By Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland
October 26, 2009

George Cloutier, founder and CEO of American Management Services and Co-Chairman of Partner America™, first book, “Profits Aren’t Everything, They’re the Only Thing,” was published by Harper Collins on September 15. The book has since made it to major best seller lists including The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and Amazon.com. Cloutier’s book is a straight-talking, sometimes controversial view, on what it takes in today’s world to survive and prosper for small business owners. One of the unique characteristics about the book is Cloutier developed most of the material from Partner America™ days held in dozens of mayors’ cities across the country. He wanted to have a thought-provoking seminar for small businesses, originally titled “Do You Really Want to Make a Profit.”

Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran recently said, “George Cloutier’s new book is based on his experience with thousands of small businesses in hundreds of industries. It is a candid, ‘tell it as it really is,’ hard-hitting book…. A MUST READ for all small and midsized business owners. George’s company, American Management Services, has partnered with The United States Conference of Mayors for a decade working with our nation’s businesses in cities across the country through the Partner America program. Because of his dedication and commitment to small business, he was honored with the Small Business Advocate of the Year Award (2003) and the Turnaround Ace Award this year.”

Cloutier previewed the book for The United States Conference of Mayors membership this past June at the 77th Annual Meeting hosted by Providence Mayor David Cicillini. Cloutier said, “The small business community is fighting for its very survival,” with more companies losing money or going out of business each week. To ensure small businesses get the information they need, Cloutier gave two main suggestions to mayors: closely monitor government money and make sure small businesses get their fair share; and host an open forum for local small business leaders to get together and discuss their common problems. "This is not a crisis small business can handle alone," he said.

Publisher’s Weekly wrote, “This slim but forceful debut by turnaround management expert Cloutier serves as a wakeup call for small business owners who have been hit hard by the recession. Cloutier’s book is loaded with valuable advice on how to get back on track and stay in the black in any economic environment.”

Cloutier graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and Harvard Business School. He is the leading expert on small business and a regular in national media such as ABC, MSNBC, Fox News, CNBC, MSN "Money", Crain’s New York Business, Bloomberg, AP, Fortune, Forbes, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Reuters, Business Week, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Market Watch Washington Business Journal and The Wall Street Journal to name a few.

Cloutier’s company, American Management Services, Inc., has served over 6,000 small businesses in more than 400 industries since 1986 and is the leading provider of implementation-based profit improvement. To date, American Management Services has already brought over $1 billion in savings to its clients, 40 percent of which are family-owned businesses. For more information about American Management Services, Inc., visit the website www.amserv.com. For more information about George Cloutier’s new book, visit www.turnaroundace.com.