By Jeffrey A. Bean
April 7, 2008

“Full to Capacity” greeted late comers to Savannah Mayor Otis S. Johnson’s 2nd Annual Mayor’s Small Business Conference held March 18 at the Savannah Civic Center. Over 325 small business owners pre-registered and attended the event with the very timely theme of “Sustaining Your Business”.

Working with PartnerAmerica™, Johnson and the Office of Economic Development developed a program that provided small business owners with information on ways to sustain and grow their business during a difficult economic climate. Johnson remarked that, “Much of the economic well-being of Savannah depends upon the economic well-being of her small business. Making sure small businesses have educational opportunities, available financing and advocates to mentor them is paramount. This half day conference will provide you with the tools and knowledge to grow and be successful.”

For the second year in a row, George A. Cloutier was the keynote speaker. Cloutier, who is the Co-Chair of PartnerAmerica™ and CEO and Chairman of American Management Services, imparted some of the wisdom he has learned during his career both as a small business owner and as an implementer of profits for more than 6000 small and mid sized businesses across 400 industries over the past 22 years.

Cloutier told the audience, “The current economic crisis is making consumers nervous, but it can be a nightmare for small business owners. Don’t wait for problems to come to you, have a plan to deal with these difficult economic times now.” He also shared his top five business tips: 1. take control and lead; 2. institute pay for performance immediately; 3. focus on sales and marketing; 4. focus on cash flow and expenses right now; and 5. do a weekly profit and loss statement.

A panel discussion with a group of successful Savannah business owners gave their personal insight into sustaining a business and some of the traps and obstacles they had to overcome to maintain and grow their business. They also took questions from the audience.

Representatives from the General Services Administration (GSA) encouraged owners to sell their goods and services to the federal government and presented a tutorial on working with GSA and how to register as a vendor. A representative from the U. S. Small Business Administration presented details on the many programs offer by SBA to assist small business owners.

“This conference has exceeded our expectations and was an overwhelming success,” said Johnson. “The participants gained a wealth of information on how to improve their businesses and how to increase their chances of being successful.”

For more information on the PartnerAmerica™ Program and how to host an event in your city, contact Jeffrey Bean at 202-446-8140 or jbean@usmayors.org.