Public Relations: Why is it important to your business?

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Do you care about the public profile of your business? What do you think when someone from the media contacts you about an interview for a trade magazine or your local newspaper–do you grab hold of the opportunity or do you shrug it off?

For the past eight years, I’ve written for trade and regional magazines, as well as my local newspapers. Most people are open to the *free* publicity, but I have had some sources shrink from an interview. Now, granted, I do prefer email interviews over phone interviews, but I will capitulate when necessary. Yet, I do find it surprising that, in this day and age of the Blackberry, I-Phone, and all the other cool gadgets out there, that many people own and use on a daily–sometimes on a minute-by-minute basis–shrink back in fear when it comes to utilizing email. If you can text, you can email. 

However, this post is not to nit-pick on the best way to interview a source. The point of this blog is to urge you, the small business owner, to not avoid media types. Learn new technology–like Twitter, Linked-In, and blogging. Use every type of *free* publicity that you can get your hands on, so you can get the word out that you exist and you mean business.

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Sometimes Being in a Pickle is Good: A Pa. Preferred family business

In Growing North, August 2010, the article “Sometimes Being in a Pickle is Good: A Pa. Preferred Family Business” http://www.growingmagazine.com/article.php?id=5745 is featured. I loved writing this article because it demonstrates Pa. family businesses working together. The Olenicks own the Lititz Pickle Company where they create pickles using family recipes handed down through their families. And Mark Olenick’s vendors include other Pa. family businesses including Four Seasons Produce in Ephrata and Henry’s Produce located at the Green Dragon in Ephrata. His other vendors include Sunsprout in Lancaster and the Leola Produce Auction in Leola. All of it Pennsylvania and most of the businesses owned by families. Now, if we could only get the feds to realize that taxing small businesses is a bad idea, huh?

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