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Rural tourism trend: digital detox and off-the-grid vacations

By Becky McCray

  Rural areas and small towns can tap the rising tourism trend of vacations from our phones. And new research shows ways to take advantage of the trend. Lots of rural areas already have poor cell phone reception and slow broadband, so we might as well take advantage of it, right? Philip Lovell Pearce and Li […]

July 23, 2018 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, ideas, rural, tourism, trends

Rural business idea: Rent chicks for Easter

By Becky McCray

Baby points to baby chicks. Photo by Becky McCray

  Everyone loves baby chicks. That’s probably why every Easter, we hear about families who buy chicks for their children, only to realize they grow up to be full size chickens that don’t really fit into their lives. One farmer in Nebraska turned that into a business idea: she rents chicks to families for Easter. […]

February 19, 2018 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, ideas, rural

Like a home office, but with wheels

By Becky McCray

  As homes have gotten smaller and sprouted wheels in the tiny house movement, what of the home office? When does it get its wheels? A couple of years ago, a European company started creating and renting out “wilderness offices” in tiny yet upscale trailers placed in relaxing rural settings. They were “off the grid” […]

November 6, 2017 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, ideas, rural, trends Tagged With: remote work, rural sourcing, zoom towns

Business Idea: A new use for old church buildings: camping and lodging

By Becky McCray

  Your town probably has one: an empty church building. I’ve seen several converted to private homes, but I hadn’t seen one used as camping or lodging until this: champing, or camping in churches. ‘Champing’™ is the ultimate ‘slow tourism’ escape, with England’s historic churches offering their own unique havens of tranquility, a peaceful night’s sleep interrupted only […]

September 11, 2017 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, ideas, rural, tourism

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