services being offered. If the cost of doing business is too great, a small business cannot last long enough to build that sustained audience.

American business struggles every day to compete not only with the local competition, but also global interests that operate on an uneven playing field by paying workers less, and obtaining materials from markets that do not charge

Business is something that people spend a lot of time and money trying to figure out. As consumers, we spend thousands of dollars every year on all kinds of things we take for granted, and rarely consider the level of effort and planning it takes to keep business moving forward.

Watching advertisements on television with repetitive messages for the latest model of automobiles, video games, prescription drugs, restaurants, and all manner of other products that scream for our attention, it is easy to forget how much it costs these companies to reach a mass audience. The television media is only the tip of the iceberg; as many other smaller businesses must find other ways to reach people who can use what they have to offer. One need only listen to the yearly news reports about how retailers fare during the madness of the Christmas season to get an idea of who will be around for next year, and who will be looking for a different place to work.

No matter what business we choose to patronize, it is consumers who determine whether or not a product is worthy of survival in the market place. One or two sales a week of an inexpensive item will not sustain the volume necessary to allow small companies to keep innovation and improvements alive. Small business must find a way to develop an audience that can be reached on a modest advertising and marketing budget. The only practical way to do this is to build on the audience they have established through the existing customers who patronize the goods and services being offered. If the cost of doing business is too great, a small business cannot last long enough to build that sustained audience.

American business struggles every day to compete not only with the local competition, but also global interests that operate on an uneven playing field by paying workers less, and obtaining materials from markets that do not charge t

es, video games, prescription drugs, restaurants, and all manner of other products that scream for our attention, it is easy to forget how much it costs these companies to reach a mass audience. The television media is only the tip of the iceberg; as many other smaller businesses must find other ways to reach people who can use what they have to offer. One need only listen to the yearly news reports about how retailers fare during the madness of the Christmas season to get an idea of who will be around for next year, and who will be looking for a different place to work.

No matter what business we choose to patronize, it is consumers who determine whether or not a product is worthy of survival in the market place. One or two sales a week of an inexpensive item will not sustain the volume necessary to allow small companies to keep innovation and improvements alive. Small business must find a way to develop an audience that can be reached on a modest advertising and marketing budget. The only practical way to do this is to build on the audience they have established through the existing customers who patronize the goods and services being offered. If the cost of doing business is too great, a small business cannot last long enough to build that sustained audience.

American business struggles every day to compete not only with the local competition, but also global interests that operate on an uneven playing field by paying workers less, and obtaining materials from markets that do not charge

e yearly news reports about how retailers fare during the madness of the Christmas season to get an idea of who will be around for next year, and who will be looking for a different place to work.

No matter what business we choose to patronize, it is consumers who determine whether or not a product is worthy of survival in the market place. One or two sales a week of an inexpensive item will not sustain the volume necessary to allow small companies to keep innovation and improvements alive. Small business must find a way to develop an audience that can be reached on a modest advertising and marketing budget. The only practical way to do this is to build on the audience they have established through the existing customers who patronize the goods and services being offered. If the cost of doing business is too great, a small business cannot last long enough to build that sustained audience.

American business struggles every day to compete not only with the local competition, but also global interests that operate on an uneven playing field by paying workers less, and obtaining materials from markets that do not charge

pensive item will not sustain the volume necessary to allow small companies to keep innovation and improvements alive. Small business must find a way to develop an audience that can be reached on a modest advertising and marketing budget. The only practical way to do this is to build on the audience they have established through the existing customers who patronize the goods and services being offered. If the cost of doing business is too great, a small business cannot last long enough to build that sustained audience.

American business struggles every day to compete not only with the local competition, but also global interests that operate on an uneven playing field by paying workers less, and obtaining materials from markets that do not charge

services being offered. If the cost of doing business is too great, a small business cannot last long enough to build that sustained audience.

American business struggles every day to compete not only with the local competition, but also global interests that operate on an uneven playing field by paying workers less, and obtaining materials from markets that do not charge the same for raw materials needed to produce the goods. Americans are in danger of becoming a nation of consumers without having jobs to support their buying habits. It seems that the whole world is looking to this country to buy, while allowing the skills and value of workers to slip away.

To maintain our power as consumers, we must also be willing to protect our ability to produce, and support businesses that hire and value American workers who create the goods and services worthy of our attention. In recent years, the public has moved away from being concerned about where products originate, and allowed large companies to create a top heavy structure of profit taking, while cutting back on local work forces in favor of off-shore interests. If we are not doing business to maintain the quality of life for people in our own country, what good is having a business in the first place? High profits for a company is worth nothing if the only beneficiary of those profits are the CEO's who are building their own wealth, and ruining lives of the workers who made them rich.

While we still have a voice, consumers should take an active role in supporting companies who have not forgotten about what is valuable in producing products in America for Americans. Use the power you have as a consumer to take an active role in spreading the word about buying goods and services from American small business owners who serve your needs and interests.