The difficulty lies in that most small businesses in local communities operate in a small, volatile economy that is not impervious to the overall weakening tren

The difficulty lies in that most small businesses in local communities operate in a small, volatile economy that is not impervious to the overall weakening trend. Add to that most communities are anchored by one or several large employers--sources of income are not diversified and any change will hit hard and fast. The more the conditions of socioeconomies worsen, the more people will rely on reverting only to basic necessities (and vice) to meet their needs. One strategy is to hedge the microeconomy by assisting businesses expand their reach without investment (read: revenue share). Some ideas: 1. Partner with a small business that produces a product, offer to design, market and help them fulfill that product on the web for an X% of the receipts. Example: Guy sees ipad coming, designs and sells ipad case by partnering with SF's last remaining booksellers. 2. Partner with a service provider (eg. a CPA) to create a lightweight online equivalent similar model to #1. Bonuss points if specialized to an industry and segment open to working online. 3. Start a completely new business by buying equipment from closed businesses, integrated online and employing local workers. 4. Focus on a niche in demand and excel at producing and selling this. Run product scenarios on initial investment entail low-cost, lightweight (or even free) resources resulting in a high-value product comparatively. Scale, iterate and optimize.