The Politics of Federal Budget Cuts Considered

Indeed, I'd like to spend a few minutes talking about crony capitalism and the unintended consequences it creates. Now then, since my politics are right-leaning, although I am a libertarian, I would first like to point out the terrible situation our federal government's budget is in due to the inherent corruption which goes along with all the social services our government provides. The healthcare industry and specifically the health-insurance industry spent quite a bit of time writing The Affordable Health Care Act.

The pharmaceutical industry also has deep pockets for lobbying. And we should never forget the warnings of Dwight D. Eisenhower with his closing remarks on the Industrial Military Complex. It was determined long ago that our nation needed to support the defense industry so that we could ramp up quickly in case there was a war. The capacity to quickly go from 0 to 60 in our manufacturing sector to produce weapon systems to win a war is paramount, and we know this, and learned this lesson from World War II.

Besides, the federal government's number one job is to protect the American people from enemies both foreign and domestic. The reason we have a federal government is to pool the assets of the states for our common defense; our military. Of course, as our nation prospered and had more money folks started to say that we needed to spend more money here at home on our own people. We began setting up social services, and they can be quite problematic. Once you set up such a service, it never seems to want to go away, and it always grows. Just like the government, which is unfortunate because they are the ones running the social services such as Medicare and Social Security - and yes, now ObamaCare too.

The Business Journal in Phoenix posted an article on September 13, 2012 titled; "Arizona could lose 10,000 jobs from Medicare cuts," by one of their best reporters by far; Angela Gonzales. The article stated that a 2% cut in Medicare costs would do this. Okay, but can you even imagine how many jobs they'd lose if Arizona lost a good portion of the defense industry there? Raytheon, Boeing, Motorola, etc., etc., believe me there are some heavy hitters in Arizona when it comes to the defense industry.

Well, today we have to make some budget cuts. We need a more efficient military, running under Six Sigma supply chain efficiency standards, we are going to have to cut 15%, but I believe we can do that through better efficiencies, but we cannot afford to lower our standards, and we must maintain the greatest military in the solar system, not just here on Earth. Think of it like an Olympic athlete holding the world record, best of breed and best on the planet, that Olympic athlete must now beat their own personal best regardless of the competition far behind.

Now then, they say that all politics is local, and since we also have to cut social services, and we still haven't dealt with the healthcare costs rising at 8% per year, it's time to deal with all that too. Merely cutting 24% for Medicare isn't enough, that would only account for the rise in costs of the last three years, we needed to cut 35 or 45% of that prior to those rises. Yes, these are unheard of cuts, and one of the toughest things to do once you promised a population something is to take it away. That's when they really get angry.

Likewise, we've given food stamps to 47 million people, they are getting free food, and they are likely to vote for the Democrats and the socialist leanings to continue to get that free food, and that free money from the government. The Democrats keep promising to continually give away more money without cutting benefits. That's "unsustainable", using their own favored buzzword. On September 12, 2012 there was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal by Anna Wilde Matthews titled "Health-Plan Costs Rise More Slowly" and interestingly enough the title might be a little misleading.

The article explained that businesses were cutting benefits and limiting the use of medical care to make up for the increase in costs. It turns out that the average cost of healthcare for corporate employees went up by an average of $632 last year. That is a significant amount, but it's a lot less than the increase in healthcare costs in the last few years. It's not that healthcare costs have risen any less, they have actually risen more, but companies are combating this by lowering the amount of benefits that employees get.

The government will have to do the same thing, they have no choice, we cannot continue these increasing costs, trillion dollar per year deficits, or blowing up a bubble that we've blown up long enough due to crony capitalism, government giveaways, and politicians that care more about getting elected than doing what must be done to prevent our nation from bankruptcy. It's time that we ditch the politics and do what we have to do.

The government created this nightmarish problem, it cannot afford to sustain it, and it's time to fix it. Unfortunately, no one wants to stand up in Washington DC and be a man, to tell it like it is, or exhibit a tough love attitude with the American people. These are not leaders, and we deserve more. Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow is the Founder of the Online Think Tank, a diverse group of achievers, experts, innovators, entrepreneurs, thinkers, futurists, academics, dreamers, leaders, and general all around brilliant minds. Lance Winslow hopes you've enjoyed today's discussion and topic. http://www.WorldThinkTank.net - Have an important subject to discuss, contact Lance Winslow.

