If you will permit me, today I would like to talk about a couple of milestones of which we’re kind of proud.
On Monday, November 17, 1997, I began broadcasting The Small Business Advocate Show for two hours Monday through Friday, and ever since that first day the program has been nationally syndicated. This week we’ll celebrate our 19th anniversary and the beginning of our 20th year on the air.
In January 1998, we began simulcasting our show on the Internet, which makes us one of the pioneers of Internet streaming. We’ve been archiving our show since 1999, including multiple on-demand streaming options. In 2007 we began creating podcasts for each segment of my live show. That’s over 2,600 podcasts every year.
This Monday will be my 5,192nd live broadcast since we began — including all the holidays (next week I’ll broadcast my 21st consecutive live Thanksgiving Day show). Since that first broadcast, I’ve conducted over 20,600 live interviews with small business experts and entrepreneurs. When you hear me talking about making sure that you’re passionate about the business you start, if you didn’t already, now you know I practice what I preach.
From the beginning, my primary programming goal was to focus on the fundamentals that are important to successfully starting, operating and growing a small business, and to make all of the things we do available to you for free. On that last note–the free one–I must say thanks to our outstanding corporate partners, without whose support the free part would not be possible. I especially want to thank our Presenting Sponsor, Insperity, for their abiding support for more than twelve years. When it comes to supporting small businesses, Insperity truly does practice what it preaches.
Over the years, for my work and leadership on behalf of you, I’ve received a number of national awards from organizations such as the U.S. Small Business Administration, FORTUNE Small Business magazine, TALKERS magazine, Association Chamber of Commerce Executives, Association of Small Business Development Centers, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, and New York Enterprise Report.
Also this week, we’re celebrating the 18th anniversary of this publication, The Small Business Advocate NEWSLETTER. This week’s edition, Volume XIX, Issue 1, represents 936 consecutive weekly issues since 1999. Thanks for being a loyal subscriber.
Finally, thank you for your support, comments, many words of encouragement and especially the honor and privilege of being your Advocate. I’m already looking forward to the rest of our journey together. More than anything else, I want you to know how proud I am of you as a small business owner and what you have accomplished.
Write this on a rock … Nothing I do as The Small Business Advocate is about me–it’s all about you, my heroes, small business owners, regardless of where you live on planet Earth.