It’s easy to stay informed on small-business news, opportunities
by Shannon Belew, Today’s Home Office-Huntsville Times

On the top of my list of much-appreciated town criers is a local company called Who’s Who in Huntsville Magazine Inc., owned by Daniel Stephens. While this small but growing business also provides occasional spreads in a full-color print magazine version, it’s the monthly e-mail updates I most enjoy. OK, there may be those of you who consider this type of communication to be spam.

So please note, you can always opt-out of the list (or, in other words, request not receive the information if your name has accidentally been included on the mailing list).

There is not enough newspaper space to cover all the information this publication has disseminated in the past week; nonetheless, I thought it was a terrific information resource to share. Not only is it an ideal way to discover what other local business are up to (think competitors, or even potential customers), it’s also an easy, effective and low cost way to send out a message from your own business.

Each month, a reminder e-mail is sent to those businesses and individuals on the magazine’s mailing list, offering owners the opportunity to submit a blurb detailing any recent company news. How much easier can it get to obtain a little publicity or learn the ins and outs of other local businesses?

While there are plenty of membership-based organizations doing a good job of spreading the local news, my hat goes off to these small-biz folks at Who’s Who in Huntsville for keeping me informed. If interested, more information is available at www.whoswhoinhuntsville.com.