Budget Battles

Let's face it - even if the US is not faced with a looming deficit and at risk of defaulting on its debts if the debt-ceiling is not raised, Congress should still be debating what the nation is spending its revenues and resources on and how to extract the most out of every dollar spent. Congress should never be complacent, as they have been during the years of economic growth and prosperity, about the inefficiencies and bad policies we see at every level of Government.

The results of the 2010 mid-term elections carry with it a clear message: the voters are tired of the same-old, same-old. The Independents, tired of having to choose between two sides that have become so similar that it is hard to tell them apart, voted in a whole new bunch that ran on the message that they want to change Government. Indeed, some of them ran on pretty extreme messages but it seemed that the risk was worth it, if only to stir things up and get the fat cats out of their seats to start doing something to right the ship.

If we could rise above all the rhetoric about the numbers and who would be to blame if the government was shut down because no agreement on the spending cuts, we would realize that the real issue lies in complexities of our laws, layered on year after year, creating bloat and inefficiencies everywhere, sucking up precious national resources. As the saying goes, "a dollar is a dollar". We want to be spending it in smart ways that generate more economic activity which in turn lead to job growth and revenue, and not in paying for duplicative or unproductive processes and administrative structures.

The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform conducted a study and came up with a report in December 2010 which we should all examine and build on if we are truly serious about what needs to be done. It is not a perfect document and dissenting views are clearly enunciated but it is a good start. The report proposes various changes encompassing:

Discretionary Spending Cuts
Tax Reform
Health Policies
Other Mandatory Policies
Social Security
Process Reform

It is a must read for anyone serious about the debate on our nation's fiscal health.

In every area listed by the Commission, we need a 'Reset' button to push for rationalization and simplification. Complexities lead to loopholes, creating an unfair advantage for those who cleverly exploit the loopholes and a gross disadvantage for others.

We need a Reset button for our tax laws to account for the shift in economic and political dynamics we are witnessing around the world. Asia is fast becoming the biggest consumer bloc and our survival and success will depend on how adept we are at meeting the challenges ahead. To that end, our tax laws must be redesigned to incentivize job creation, especially in the export of goods and services. We need incentives that will help make the US more competitive in the global market. We already have some of the best institutions of higher learning, a well-trained workforce, excellent design and marketing skills, and fertile entrepreneurial breeding grounds especially in new-age technology. Yet, our existing laws favor the off-shoring of millions of technology jobs to other countries. We need our lawmakers to help bring about the re-creation of those jobs in the U.S.

We need a Reset button for our defense strategy and our national security. We can no longer afford the price of being the world's sole policeman. Recent events in Africa and the Middle-East have shown us that any change towards a more democratic world must come from within. We need to be smarter about how we screen passengers at security checkpoints across the country. We cannot afford to layer on more and more scanners, personnel, and checks each time that Al Qaeda threatens another attack on the US. The Department of Defense spending has more than doubled between 2000 and 2010, ballooning from $300 Billion to just under $700 billion, and that number excludes Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs costs.

We need a Reset button on healthcare and medical tort reform. Healthcare providers today do not want to risk potential lawsuits and higher malpractice insurance and consequently they will often (especially if asked) prescribe all recommended tests and treatments regardless of whether or not they will be beneficial to the patient. We need a rational quality of care that is determined by a panel of experts, not lawyers. We need programs that encourage people to adopt a healthy lifestyle. We cannot afford a growing population of expanding waistlines and higher incidences of obesity, including cases in the very young. Beneficiaries of government assisted programs such as Medicare and Medicaid should be subjected to annual "performance tests", monitoring their weight and waist measurements. If their deductibles and co-pays for medication increase along with their expanding waistlines, they would quickly join the pound-for-pound challenge on the Biggest Loser.

We need a Reset button on end-of-life care. We cannot afford to confuse compassionate care for the dying with extending life artificially. Trying to postpone the inevitable outcome for the very sick and the very old while denying care to young children which will allow them to grow into healthy, productive lives makes no sense. The notion that we will be 'killing grandma' by rationing care is ridiculous when the alternative is to have grandma hooked up to a host of machines and tubes for feeding, breathing, medicating, urinating, etc., because we can't let go. We're adults and we must think and act as adults. Advocating the notion that a logical plan for end-of-life care means 'killing grandma' is infantile.

