This article states that even though there are inherent disadvantages for businesses in remote rural environments, there are some characteristics of remoteness that provide some countervailing benefits to entrepreneurs. The article explains how remote small businesses are a key development resource and promoting enterprises in rural communities provide sustainability and the promotion of ethical consumerism. The article also lists some of the downsides and challenges that these small businesses have to undergo in remote environments.
Some problems that are more likely to affect rural communities include land and asset iniquity, social exclusion challenges, and rural poverty concerns. This article lays out the benefits of high-growth entrepreneurs in remote environments and lists some challenges that they will face. Business leaders partnered with other communities and by working together, they were able to overcome challenges such as access to technology, overcoming political boundaries to generate entrepreneurial and economic growth. Some of the downsides listed included the fact that entrepreneurs in rural areas have a more difficult time finding access to venture capital.
Also, the article stated that before overcoming the problems of developing economies of scale, they were burdened with higher prices for goods and lower demands for services. This is, in addition to other problems, such as the lack of transportation and infrastructure in these remote areas. This article describes access to broadband in rural communities, a common problem with remote small businesses. It states that in this modern age, broadband connectivity is necessary for a community to remain viable. Broadband reduces the barrier of distance for the citizens of the community and provides them access to other resources.
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Online access also provides many benefits such as applying for stewardship grants and agricultural subsidies that can provide value to these remote businesses. This article describes the benefit that rural businesses have on the surrounding community, including other small businesses. It references two qualitative studies demonstrating that when rural enterprises provide economic and social development to their communities, this creates a resilience for citizens and small businesses against changing employment patterns and an ability to adapt to dynamic changes in the economic environment.
This is very beneficial to small businesses in remote areas in overcoming challenges of their environment. This article is also similar to the previous one in noting the benefits of small businesses in remote areas and how they impact other surrounding businesses. It explains how small entrepreneurship is one of the best development strategies to improve small communities, including decreasing the effect of a brain drain, the migration of higher educated citizens to other cities. Another positive effect for a community is the fact that small businesses are also philanthropic.
The article references a 2015 survey in which nearly half of small businesses owners gave to charity, mostly which are donated to local causes. This article notes that while there are some challenges that remote areas face, such as less job growth and lower rates of literacy and education, there are actually some tremendous benefits of rural businesses. A survey is referenced where twelve Federal Reserve Banks reviewed over 10,000 small businesses and found that even though rural businesses grow more slowly, they’re more likely to be profitable and to have longer survival rates.
Another shocking fact was that rural businesses have an easier time of getting financing for their business. Although, a downside of this environment is that it is harder for a business owner to find a critical mass of other businesses in the same industry, which could serve as either professional mentors or business partners. This article lists the pros and cons of moving a business to a remote environment such as a countryside. One of the biggest noted downsides of this, which was echoed in previous articles, was the lack of connectivity and technology.
It also states another possible downside, the lack of people available to recruit and problems with retention. The benefits of moving to the countryside were also explained such as how there is less competition for local funding in remote locations. This article not only mention the benefits and drawbacks of remote locations for business, but makes suggestions to avoid common challenges. One example of this is the suggestion of having a business in a small town that is close enough to a large city, which can increase consumer traffic. One drawback noted in this article which wasn’t expressed in the previous articles was that due to the smaller operating budgets compared to companies in large cities, employees will often receive smaller salaries, making it difficult to attract higher-quality employees.
This article mentions that a major benefit to starting a company in a remote area would be affordability. Purchasing or renting space for your business in a large city would be a lot more expensive compared to a more rural location. Depending on what industry the business is in, a rural location could be more beneficial if the business is closer to the source of the materials that it needs, such as agriculture or raw materials. The article also states that remote communities can offer high customer loyalty in response to customer service, which can be more difficult in a crowded space.
In this article, the author describes that the disadvantages of running a business in a remote area are decreasing. They specifically mention the internet as a major turning point and that in pre-internet days, the business would be seriously disadvantaged if it was located in a remote area. The only requirement, if the business deals heavily online, would be a good broadband connection. This point has been a necessary requirement that has been listed in multiple articles that I have gone through. Another great point is that it depends whether or not it would be a challenge to find employees. It is a lot harder to find employees with specialist skills in a rural area as opposed to low-skilled employees.
