From analyzing the hottest areas in which to launch a new business in today's world, to finding ways to finance them - we cover a lot of valuable ground in this show.  We also look at the move towards making Atlanta a tech hub, or at least a recognized one.

Lee and Andy examine various ways in which to identify the hot new markets - running the spectrum from kids to tweens to boomers, and then addressing bigger issues and pet love, along with the other growing markets.

In our special episode on finding investors for any company seeking funding, we get to the heart of what you need to do.  No matter if you are a startup, an established company seeking 2^nd or 3^rd round funding, or a company with a new division to launch, we brought top talent to the studio to answer the questions that have been keeping you up at night. 

For "been there, done that" advice, we turned to Jeff Haynie, one of the founders of E-Hatchery, and Vocalocity, and now Hakano and Southern Fried Tech.  For those who also want to be investors, or find those investors, we were fortunate enough to have the expertise of Karen Rands, of Network of Business Angel Investors and Launchfn, to help you better understand and prepare for this journey.

Karen recommended checking out:
www.getinvestormoney.com - free ebooks and other raise money info
www.dothedeal.org

And Jeff suggested:

www.ycombinator.com
www.techstars.org
www.hitforge.com

====

Uniqueness is Power is your business growth solutions show where each week you hear from professionals with ideas on saving your bottom line, on increasing sales, and on unique perspectives on new and original companies.  If you know of a company who'd be a good Business Booster (money saver/maker) or Unique of the Week (stands out from the crowd) - please drop Andy a line.  If you know someone who owns a business or works in marketing, please forward this on to them.

Another show chock full of great ideas, growth tips and unique companies...but hopefully that's what you've come to expect.  We were joined in studio by Business Booster Mike Schnell of Atlantic Gifts and by Mike Davis with My GA Doctor.  Plus Lee and I covered information on how to leverage rewards programs and make them work for your customers, your company and even your employees.  We also briefly discussed the incredible Centergy GA Power Resource Center.

Sometimes it's a pen, sometimes it's a jotter, sometimes it's a wild and crazy new invention - but one thing is for sure - promotional items used to identify, brand a company and remind recipients of who gifted them, have been around almost as long as our country.  With roots as deep as George Washington's election campaign, these items, sometimes called chotski's have grown and evolved from those first buttons Washington used to help with election.

Mike Schnell of Atlantic Gifts covered with us unique ways companies are using and leveraging the plethora of new items available - while sharing some tips on how you can use them to improve your business.

Our Unique of the Week is at the spearhead of a new idea  in healthcare, providing a true revolution towards change in an industry.  Mike Davis, from My GA Doctor, joined us to to follow up discussion from our mid-December Medical Services special.  At that time, My GA Doctor was under trial and in development - it is now up and running, with 15 clinics and 22 docs in the northern side of Atlanta.  With no co-pay, no deductible, it is perfect for people with HSA's, high deductible, catastrophic plans or no insurance at all.  At $675 and $1850 for individuals and families, there isn't much like it out there.  Check out the website for the full list of what is included in the primary care supplement plan and email Mike with any questions.

Next Week is the Investors Special - learn how to find Angel money, VC money, why you'd want (or not) either - and how to fund a company from the ground up - we'll have Karen Rand with NBAI (Network of Business Angel Investors) and Jeff Haynie of Hakano.

====

This week's show is brought to you by Carroll/White, with hosts Andy Greider and Lee Kantor.  Uniqueness is Power is a marketing and business growth show, broadcast live Thursdays 6-7pm eastern, over WGSR Atlanta, and downloadable by podcast.  Please send any questions to andygreider@comcast.net.

Please check out our affiliate sponsor, Tire Rack, to help support the show.

Also, if you have a product or service or advice that can boost a business or know of a company innovative enough to be an Unique of the Week, drop Andy a line.

This week, we're talking about how to best position a B to B Rewards program to be a triple winner - helping your business both attract more clients and retain more clients and even help retain and incent employees for your clients.

Ok, that sounds like a little much, doesn't it?  Maybe not.  If you consider a few aspects to all this, let's see how it can work - but not on the traditional platform.

Yes, we're stretching the boundaries again, here on UiP, trying to live up to one listener's billing of "the business man's Clark Howard."

Let's take things from this angle - you're a large supply company in an industry with a competitive market.  You have a service or product people use on a regular basis, or where split tickets are a concern with your competition.  Perhaps, you even just want to speed up the process of payment and give customers another option towards paying the bills.