We need a Reset button on our energy policies. We need to end our addiction to oil. Our dependence on foreign oil hurts us, making us subservient to oil producing nations and lender countries that have autocratic governments. We need to raise taxes on gas-guzzling vehicles while encouraging more eco-friendly cars. We need to revisit subsidies to big oil corporations. We need to invest in new infrastructure that will help move our energy consumption towards sources that are renewable. We need to expand our electricity grid so that we can bring solar and wind energy from solar and wind farms to the cities and towns across the country. We need to invest in support systems for car-pooling and use of mass transportation. The arrival of hybrid and electric cars are great but they alone will not make a significant enough dent in our total oil consumption.

We need a Reset button on government jobs, civil and military services. We need to flatten organizational structures and end promotion and pay increases based on seniority. We need to eliminate unnecessary paperwork, pencil pushers that add no value to a process, increase productivity through greater automation and move towards a self-service model through modern technology. We need to consolidate departments that overlap in function and we need to eliminate outdated regulations that discourage businesses from setting up shop or expanding their operations in the US. We need enforcement officers that are more attuned to the problems businesses face and who will help them meet regulatory requirements rather than act simply as a deterrent to lapses and failure to comply.

We need a Reset button on our policies on granting visas to bona-fide visitors to encourage in-bound tourism. We have amazingly beautiful cities, national parks, and exciting man-made attractions. We have museums and art collections that are the envy of many. Tourism is a highly labor intensive industry and it will create jobs that will always remain in the US. We need to end the levying of hefty visa fees and, more importantly, we need to end the discrimination against young, single women. The trend, seen first in Japan and now around the world is for more and more single female workers with a disposable income for whom travel and shopping are high on their priority list.

There are many more Reset buttons that can be added to the list. However not a single one will be in place if our politicians continue in their game of 'chicken' and care only about their ego and political ideologies rather than the nation's needs.

We are living in a fast changing world and systems and processes that worked well in the past may not be sufficiently adept in meeting the needs of today. Lengthy budget battles year after year distracts us from looking at what we need to be doing to positively influence America's economic future and its role in a freer, more global and more democratic world.

I grew up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and relocated with my work, first to Hong Kong where I lived for nine years and then to the US where I have been living since 1993. I've travelled to many places around the world (I've used up six passports and is on my seventh) and despite the fact that the opportunities I've had in the past few years have been limited, I am still in love with the adventure of travel, of discovery, and, above all, encounters with different people in different places. Some of those encounters were brief but some have resulted in friendships that will last a lifetime. I've had the fortune of working for multinational corporations, internet/technology startups, investment banks and, best of all, for myself - for my continuing development and personal growth. I've yet to find that 'calling' but with each step I take, I hope I am getting closer.

To read more of my blogs, please visit: http://wordswitandwisdom.blogspot.com/

Producing a Healthy Populace on a Budget - Who in the World is Getting the Job Done? Part 2

The debate on health care reform in Congress continues. Who's right and who's wrong? Are those who oppose some of the proposed reforms evil, selfish people who delight in seeing their fellow man suffer? Are those who staunchly support the proposed reforms living in a dream-world?

I am not qualified to give a definitive answer. But what I am qualified to do is poke around online and see who in the world is achieving the objective of health care reform explicitly laid out by President Obama - providing a way for all individuals to receive health care without fear that they are "one illness away from bankruptcy", and reducing costs in the process.

So, who is doing the best job in the world achieving this goal?

The answer might surprise you.

In this relatively small island-nation, you can be treated to views of towering skyscrapers, mosques and temples of ancient Malay and Hindu civilizations, as well as innumerable Western-style shopping malls. Welcome to Singapore!

Singapore boasts the 6th best health care system in the world with an infant morality rate almost 1/3 of that of the U.S. (there are just 2.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in Singapore as opposed to 6.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in the U.S.). Its populace is the fourth longest-lived in the world, with an average life expectancy of 81.98 years.

And Singapore accomplishes this by spending only 3.7 percent of its GDP (only $381 per capita) on health, as opposed to America's 15.4 percent expenditure!

What can account for Singapore being a shining example of a functional, frugal health care system? How does this system work?

