Week 1 -- Introduction

I am a small-business owner in Tallahassee, Florida, who has decided that I have no choice but to be aggressive in the fight to keep my company alive. Becuase I sometimes depend on the contracted skills of others to deliver the services I offer, I have more flexibility than some, but less margin for error than most.

A bad couple of months, and I am done. No lines of credit to bail me out. No huge retainer clients to insulate me from the ups and downs other businesses are facing. In fact, because I am strictly B2B, my only hope for survival is to convince the very businesses that are themselves struggling to keep their doors open that I am part of the solution. That partnering with me is worth the risk. I believe it is, and I am betting that enough of them will agree with me.

I am currently completing negotiations with a leading new media firm to reinvent my brand, my Web site and my shot at reaching the kind of national audience that is necessary to achieve my goals. I can no longer go half-way. I'm all-in.

This blog will chronicle my adventure.

ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT
Dow: 7062 (near 12-year low)
Unemployment Rate: 7.6 % (Jan)
Big News: Sorting through the Obama Stimulus Plan

Next week: Some Backstory