest in Dennis Prince's book. This is the one I did not pass along--it stays in my library and helps me keep all eBay efforts heading in a straight line)
You really must own a copy! Check it out How to Sell Anything

Getting Started with an Online Auction 

In my opinion

My family keeps sending me boxes of 'interesting' things ever since they found out I've been messing around with Ebay and sold a weathered book for over $60.

Here are the books I'm using to unload the family 'vintage' collection.

Don't Get Burned on EBay: How to Avoid Scams and Escape Bad Deals

by Shauna Wright

An absolute MUST-HAVE for understanding how you can make money and what you need to watch out for in online auctions. Very helpful for anyone just starting out.

Amazon Price: $13.25 (as of 07/09/2008)

How to Sell Anything on eBay... And Make a Fortune (How to Sell Anything on Ebay & Make a Fortune)

by Dennis Prince

Amazon Price: $12.89 (as of 07/09/2008)

Nickels and Dimes 

Not a Living but fun money just the same!

Here is a fun site that hands over cash whenever you buy online and lets you advertise your eBay store for free! ...very fun to see those dollars in my PayPal Account!

Community Development 

How to Grow

It takes commitment to get your small town motivated, it also takes some know-how in group dynamics. Here are my tips on group dynamics in small towns.

Small Town Crime or Not 

Police Patrols

Here are real, honest to goodness quotes from the "Law Enforcement Roundup" section of our small town newspaper.

A kid on Kelly Road was skateboarding in the middle of traffic.

Horses got loose on Springcreek Road.

A sign was knocked over on Walters Canyon Road.

Bears were spotted on Northwood Lane and behind a store on US Highway 8.

Graffiti was found on a school in Pinewoods.

True stories, although the some place names were changed.

Saving Small Towns 

Can you save your town?

Saving Your Town

Sandy Wilbur, who worked in rural places for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, has several helpful articles for those living in small towns.

Sell Your Town

Here is some good information on marketing your hometown.

Advertise Your Town, Product, or Business 

Cowboy.com

Here's a place that targets those in the ranching business and those looking to become ranchers. They have fee ads which can reach folks looking for the small town life.

Craigs list

Here is one of the all time popular sites on the web. It ranks #7 after Yahoo, eBay...and the ads are free! Be sure to read their policies, because there are limitations to commercial advertising.

Tell Us What You Think About Small Towns! 

Do you long for a place in the country or love the city lights?

Small Town or Bust Stuff 

Photos I took in North Dakota while enoying life as a small town resident.

Small Town or Bust Postcards (Package of 8)

Photos & Products Celebrating Small Towns

Price: 6.99

Small Town or Bust Greeting Cards (Pk of 10)

Photos & Products Celebrating Small Towns

Price: 15.99

Small Town or Bust Tile Coaster

Photos & Products Celebrating Small Towns

Price: 5.99

Free Advertising 

In the World Wide Web You Must Be Seen

Every free advertising site is fair game for your web link. If you create well-written ads or join referral networks you can increase the traffic to your website or affiliate pages. Here's one to look at. I get quite a bit of traffic from LinkReferral.

Affiliate Marketing or Promoting Other People's Products 

Gotta start somewhere

Another way to make a living, or perhaps supplement your income, when you live far away from the fray is to create websites or advertising for other people's products. Whenever someone clicks on one of your ads and buys a product you get a commission.
This is something to think about if you really like the internet and don't have your own product to sell.
One of the easiest ways to get started is to check out ClickBank
You can sign up as an Affiliate, pick out some products, copy your new affiliate link and paste it to a blog, an ad, your website and voila! (Once you get some traffic that is!)

Affiliate Marketing Guru 

Rosalind tells you about ClickBank, Commission Junction and all the other affiliate networks where you can find products to promote. She also tells you the what, when, where and how of being an affiliate.

Make a Fortune Promoting Other People's Stuff Online

by Rosalind Gardner

This is the one I recommend for really getting an understanding and step by step look at how to be a great affiliate.

Amazon Price: $14.93 (as of 07/09/2008)

The Super Affiliate Handbook: How I Made $436,797 in One Year Selling Other People's Stuff Online

by Rosalind Gardner

Rosalind keeps coming up with fresh and profitable methods to being an affiliate, so this one book is linked to her online and you get updates and new info.

Amazon Price: $53.10 (as of 07/09/2008)

Small Town Blogs 

In their own words...

Here are some blogs written by folks living in small towns.

