Small Busine

Creative Public Relations Technique

Businesses sometimes fail because their owners fail to use creative tools and techniques to get the added exposure they need. The following ideas are geared toward the smaller business, but would work for larger businesses as well. Some of the concepts are simple, and they have also proven to be effective over time with millions of small and large businesses.

1. Put your business and your name in highly visible places, no matter how unusual.

We all see billboards, Yellow Pages ads, and ads on the place mats at pancake houses and local restaurants. Try putting your business name and or logo on bus stop benches; ballpark walls; city buses; pens people sign charge card slips with at your business (often they take the pen anyway...might as well have your advertising on it!); T-shirts you, your friends, and clients and relatives wear(not unlike "Coach wear"); symphony, auto show, or concert program "inside ads;" plastic cups or mugs you use for your guests/clients in your office, etc. Keep the ads neat and the message clear. People DO remember names from events and places they go where they have personal or special interests.

2. Join or volunteer time to a few good local business organizations.

This can be the Better Business Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis, Variety Club, United Way, small business clubs, breakfast clubs, business associations, your neighborhood business groups; anything that will expose you and your face and name and services to others who might need it, know someone who needs it, or even be your competitor. Knowing your competitors, what the *successful* ones are doing, and where THEY "mingle," can help you strategize where you might get some exposure of your OWN! If you can see what your competitors' strengths are, chances are you can also see where they have *weak* areas. If you can, use YOUR business and your expertise to fill in where they are weak.

3. Speak or write publicly about your profession or your business.

This sounds self-serving. Of course it is! The KEY is to make it very subtle! Media folks will accept a story if they see it is interesting and about something where there is an "angle" that would appeal to many people. They will NOT be drawn to interview you or publish an article strictly on *your* business! Famous authors do not travel the country signing books in small town book stores to learn U.S. geography! Any good, honest exposure you can get through an article in a trade journal, one of the clubs you have joined, or a charity function, puts your face, your name, and your business name, its services & *results*, in front of the public. If you dislike public speaking, write an article for a business magazine related to your specialty or the service or products you sell. Most of those trade publications are looking for contributors with knowledge who will write for free or little money, to fill space and keep their readers interested. It's FAR better than having an ad in the same magazine! It gives you ten times the credibility to WRITE for a magazine than to have an ad in one! Make sure your name and all other pertinent short author "bio" copy is current and accurate. The "pen is often mightier than the ad."

4. Get with the times and get "online!"

Sure there are millions of people competing with one another on the Internet! Turn it around and know that there are *many* times the same number of consumers, looking for the best deal, the best service for the money, and the most qualified person to meet their needs. Here you can spend next to nothing or you can spend a lot. Learning how other people in your business use the "Web" will give you ideas as to where you might "beef up" your services, the quality of your goods, and the way you present your business and yourself as the owner to the public, who can either help your business sustain itself and grow, or not. See what other similar businesses do *not* offer that you could or do and play on that. The information is right before you. You have but to learn to access it and then the world and all of the world's businesses are in front of you!

5. Sponsor or be a co-sponsor for a local charity event.

Pick an event that is well-attended, and also one in which you might already have some interest. Taking the time off to man the telethon phones, attend a dinner or party or play or gaming event for a charitable function serves you in several ways. The two most important are that you are doing something for the benefit of others, which helps you spiritually and will give you a good feeling, and it gives you and your business some public exposure within a very positive and a very humanistic environment.

6. Get involved with civic groups and committees.

Pick your interest or one that you feel would be of interest to potential clients or current customers of yours: school boards, hospitals, libraries, art centers/museums, zoning committees, city council, neighborhood improvement, PTA, Boy Scouts, church groups, etc. Depending on the size of your city, you will have more or less choice. If your town is very small, get involved with something in the closest large town from your home. The more people you know and meet, the more people will know about you and "what you do" and what you have to offer. Simple truth.

7. Voice your opinion in print.

This "attention getter" has pros and cons. If you send a letter to the editor or write an article for your local paper's "editorial page," you are sure to have people who agree with you and will possibly give you some business or mention your name, as well as people who disagree with you BIG time and who you might even LOSE as a customer. If you write about something that is lighthearted, not related to religion or politics, and something you feel certain most of the people you really would want or already have as clients or customers would enjoy or be "neutral" on, you're safe. Again your name and maybe your business (many people use their business address in letters to the editor to keep their private address private) will be where many people from town and out of town might see it. Careful thought on the right topic, well phrased, can affect many people in a positive way for you.

ss FAQ

Business Financial management from the business is distinguished, in several different cases, by the need to face a somewhat
different set of issues and opportunities than those faced by a massive corporation. 1 immediate and obvious difference is that a
vast majority of smaller firms do not normally have the opportunity to openly sell issues of bonds or stocks in order to raise
funds. The owner-manager of a bigger company must rely mostly on trade credit, bank financing, lease financing, and private equity
to fund the company. One, therefore faces a much more severely restricted set of funding choices than those confronted by the
monetary vice president or treasurer of a large corporation.

