Your Rural Community Isn't Too Small. It's Built for This.

We hear some version of this all the time when working with rural communities:

“We're just too small.”

Too small to compete. Too small to attract investment. Too small to take on a big project. Too small to have the resources or opportunities larger communities have.

But after years of working in and alongside small communities, I see it differently.

Your size isn't necessarily your disadvantage.

It may actually be one of your greatest assets.

Small Communities Have Something Bigger Places Work Hard to Build

In small communities, people know each other.

The mayor knows the school superintendent. The economic developer knows the business owners. The nonprofit director knows who to call at the community foundation. The person leading one initiative probably served on a committee with the person leading another.

Those relationships create something incredibly valuable: relationship infrastructure.

Larger communities invest significant time and resources trying to build networks, break down silos and bring the right people to the same table.

In many rural communities, that network already exists.

We don't always recognize it as an asset because it's simply how our communities operate. But when it's intentionally put to work, it can be a tremendous competitive advantage.

Small Communities Can Move Quickly

One of the things I love about working in rural communities is their ability to get the right people together quickly.

When there's a project to move forward, a problem to solve or a grant deadline approaching, you can often get the people you need around a table within a matter of days.

There may be fewer layers to navigate. People often have a history of working together. And because relationships already exist, you aren't starting every conversation from scratch.

That kind of agility matters.

Especially when an opportunity doesn't give you six months to figure out who needs to be involved.

Yes, Everyone Knows Everyone

Of course, there's another side to living and working in a small community.

Sometimes you just want to run into the grocery store, and somehow you end up having an impromptu town meeting in the produce aisle.

If you know, you know.

But the same interconnectedness that occasionally makes a quick grocery trip not-so-quick becomes incredibly valuable when you're trying to get something done.

You know who to call.

More importantly, you often already have a relationship with the person on the other end of that call.

That trust can take years to build in places where people and organizations aren't naturally connected.

Stop Asking Whether You Can Compete With Bigger Communities

I think we sometimes ask the wrong question.

Instead of asking, “How can our small community compete with a larger one?” ask:

“Are we fully using the advantages we already have?”

Your relationships matter.

Your ability to convene people matters.

Your history of collaboration matters.

Your access to decision-makers matters.

Your ability to move quickly matters.

Those aren't consolation prizes for being small. They're real community assets.

And they're a big part of why I'm so passionate about rural communities and why we built Thrive Community Partners to work alongside them.

Small communities certainly have challenges. I'm not suggesting otherwise.

But being small isn't automatically one of them.

Your community's size isn't something you need to overcome. It may be exactly what helps you move forward.

I'm Renee with Thrive Community Partners. This article is based on an episode of Thrive in Five, where we share practical ideas for moving organizations and communities forward in five minutes or less.