I Made a Financially Questionable Parenting Decision…
I made a deal with my daughters this school year.
I’m paying for A’s.
At the time, this seemed like a great idea. It appears to be the motivation they needed. They’re watching their grades like some people watch the NFL draft!
Then I realized: if they’re going to hold up their end of the bargain, I’d better make sure I can hold up mine.
And that sent me down another rabbit hole…
Rural needs to make money.
Not just because report cards have apparently joined my operating expenses, but because Rural itself costs money to run—website hosting, software, internet, phone, gas, and all those little expenses that add up.
More importantly, Rural takes time.
The more time I can spend working on Rural, the more time I can spend finding events, updating the calendar, building guides, writing newsletters, and creating resources everyone gets to use.
So now I’m working on yet another track for this runaway Rural train:
How do I make RuralNEWfamilies financially sustainable WITHOUT putting useful information behind a paywall?
The Event Calendar should be free. The Farm Stand Guide should be free for families to use. The future Business Directory should be free to search. And if we bring back the Restaurant Guide, it doesn’t do families much good hiding behind a paywall.
I created Rural—and its predecessor—because we couldn’t find things to do in our new town. One of my original statements was:
“You shouldn’t have to pay to find the holiday parades.”
I still believe that.
Instead, RuralNEWfamilies will earn money through business listings, sponsorships, affiliate partnerships, and other opportunities that make sense.
I’ve also been told I need to raise my prices. Maybe some eventually will go up. But I don’t want a small local business choosing between paying a bill and paying to advertise.
The little businesses with tiny advertising budgets are often exactly the businesses I want families to find. So I’m trying to offer more visibility to businesses that can afford it while keeping an affordable way for the smallest businesses to be found.
And apparently, I will trade advertising for eggs. 😂
Unfortunately, I can’t pay my daughters for A’s in eggs, and so far, I haven’t convinced my mechanic to accept them either.
So Rural does still need actual money. 😂
That’s where I’m asking you for a little help.
If Rural is worth $1 a month to you, toss a buck in the jar.
If it’s worth $2, $3, or $5, that’s amazing too.
If it’s not in the budget? Keep using Rural. Submit events. Share posts. Tell local businesses about us. Sign up for our FREE newsletter. Those things help, too. ,
Nobody gets locked out because they didn’t pay.
When Rural earns more, everyone gets more—because I get more time to work on Rural.
That’s the train I’m trying to fund.
Well…
That and a potentially alarming number of A’s. 😂
Rural Northeast Wisconsin Families
We're your one-stop-shop for all things happening for Rural Northeast Wisconsin Families. We'll help you find the local events, local family fun, and shop local businesses.
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