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This is Jim’s traditional Thanksgiving column.

As the 17th century dawned, cause and effect was merging two parallel universes.

In the Old World, a group of Leiden Separatists were making decisions that would put them on a circuitous journey. Meanwhile, in the New World, a manchild named Tisquantum was born to the Patuxet tribe of the Wampanoag Indians.

Both the Separatists and Tisquantum became very important to the future of mankind, but not before their lives would change and intertwine in ways not to be imagined by the inhabitants of either world.

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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. 

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You’ve no doubt seen the classic Jeff Foxworthy act, the one where he says, for example, “If you have more than one car jacked up in your front yard, you might be a redneck.” 

Just as Jeff got rich delivering this comedic routine, you can benefit from his cause-and-effect logic by applying it to your small business. Except unlike Foxworthy, it won’t be funny if you resemble too many of these one-liners. In fact, your business might not make it. Or as comedians say, you’ll bomb. 

*If you’re holed-up inside the four walls of your business instead of getting out into the marketplace where customers are acquiring new expectations, you might not make it. Don’t presume you know what customers expect from you – get direct updates by asking them, every day. 

* If your budget cuts include wiping out your marketing plan, you might bomb. Appropriate adjustments may be warranted – going dark isn’t. 

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