0816_TOEFL-Test-and-Score-Manual-1997

188 ● 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business
The SBA and the Commerce Department’s Minority Business
Development Agency have programs for minority business owners. For
more information, contact NMSDC.org.
Women-owned businesses should apply for certification through the
Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (http://wbenc.org). The
group has about 250 corporate members who seek out certified womenowned
businesses. The WBENC annual conference is a great place to meet
with potential clients and customers.
GREAT
Don’t Forsake the Yellow Pages
The printed telephone directory may soon be just a
IDEA
doorstop or fodder for recycling. Many companies
are forsaking printed directories in favor of promoting online access to
business and consumer information.
Yellow Pages, once a $31 billion a year industry, is in a state of flux. Print ads
declined about 7 percent in 2009, according to the Yellow Pages Association.
But, don’t count the Yellow Pages out yet. Last year, the print version
yielded 12 billion references, versus 4.9 million for the Internet Yellow
Pages. In the month they participated in an industry survey, 65 percent of
consumers said they still look for information in the Yellow Pages.
Some companies, including Super Media, are integrating print, direct
mail, and online advertising efforts. One tactic is to print bar codes on ads
and direct mail campaigns. Smartphones can scan the code to download a
free SuperPages phone app designed to help users search for listings.
Many small business owners still depend on the Yellow Pages to attract
business. Daniel Crowe, owner of Freelancer Video, in Hartford, Vermont,
told me he considered dropping his Yellow Pages ads, but decided against
it. Instead, he reduced his spending from $7,000 to $4,000 last year.
“Instead of canceling ads, I took out smaller ads in three Yellow Pages
directories,” said Crowe, who shoots and edits video for clients. (He is my
go-to guy for making DVDs.)
“I decided that I still needed to be there (in the Yellow Pages) for the
40-year-old and older demographic I serve,” he said.