You know that it won't take much to tip the scales in your favor.  And here comes the best idea of a complete program your sales force can offer in the field  without costing you a fortune.

Who can use such ideas and how ->

Shipping company that wants to get off the 30-60-90 day invoice cycle and win business they couldn't otherwise win.

Manufacturer Supplier - want to help with merging split tickets to one order with your company and not one with you for part, one with competitor #1 for part and one with another competitor for another part.  Plus bringing customers back and increases monthly average ticket sizes.

Ad sales - example instead of offering 10% off - be able to ask if they'd prefer 10% off, OR FF miles or cash back towards rewards programs?

Promotional and motivational speakers - Use it to separate from the crowd for booking purposes and then use it to up sales for the crowds at your event on the BtoB side.

Finally, how do you do this as a complete package?  If the idea intrigues you, contact us here.

Lee and Andy discuss:

Personalized Maps on Google - WOW!  This is so cool.  Now you can plot out the latest trip to Grandma's house, or to the beach or to a series of spots you adore in an area or stores you like to frequent or brewpubs in a town, etc.  Again, the abilities this adds to making a customer interaction on your site stickier and more fun, is amazing.

Radio Ads on Google Ad Words.  This isn't at all what GAW was even 3 months ago.  So much you can do?  We walk you through it - how you do it...plus opinions from Andy and Lee... 

And then we're off to begin our FRANCHISE SPECIAL EDITION!

Then, we're lucky enough to be joined in studio by franchise attorney Joe Gottlieb of Cohen Goldstein Port & Gottlieb, LLP who covers a lot of great info - like "is my business a franchisable entity - or should I consider other options - what other options - what do I need to look out for as a franchisee? - as a franchisor?" and more.

After our visit from Joe, Bill King, CEO and co-founder of Axxiom Franchise Advisors came by.  Axxiom is a national franchise consulting company that assists clients all over North America find the best match for their personal requirements in a franchise business. Providing clients with education, consulting, and personal evaluation - Axxiom assists in the quest to find the "perfect franchise".   The client pays no fees, and saves considerable time and money, not to speak of eliminating the stress, anxiety, and the uncertainty of an unfamiliar process.  White gloves all the way, when you're making a decision that can affect the rest of your life drastically, do it right - call Bill and find out more today.

====

This week's show is brought to you by Carroll/White, with hosts Andy Greider and Lee Kantor.  Uniqueness is Power is a marketing and business growth show, broadcast live Thursdays 6-7pm eastern, over WGSR Atlanta, and downloadable by podcast.  Please send any questions to andygreider@comcast.net.

Please check out our affiliate sponsor, Tire Rack, to help support the show.

Also, if you have a product or service or advice that can boost a business or know of a company innovative enough to be an Unique of the Week, drop Andy a line.

Reviewing and Advising on Radio Ads for Google Ad Words

This isn't at all what GAW was even 3 months ago.  So much you can do - we'll walk you through some of it now - how you do it - plus pros and cons.  This is really a great service with a few small shortcomings.

First of all - how do you get to it.  Go to Google and click ad programs under the search bar.  Login if you have an AdWords Acct - if not, create one - Audio Ads is an extension of GAW, so you need an account.

Click the Audio Ads tab, and walk through the setup. 

You'll come to a choice of - Start Building or Find Audio Creation Specialist.  If you don't have an audio ad ready, Google gives you have the chance to have a certified person help create your ad for you, for a fee.  Or you just progress to the campaign. 

For our purposes, let's assume you have the ad.

First, you name your campaign and then assign a weekly budget.  The lowest amount I found that worked well was $100 per week.  Under that in a major market and it won't give you much return.  This is where I set the budget - $400 monthly, $100 a week.

Next, you define your area.  You can go nationwide or name and select specific cities, like GAW.  For the test campaign, I chose to use Atlanta, Macon and Savannah.

Next, choose your demographic - by gender and age.  Here, it helps to know your product and your target.  Who buys from you?  Who would you like to reach and pinpoint that you don't?  Ads can have many uses - but for now, choose who this particular ad works with.  For our purposes, we chose, M-F, 35-65.

Next, you choose your station formats - you can go for bang for the  buck or choose a specific type â?? jazz, rock, talk, sports.  And then if you are feeling like you understand who you want to speak with - you can use the advanced tab â?? complete with Arbitron Ratings.  We used basic bang for buck but would normally use Arbitron.