Moving to a Small Rural Town from LA
Yet Another Small Town

About a City Girl Gone Small Town
The Place I Call Home

Blogging From the Blue Ridge Mountains
Loose Leaf Notes

The Quilting Life in a Small Town
Tumbling Blocks

Small Town lifestyle blogs
Astoria Rust
Fragments From Floyd
Keepin' It Rural

Just trying to dispel a myth, as well as give those of you living in small towns some ideas on sharing your place, ideas, and businesses with the world outside.

Storytelling Online: The Blog 

There are some stories to be told in small towns and the best storytellers I've ever met were small town people. They notice details, remember everything, and are great entertainers. They are also grammatically correct. These are all keys to creating an online presence that can lead to marketing your own services or products or simply making commissions from promoting someone else's products.

So You Want To Be A Writer? 

Writing is one of the great ways of making a living online

This is truly the soup to nuts book on creating e-books. Tiffany Dow has succeeded in making great online profits through her writing career and she has put together the best information for getting your information product written and sold. If you want to write online for a living, this is the book you want!

Writing for Online Profit 

Creating Online Reports

Kevin has created a great step-by-step guide to create online e-books and booklets. Very user friendly. If you enjoy writing or just have a passion you want to share, or you're looking for a way to create some online income: You must check this out.

Ebook Empire

Tiffany Dow has been writing for the internet from her small town for years. She is a great success story and offers a lot of very good advice for a writing career on the internet.

For Building Your Small Town Business Online 

In my opinion

A Writer's Guide to Internet Marketing

I have spent many dollars and hours reading ebooks in the last two years and this is by far the best read, the best information, and makes the most sense for how to make a career of writing online. Tiffany has achieved it and I'm glad I finally found her books.

1 and 1 Webhosting

1and1 website templates are easy to use for building your own website, the cost is very reasonable. I can upload my own html site whenever I want and I can quickly add RSS, newsletter automation, and many other features. I tried a couple of other hosting services and this one was really the easiest for me. Just thought I'd let you know.

Work At Home or from Anywhere

I learned most of what I know about building a business online from the Make Your Site Sell folks. Their videos and downloads are full of helpful info on what it takes to make a successful online business and they are free! The product is the only package deal out there that makes sense. No hidden costs! If you're not building your own website, this is still the best information on what a web business looks like.
Scroll down and watch the SBI Video Tour. Very informative.

How to Use Squidoo for Marketing 

Still Learning

Social Networking on Squidoo

Tiffany Dow has really put a lot of work into helping us all understand how to use Squidoo effectively. She also guarantees her products, no questions asked.

Marketing Your Product, Website or Blog with Articles 

It's not that hard

The One Internet Resource That Can Save Your Sanity 

Truly this is worth the investment

I've spent countless hours, and too much money (I'm not saying how much in case my husband reads this) trying to figure out how to run an internet business.
I read about IMC for years, but didn't want to spend the money. I finally broke down a couple of months ago and purchased their Insider Secrets. Wow. Three notebooks, CD's and DVD's with step-by-step, easy, understandable info on the different kinds of business models, marketing methods AND some great case studies where you get to see how they turned around some businesses who were not doing too well.
If you're going to buy one thing this year, save your allowance and get this if you are serious about a real online business. They know their stuff.

Spring So Soon? 

I love snow

I really do love the snow. White, bright light is so inspiring. It just makes me want to run and jump and do all my chores, but I guess winter will be back again after a while...

What's really bothering me is, you guessed it, the bears. In my first year in the mountains, I'm still not adjusted to the idea of 800 pound animals wandering around nearby. In the spring they wake up hungry and without a lot of berries ripe yet to keep them fed and happy they can wander off the mountain.
Or so I've been told by locals who just love bear sitings.

Stop By and Say Hey! 

Do you have a small town story? (Or a Bear story!) Do you have ideas about how small town folks can make a living? Do you have a small town business or home for sale? Do you just want to say hello? Here's the place. (If you must critique, no bashing please, keep it constructive.) Thanks!

Nick_Sutton Nice len. Keep it up! Nick Sutton Fulham :-) Posted May 27, 2008

curio Hi there, A great lens with an interesting subject and good content. Posted May 02, 2008

charlino I grew up in a small town, and I love small towns. Nice lens. Posted March 27, 2008

ols Very nice lens. I envy those living in small towns, though as you point out there are definite drawbacks. 5* Posted March 27, 2008

ElizabethJeanAllen I grew up in a small town and now as we approach retirement, we hope to move back. I miss it. Liz http://www.squidoo.com/californiacondor Posted March 25, 2008

 

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