In Singapore, individuals are required to set aside 6-8% of their income into what is essentially a health savings account (employers contribute to these accounts as well). This money earns interest, is tax-free, and can be withdrawn at any time to cover the health care expenses of ones' self or family members. Unspent money accrues and rolls over from year to year. This program is called Medisave.

Citizens of Singapore may purchase additional coverage for catastrophic events with Medishield (or Medishield Plus which offers even more coverage), and their premium payments may come out of their Medisave accounts.

The government subsidizes the health care of those who cannot cover their expenses with either Medisave or Medishield through the Medifund program. For the elderly and disabled, government-subsidized ElderShield pays for health care expenses that the individual cannot cover himself.

Here are some important points:

o Singapore's vision as a state is "adding years of healthy life," by focusing less on healing sickness, and in the words of the Singapore Health Ministry, more on "the more difficult but infinitely more rewarding task of preventing illness and preserving health and quality of life."

o The people of Singapore willingly take responsibility for their own health by spending their own money to fund most of their health care costs.

o "The reason the system works so well is that it puts decisions in the hands of patients and doctors rather than of government bureaucrats and insurers. The state's role is to provide a safety net for the few people unable to save enough to pay their way, to subsidize public hospitals, and to fund preventative health campaigns."

o 75% of the populace of Singapore uses less-expensive holistic/complementary medicine at least once per year in preventing and treating illness.

o Complementary medicine is widely accepted by the medical community at large as an important contributor to the nation's health.

Phua Kai Hong, associate professor of health policy and management at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore gives the following reasons for Singapore's successful health care system:

o "the creation of incentives for responsible behavior and the efficient delivery of services;

o the discouragement of overconsumption through cost-sharing;

o the regulation of hospital beds, doctors, and the use of high-cost medical technology;

o the promotion of personal responsibility;

o targeted government subsidies;

o and the injection of competition through a mix of public- and private-sector providers.'"

What can we in the United States of America learn from Singapore? Why don't we try to emulate some of the things that have worked in Singapore in our own health care reform?

Before I discuss this in a subsequent post, in my next post I will outline the health care system of a part of the world where a push to give health insurance to all is doing just that, but costs are continuing to skyrocket and hardships for middle class citizens in obtaining health care continue in full force.

Unfortunately, the latter is the system we are emulating, and it appears that almost no-one is paying attention!

Julie Behling invites you to become a follower of her blog at http://www.juliebehling.com.

Producing a Healthy Population on a Budget - Who in the World is Getting the Job Done? Part 1

Are you familiar with the saying that if you want to become successful at something, find someone who has what you want and do what they do?

Applying this simple wisdom to the healthcare debate, I decided to see what I could turn up. Out of all the countries in the world, which nations have the populations with the best health measured by the highest life expectancy, and how is this accomplished?

I was hoping to come across a comprehensive study by some think-tank or prominent university giving detailed statistical analysis of factors affecting life expectancy and health, showing which nations around the world have the healthiest populations, and how they accomplish this, but I couldn't find anything substantial.

I will attempt to provide some rudimentary findings in this article.

I started with searching for life expectancy rates in the different nations. I figured that life expectancy was the simplest measurement of the health of a populace. Here is the Top 10 List:

Countries with Highest Life Expectancy

Macau (part of China) -- 84.36
Andorra -- 82.51
Japan -- 82.12
Singapore -- 81.98
San Marino -- 81.97
Hong Kong -- 81.86
Australia -- 81.63
Canada -- 81.23
France (metropolitan) -- 80.98
Sweden 80.86

50. United States 78.11

Why do people living in these countries on average outlive the rest of the world?Does universal health care coverage play a key role? What about the lifestyle of these groups? What about factors that can't be changed, but still play a role such as wealth and demographics of the populations?

Wouldn't it be important to have an in-depth understanding of why these populations are so long-lived before undertaking any expensive, extensive, and potentially revolutionary changes to our own health care system?

As it turns out, each of the nations that made the top ten are relatively wealthy when compared with many other parts of the world, but those with the highest life expectancy are certainly not the wealthiest. From this, I must conclude that wealth may play a role in life expectancy, but there are clearly other factors involved.

