Adapting to a Rural Setting : Management Strategies Employed by Small Business Owners

The results of a pilot interview project arepresented, for a study designed to investigate how small business owners managetheir business in a rural setting. The exploratory research comprisesinterviews of three retail business owners from rural New England,andillustrates how small business owners can adapt to rural marketabilityissues. The findings indicate that rural small retailers adapt to rural markets bymaintaining a mix of inventory, keepingprices low, providing exceptionalservice, diversifying by starting an unrelated second business, usingcooperative strategies, engendering community ownership to encouragein-shopping, using environmental psychology to stimulate people driving by toreturn and shop, and using family and friends as resources. (CBS)