I have a great little story behind the below hit, but first I’m going to catch you up on some stuff. This past week I hired 2 sales reps. 1 for FL and 1 for NC. As with most manufacturer’s reps, they are commission only (be prepared to pay about 15%) and only get paid after I do. Win – Win. Now all I have to do is focus on the 48 other states. I’m also working with the owner of a Swedish company who is on a crusade to bring the trend and sport of grilling and Q’ing to the masses of Sweden. He found me while researching grilling online and fell in love with the product. I’ll give you more details as we iron them out.

Okay, on to the topic of the day. I have a wonderful example of a company paying it forward. A company called Spread the News www.spreadthenewspr.com  approached me a while back about doing some PR work. At the time (and still now) I really didn’t have the money to invest in a campaign, however they were so nice, we have kept in touch. A little while ago they had a customer in my industry (grilling) back out of a campaign so they had some available space and content to fill with a grilling product. They got a hold of me and asked if minded if they pitch my product. As you can imagine, I was EXSTATIC! They didn’t ask for anything in return and have come up with some great results. According to www.compete.com, “The Bachelor Guy” (below) receives an average of over 43,000 unique visitors a month!

http://www.thebachelorguy.com/grill-charms-mark-your-meat.html

If you are in need of a PR company, please give Cydney Upton or Todd Brabender a call. For more information about them here is an article in the WSJ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119800161598537205.html

Their act of kindness reminded me that I could probably (couldn’t we all) do more in the “giving without expectation of receiving” department. It doesn’t have to cost anything and it’s contagious. This afternoon I am hosting a brain storming session for a friend of a friend who is in the planning stage of starting her own company. I don’t have much to give accept a little knowledge as I have “been there done that”. It’s only about 2 hours of my time, but hopefully it will save her much more then that in time and aggravation by avoiding some of the pitfalls I encountered and using some of the resources I found through trial and error. I think all too often we forget that you get what you give and the giving is more important then the getting. I really do try to live my life that way, but every once in a while I get caught up in my own little life and my own little business that I need reminding. Thank you so much www.spreadthenewspr.com for the reminder! Pay it forward

Leslie Haywood, Founder and President of POS Systems and Processor, High Risk Account™