Japan is noted for its extraordinarily low obesity rate - only 3% of Japanese citizens are obese (while in the United States, a full 32% of the populace is obese)! Since several of the top killers of Americans are chronic illnesses that occur with a significantly greater prevalence in the obese (heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes), it would make sense that America's portly and out-of-shape populace is a literal drag on the nations's life expectancy. Japan's relatively lower rates of these chronic diseases gives further credence the significant role of obesity in life expectancy.

An interesting side note about Japan's low obesity rate is how they avoid this modern plague - Japanese children are taught to eat only until 80% full, fresh vegetables and fish are eaten in abundance, sweets are eaten occasionally, and more people in Japan get exercise in their daily lives than in America. I think we can learn a lot about a healthy lifestyle from the Japanese!

In terms of demographics, some of the countries in this top-ten list have a tiny population size with a racially homogenous populace (such as San Marino, Andorra, Macau, and even Sweden). Others have larger populations, but still a very homogenous population such as Japan and Australia (92% of the Australian population is of European descent). But Canada, France, and Singapore all have a good degree of racial diversity.

A quick look at demographics reveals that having a small, homogenous populations may be positively associated with higher life expectancy, but it is clearly not the main player in the life expectancy game.

Next I wanted to look at the health care systems of each of the countries on this top-ten list. Unfortunately, a complete statistical analysis of the health care systems of nations with high life expectancies is beyond the ability of my poor little brain, and beyond the scope of a blog entry. But here's what I can say so far:

Each of the nations and nation-states with the highest life expectancies appear to give access of at least basic health care to even the poorest of their citizens. If someone is having a heart attack, they won't be turned away. If someone is mauled in an accident of some type, they will receive care. Any person with a chronic illness will receive at least basic care in a public clinic of some kind.

I have much more research to do to compare how this differs from what is currently offered to the poor in the United States under the Medicaid and Medicare program. I'm sure there are may be some significant differences, and I would like to know what they are.

In my research on health care systems, I made a very surprising find that I want to share. Did you know that in the list of countries with highest life expectancies that there is a country that is less affluent than the U.S. that has an infant mortality rate one-third less than that of the U.S., that spends one-seventh of what the U.S. government spends on health care for its populace, and its population lives an average of almost four years longer?

What country is this, and what are they doing right?

And did you know that there is a part of the world where a push to give each and every citizen health insurance has succeeded at insuring almost everyone, but has increased the cost of health care for many of its citizens while showing little or negligible increases in their actual health, while practically bankrupting its government in the process?

Stay tuned for the scoop. Julie Behling invites you to become a follower of her blog at http://www.juliebehling.com.

Producing a Healthy Populace on a Budget - Who in the World is Getting the Job Done? Part 3

In Part 1 of this article, I expressed the desire to take an objective view at the health care systems of different nations to see if I could find a good example of a country who was pulling off a healthy population, a high life expectancy, and a quality health care system without breaking the bank.

In Part 2, I discussed the shining example of Singapore in doing just that - Singapore has the 4th highest life expectancy in the world (people live to age 82 on average), has the 6th best health care system, and the government of Singapore spends only 3.7% of its GDP on health care!

In this final section I wished to contrast Singapore, who literally is getting the job done, to that of another part of the world. In this part of the world, government leaders decided that instead of finding a way to focus on having healthy citizens while cutting unnecessary costs, they would instead focus on making sure the entire population had health insurance. Health insurance, they surmised, was the key to the population's health, as well as the key to keeping down the health care costs for both the government and the citizenry.

What have been the results? Did this government achieve its objective of insuring the masses? And if so, has this brought the desired curb in health care costs? Are the previously uninsured better off now that they have this insurance? Is everyone enjoying the fruits of this initiative?

I am sad to say that this experiment took place in our very own state of Massachusetts, and so far, it doesn't look good.

According to a March 2, 2009 article in the Boston Globe, healthcare reform in Massachusetts has:

Failed to achieve universal coverage (200,000 are still without health insurance),
Failed to address the problem of health insurance being tied to ones' employment,
Failed to make health insurance affordable for many citizens (including middle and low-income individuals and families),
Failed to shore in costs for the state (healthcare costs for the state of Massachusetts have doubled from $630 million in 2007 to an estimated $1.3 billion for 2009),
Failed to assure citizens' access to healthcare.