The next screen asks you to confirm your weekly budget, asks your max cost per 1000 listeners, and confirms start and end dates. 

The final option is to select when your ad will be played.  Since we are promoting a business show with our ad, we chose - M-F, drivetime (7-10am), (3-7 pm)

Now, it is time for the magic to begin.  Click the continue button and you'll find your final stats -

We would reach 175,000 ears within our target demo, and 203,000 gross (meaning 28,000 people who hear the ad would fall outside our selected parameters)  We would pay $2.25 per 1000 within our  target demo.  And we'd get 168 ad plays for a cost of $393 for the month.

Now, the next question is - does this scope and reach make a successful campaign?  Well, it sure could - but until we understand a little more about frequency and reach and what stations we're on, it is a little hard to tell.  For a first round of entry level user-driven programming, this is typical Google - solid, with a few small things to improve, which you can be sure they will.  Nice work Google - this is worthwhile stuff folks.

Drop me a line with any questions.

Check in with us today, as we teach you to make your own logo (for under $100 - as well as get 500 business cards) plus interview our Business Booster Phil Minnes, and get the refill on how our Unique of the Week, Catridge World, has become one of the fastest growing, top franchise in the country.

Phil brings advice on how to best handle legal issues that can come up for small businesses, and things you can do to avoid troubles in the first place.  He brings it all together in a nice, easy to understand and apply package - well worth your time to take a listen. 

Greta Counts and Bob Jackson of Cartridge World join us to ink a deal for Unique of the Week - where they let us know why they are special, how they can help you with decreasing monthly costs, and how by working with them, you can help save the environment - one cartridge at a time.

===

This week's show is brought to you by Carroll/White, with hosts Andy Greider and Lee Kantor.  Uniqueness is Power is a marketing and business growth solutions show, broadcast over WGSR Atlanta, at wgsratlanta.com/710am - please send any questions to andygreider@comcast.net.

You can sign up for our marketing and business growth weekly tips program (coming back by April 19th) - and please check out our affiliate sponsors, Tire Rack, and Shop.com (Brookstone features this week) to help support the show.

Also, if you have a product or service or advice that can boost a business or know of a company innovative enough to be an Unique of the Week, drop Andy a line.

Create Your Own Logo for Under $100 - that's right, for less than one Benjamin, we have all the tools to scale out your own logo, color palette and even printing your first 500 cards - for your starting business.  And no, it won't be the same quality as a pro-shop, but it will be a lot better than clip art or most "friendly freelance" efforts.

A large part of getting the most out of your logo and your new company id is to create a color palette that works well for your business, your product, your brand and your clientele.  So, how the heck can someone without a lot of experience begin?  What if, like many small business owners, you left corporate America in part due to not wanting to pick out suits, shirts and ties that matched?

Adobe has developed kuler - and in doing so has taken a huge step in allowing online sharing of created color palettes for businesses to use.  It is fun, easy to use, and anyone who wants to learn and experiement with combining colors or creating a color palette is welcome.

Kuler is tapping into the social networking idea that top color consultant talents are now present on a "as you need it" basis - and many of the top designs are really superb blendings of colors and generate the feel you want for your logo, backgrounds, accents and more. 

Now you, the small business owner can tap into these skills and conquer, for free, one of the formerly unbeatable challenges in logo design (at least not until you paid big money.)  Cool work Adobe!

Now, let's move onto Logo Maker where you can create your own logo for free, share it with friends for feedback and then download and use it in a variety of formats for just $49.  In just a few minutes, you can be working on a logo that is professional in design and can be enough to get you through to the next level as you begin a business.  Not what a pro-shop can pull off, but then again, nowhere near the cost, either.  Coupled with Kuler, this is perfect for small startup businesses that can't afford to hire an agency or firm.

To double check yourself on the logo you create and the color shades you use, check out Color Palette Generator - a very amazing tool to use in conjunction with Kuler and Logo Maker. 

Ok, so now you have the logo, and the color palettes.  From there, you can take the designs you have created and upload them to Vista Print for fast, inexpensive and solid printing and quick delivery.

A few other words about logo, color palette and design.  Colors that are your favorites are not the ones you want to pick.  No matter how much they please you, as the owner, they need to resonate with your customer and client.  If the clients aren't feeling warm fuzzies about it, you won't hear the register ring and those initial warm fuzzies you had will go away faster than a lead against Tiger Woods on the back 9 at Augusta.

Happy logo-ing!