Update: The clock is ticking past the eleventh hour. Are you getting it all done for the year? Or are you all caught up with holiday cheer?

A start-up company I'm working with is ramping up for some marketing campaigns early next year. It's really exciting watching things develop. One giant Toronto-based media company already contacted us to do some advertising with them.

How did they find out about our small company? Through our news release. A release is still a cost-effective way to promote your company's message.

Click here to view the release.

Just in case you don't hear from me before 2011, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Feature Article: Invitation to the Big Dance

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Invitation to the Big Dance

Dear Associate,

I got a phone call from Neutron Media, in association with CBS, which offers big screen advertising at the heart of The Big Apple's Times Square.

Oh my gosh!

Sometimes referred to as the David Letterman Screen, anyone with a business pulse could make a decent living off the foot traffic alone.

You're probably not familiar with the numbers so here they are...

Over 60,000 cars cross Times Square daily. Over 450 million people pass through annually. Promoted as "The Planet's Biggest Party," over 22.5 million people are projected to be on the streets during the month of December 2010 through New Year's Day.

So why the call?

One of their advertiser's video didn't work out. So they're offering my company to take its place at a remnant price, which just means a steep discount. We'd get to air a 15-second spot, every hour, for 32 straight days.

Hey, this is my start-up company's invitation to the Big Dance.

They'd even throw in producing the commercial for us. That's an $8,000 value for accepting their offer. I'm telling you... they really made it difficult to say no.

But after planting my feet back on solid ground I knew what our answer was going to be...

We're a start-up company still in its infancy. We simply don't have the funds for this kind of promotion. Our balance sheet doesn't lie.

Besides we're not equipped to handle—let's say—a conservative 500 orders per day. At this moment we couldn't even handle 50 orders per day. It would be suicidal for us to attend the Big Dance at this stage.

These thoughts were echoed by the company founder who said, "They'll come back again. And if they don't, at least we didn't put our company at risk."

Being a company owner he knew about protecting its integrity from the inside out. Sometimes you just have to pass up on a delicious offer no matter how much revenue it can bring in. That's a sign of a savvy and wise business person.

I turned down the invitation. But someday, somewhere, somehow, just as Cinderella prepared to attend her Big Dance, I too am preparing for that day. Hopefully I'll see you there.

Warm regards,