A more recent Christian Science article from October 21, 2009 concludes that "a mandate on individuals to buy health insurance can work - just don't expect it to reduce the cost of care."

There may be some residents of Massachusetts who are happy with the results of the healthcare reform that have been enacted there, but the problems remain paramount.

If Massachusetts is, at best, no better off for its healthcare reform that has doubled healthcare expenses for the state, then should we not take some heed as our entire nation appears ready to plunge onto a similar course?

Should our main focus as a nation be universal health insurance? Shouldn't we find a way follow the example of Singapore and focus on:

Population wellness through disease prevention,

Enacting policies that put more healthcare decisions into the hands of individuals, and fewer into the hands of the government?

In the meantime, I suggest each of us take actions to give us the best chances of having good health -- eating a balanced diet low in processed foods and high in minimally-processed plant-based foods, drinking plenty of clean water, getting adequate exercise and sleep, and using low-cost and oftentimes effective holistic means for taking care of problems when they first arise (such as herbs, essential oils, massage, acupuncture, reflexology, etc...), thus potentially using more expensive Western modalities more sparingly as a result.

To your health!

Julie Behling invites you to become a follower of her blog at http://www.juliebehling.com.

Finding Budget Car Insurance

No one enjoys shopping for car insurance. Unfortunately nearly every state in America requires all legal drivers to have an active and updated car insurance policy in order to drive. If you get pulled over, in addition to your license and registration, the police officer will also ask for proof of valid insurance. If you cannot produce an insurance card that can be verified, you will get hit with an additional fine on top of whatever they pulled you over for, so make sure you are insured and that you are carrying your insurance card.

When it comes to shopping for auto insurance, though, many people do not realize that all policies are essentially the same. There is the amount of coverage (in dollars) and the type of coverage (collision, etc), but beyond that, all other things being equal, once auto insurance policy is the same as the next one. Thus, most of the time a driver is best served shopping for car insurance entirely on price. It also pays to be a safe driver, as your lower risk pool will allow you to get bigger discounts on your policy.

For those shopping on a budget, as these days most of us are, the best way to go about finding the right car insurance policy is to get multiple auto insurance quotes from reputable national providers. This should not be difficult, as there has been major consolidation in the insurance industry over the last few decades - it is difficult to find a local insurance agent these days that is not affiliated with a major national brand. Despite the consolidation, though, there is still competition for customers between these auto insurance companies, and they will try and find the best package of discounts for you to make sure they can get and keep your business. Affordable car insurance is not a myth, if you do diligent research you will be able to find a policy that both covers your state requirements for legal driving and costs you less than you thought. The company wants to create a long term relationship with you, and will do what it takes to keep your business.

Jackie Price helps people find car insurance, specifically budget car insurance.

How to Produce Big B2B Marketing and Sales Results With a Small Budget

Many small- to medium-sized businesses fail due to a lack of an effective marketing and sales program. Entrepreneurs may be very good at their core business, but know very little about marketing. Certain people suffer from the theory espoused by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door." They are innocently caught up in a love for their own products or services and believe the world will indeed beat a path to their door when prospects hear about the fantastic new product. This attitude is wrong, dangerous, and not in line with the practices of successful B2B marketers. In fact, more often than not, superior marketing beats a superior product.

Another reason for failure is that an effective marketing campaign is hard work. Since marketing is probably not what motivated the entrepreneur to open his or her business, it receives less priority than product development and other tasks. Marketing also often comes up short when scarce funds are allocated. Sadly, there are start-up companies that spend tens of thousands of dollars on furniture and equipment, while complaining that there is nothing left for marketing.

New companies also make a mistake by hiring expensive advertising agencies that are incapable of cost-effective, low-budget marketing. Or they hire marketing and sales talent from big companies, and these people are often clueless about how to get results on a limited budget. So if you are in a small company, be careful about hiring the hotshot from a big company to come solve your problems. It often doesn't work. This is not to say that everyone from a big company is incapable of being effective with a smaller budget-some are great no matter the company size.

Small to medium businesses and start-ups face two major obstacles not shared by larger, entrenched companies. First, if you happen to be a small fish in a large pond, you will be confronted by competitors with much larger advertising and marketing budgets. Second, you may have to spend a larger percentage of your revenues on marketing than older, established organizations.