On another Hand, when small business financial management is concern, many financial problems facing the small firm are very
similar to those of larger corporations. By way of example, the investigation necessary for a long-term investment choice like the
purchase of heavy machinery or the test of lease-buy options, is essentially the same whatever the size of their company. When the
choice is made, the funding choices available to the firm may be radically different, however, the decision procedure will be
generally comparable.

One area of Special concern for the smaller business owner is in the successful management of working capital. Net working capital
is defined as the gap between current assets and current liabilities and is often thought of as the"circulating capital" of the
business. Lack of control in this vital area is a key source of business failure in both small and massive businesses.

The business Manager must always be alert to changes in working capital accounts, the reason behind these changes and the
implications of these changes for the financial health of the company. One convenient and effective method to underline the key
managerial demands in this area is to see working capital in terms of its major components:

Cash and Equivalents. This most liquid type of current assets, cash and cash equivalents (usually marketable securities or
short-term certification of deposit) requires constant oversight. A well planned and maintained money budgeting system is
imperative to answer crucial questions like: Is the cash level sufficient to satisfy current expenses as they come due? What are
the time connections between cash inflows and outflows? When will summit cash needs happen? What will be the size of bank
borrowing needed to fulfill some cash shortfalls? When will this borrowing be required and if may repayment be anticipated?
Accounts Receivable. Almost all companies are required to extend credit to their clients. Key issues in this field include: Is the
amount of accounts receivable fair in relation to sales? On the average, how quickly are accounts receivable has been accumulated?
Which clients are"slow payers?" What actions should be taken to speed sets where required?Inventories.Inventories frequently make up 50 percent or more of a firm's current assets and so, are worthy of close scrutiny. Key
questions which must be considered within this area include: Why is the level of stock reasonable in relation to sales and the
working features of the small business? How rapidly is stock turned over in relation to other businesses in the same industry?
Isn't any capital invested in dead or slow moving stock? Are sales being dropped as a result of insufficient inventory levels?
When appropriate, what actions ought to be taken to increase or reduce stock?

Accounts Payable and Trade Notes Payable. In a company, trade credit often provides a significant source of financing for the
firm. Key issues to research in this category include: Is the sum of money owed to suppliers reasonable in relation to purchases?
Is the firm's payment policy such it will improve or detract from the firm's credit rating? If accessible, are reductions being
taken? Which are the timing relationships between payments on accounts payable and set on accounts receivable?Notes Payable. Notes payable to banks or other lenders are another major source of funding for the business. Important questions
in this class include: What is the amount of bank borrowing employed? Can this debt amount fair in relation to the equity funding
of the company? When will interest and principal payments fall due? Will funds be available to meet these obligations on time?

Accrued Expenses and Taxes Payable. Accrued taxes and expenses payable represent obligations of the company as of the date of
balance sheet preparation. Accrued expenses represent these things as wages payable, interest payable on bank notes, insurance
premiums payable, and similar items. Of primary concern in this region, especially with respect to taxes payable, is the
magnitude, timing, and availability of funds for the payment. Careful planning must insure that these obligations are met on time.

As a final Notice, it is important to realize that even though the operating capital accounts previously are recorded
individually, they need to also be viewed in total and from the point of view of their relationship to one another: What is the
general trend in net operating capital? Is this a healthy trend? Which person accounts are liable for this trend? How can the
firm's working capital position relate to similar sized companies in the business? What can be done to correct the fashion, if
necessary?

Obviously, the Questions posed are a lot easier to ask than to answer and you will find several"general" replies to the issues
raised. The manuals which follow provide hints, techniques, and guidelines for effective management which, when tempered with the
experience of the person owner-manager and the unique demands of the particular sector, might be expected to improve one's
capacity to manage effectively the financial resources of a business enterprise.

There's one Simple reason to understand and observe business financial planning on your business - to avoid failure. Eight of ten
new businesses fail primarily due to the dearth of good fiscal planning.

Company Financial preparation impacts how and on what terms you will be able to attract the funding required to establish,
preserve, and expand your business.

Financial Planning determines the raw materials you can afford to buy, the products you will be able to produce, and whether or
not you will have the ability to market them efficiently. It impacts the human and physical tools you will have the ability to get
to operate your business. It will be a major determinant of whether or not you will be able to make your hard work profitable.

This segment Provides an summary of the essential components of financial planning and management. Used wisely, it will produce
the reader the small business owner/manager - familiar enough with all the principles to have a fighting chance of succeeding in
today's highly competitive business environment.

A clearly Conceived, well recorded fiscal plan, establishing goals and including the The use of Pro Forma Statements and Budgets
to ensure financial control, will Demonstrate not just that you understand exactly what you wish to do, but you understand how To
achieve it. This demonstration Is Vital to attract the funds Required by your company from creditors and investors.

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