Celebrate National Small Business Week

By Sarah Cocchimiglio
PROFIT Communications PR Assistant-Writer/Editor



It's National Small Business Week!

This week, May 20-26, we celebrate the 27 million mom-and-pop operations (and others with up to 500 employees, which the federal government classifies as small businesses) across the U.S. National Small Business Week aims to empower small businesses by recognizing their importance and economic impact on the local and national levels.

On Monday, the White House issued a National Small Business Week proclamation celebrating the achievements of American small businesses, calling them the "backbone of our economy."

“As we observe National Small Business Week, I want to take this opportunity to commend my fellow small business owner colleagues and friends who chose the ‘road less traveled,’ and took the risk to go out on their own with a dream to ‘make a difference!'  It’s one of the most difficult, yet gratifying things an enterprising individual(s) can do.  Most, if not all of the entrepreneurs that we know and work with more than define the popular phrase, 'when the going gets tough, the tough get going!'  Let’s take a moment to celebrate our victories this past year, albeit small, medium or large, while knowing that we matter, we count and we are making a difference in turning this economy around!”
     Debbie Israel, APR, PROFIT Communications
     President / PR & Marketing Consultant

The lynchpin of National Small Business Week is a three-day conference, held in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Small Business Association. At the networking and educational event, the top entrepreneurs are recognized and celebrated, nominated by their peers and customers. The SBA began soliciting nominations for 2012's best small businesses back in October.

We encourage you to nominate your favorite small business for recognition in 2013, check the SBA website this fall. In the meantime, please continue patronizing your local mom-and-pop shops and organizations. Together we can keep our economy fueled up.

My Litmus Test for Life and Business is Based on a Powerful Four-Way Test

Jody Richwagen
Email Marketing Communications & Web Site Services

It seems as if I was genetically pre-disposed to become a Rotarian once women were approved to become members last century, actually 1987 to be exact.    When I became a charter member of the Rotary Club of Blue Bell in 1989, it marked the 4th generation of my family in Rotary, as my great-grandfather, both grandfathers and my father were all Rotarians. 
 

One of the first things a Rotarian learns and quickly adopts is the Four-Way Test.   I regularly find myself asking these questions in both my personal and professional experiences:

THE FOUR - WAY TEST Of the things we think, say or do Is it the TRUTH? Is it FAIR to all concerned? Will it build GOOD WILL and BETTER Friendships? Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

The Four-Way Test is Still Relevant
Easy to say that this test developed nearly a century ago by Rotarian, Herbert Taylor, is out of step with today’s society and challenging business environment, although I believe these questions are now more relevant than ever.   If everyone asked themselves these four, important questions instead of “what’s in it for me,” perhaps the world would be in a better place, and global politics would look a lot different and by now, the economy would be in recovery mode versus stagnant? 

Just for fun, and as an example, I applied Rotary’s Four-Way-Test to one of my recent car repair episodes.  I was having some problems with my ignition so I took my car to a local small business mechanic who diagnosed a rather expensive repair.   However, before reaching that conclusion he spent a great deal of time eliminating the less-costly fixes and gave me his rationale.  As much as I would have preferred a different answer, he gave me the TRUTH.   He was FAIR because he identified other solutions and in the end gave me a reasonable estimate which he stood behind.   It was BENEFICIAL to me to have a reliable vehicle moving forward and of course, he was fairly compensated.  Most important, he succeeded in creating GOOD WILL for himself and his business by providing me with excellent customer care and service.

Engage, Develop, Repeat
We talk about “engaging customers, developing loyalty and building repeat business,” as the fundamental objectives of most marketing communication programs, most especially those involving Internet marketing / social media.   I encourage you to incorporate the four-way test into your personal and professional relationships and responsibilities, and see what kind of goals you can set and meet, not to mention the kind of results you can achieve!  We invite you to respond to this post by sharing one of your four-way test experiences with us.

Jody Richwagen served as a member of the Blue Bell Rotary Club’s Charter Board of Directors and in various club positions, including Club President in 1993 – ’94, and later served as an Assistant Governor in District 7430.  Scheduling conflicts have prevented her from maintaining her membership and attending regular weekly meetings, but she continues to exemplify the infamous Rotary motto, “Service above… self ~ he profits most who serves best!”