Given the reality of this situation, you need to squeeze as much efficiency as possible out of every dollar. Be assured that you can do a lot on a limited budget, and expensive does not always mean better. I've often used limited-budget strategies to beat the big players and you can do the same. And the lessons you learn by doing it the frugal way will serve you well, no matter how successful you become, or how far your marketing budget expands. Here are a collection of small budget strategies and tactics you can use to beat the big guys:

Small Budget Website Strategies:

1. Don't overbuild your Website. There are ways to create an impressive site using less-complex open source or template approaches.

2. If possible, have an easy-to-remember Website address that relates to what your company does.

3. List your Web address (URL) on all of your corporate materials.

4. Make sure your Website is optimized for organic search terms. This is a low-cost strategy that will make you much easier to find.

5. Try narrowly focused low-cost pay per click search terms.

6. Give some information away for free to increase your Website stickiness.

7. Create many links with other sites to increase your search engine visibility.

8. Refresh your content often. Do not let the site go stale.

Small Budget Social Media Strategies:

1. Start your own blog and comment on other blogs.

2. Always list your Web address on your blog postings and any electronic communication.

3. Leverage LinkedIn and other networking sites.

4. Use Twitter to find relevant posts and prospects.

5. Be controversial (but not too controversial) to attract attention.

6. Choose a niche where you can be an expert.

7. Write articles and get them published in online media.

8. Focus on one or two social media outlets. This concentrated attention will bring more attention than throwing your efforts at five or six outlets.

Small Budget Email Strategies:

1. Work hard to build your email prospect file of opt-in names. This will be a gold mine of low-cost leads and sales.

2. Include a promotional message and your Website address as part of your standard email signature.

3. Provide links to valuable information in your emails, not just product pitches.

4. Make your emails interesting and/or unusual.

5. Run your email copy through a spam detection tool like EmailExam, Acxiom Digital, or Lyris ContentChecker to ensure your emails will not be caught in the spam filters.

6. Have an easy opt-out process. You do not want to keep sending emails to people who want to be removed from your list.

Small Budget Direct Marketing Strategies:

1. Target your lists more effectively by using demographics, psychographics, and some of the other list segmenting tools available. The object is to mail fewer packages and achieve greater response.

2. Test your mailing and telemarketing in small quantities before committing large sums to full-blown programs. Equally important, use the information you learn on every program to make the next work better.

3. Try a postcard mailer. The production costs are low, the first-class postage is less expensive than letter mail, and they pull very well. You can drive prospects to a Web form or toll-free telephone number.

4. Cut back on four-color process direct mail packages. Unless you sell food, magazines, resort properties, or other products requiring excellent graphic reproduction, you can probably pull as much response using two-color printing.

5. Consider mailing with third-class postage instead of first-class. Depending on whether you presort the file, this will save you a great amount of money, and most prospects will not notice the difference. The exception is with time-sensitive offers, since third-class mail can take a week longer to arrive than first-class.

6. If you mail to large numbers on a national basis, or send highly concentrated mailings into local or regional areas, use postal pre-sorting to lower postage costs.

More Cost-Cutting Ideas:

1. If you are a small company (a flea), find a big company (a dog) to partner with. This will make it much easier for you to sell to bigger companies.

2. Read the chapter on public relations carefully and begin carrying out its advice. PR is a low-effort, high-reward vehicle that is often under-utilized by small-budget marketers.

3. Be persistent. Remember the eight times rule: You don't have to spend a lot of money on each communication, but you must repeat your message up to eight times to gain prospect awareness.

4. Write handwritten personal notes to prospects and customers. They are cheap but make a big impact.

5. Ask for referrals. They are much easier to sell, at lower cost.

6. Utilize experts. An expert's advice will cost you something in the short term, but can save you money and aggravation in the long term.

7. List your primary products and services on your stationery and business card, or anything else you give to potential buyers.

8. Since consistency is vital for those with small budgets, make sure every one of your marketing efforts supports and reinforces your unique selling proposition (USP).

9. Sharpen your bargaining skills. Media outlets are hungry for business and many have unsold inventory. Use this to your advantage by negotiating aggressively.

One other important principle to practice is leverage. Try to create content once and use it in multiple marketing scenarios. This is less expensive and time-consuming, and the consistency of message is important.

For more information, please visit Fusion Marketing Partners or Get the Book.