Beyond the Press Release Develop a public-relations plan that will keep your business in the spotlight.

If you build it, they will come. This abstract concept workedfor Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams. His character, an Iowafarmer, built his dream baseball field. Eventually, his visionturned into reality as the players came, followed by an audience.Hollywood makes it seem so easy! But if you want to attractemployees and customers to your new business, you must publicizeyour field of dreams.

Trouble is, while you know that you must do more than fire upthe old computer and hang out a shingle, you're not exactlysure what you should do. So you place an advertisement inyour favorite magazine. Or, in a marketing frenzy, you try topromote your company on every level possible, which is as futile astrying to boil the ocean. As a result, you spend a lot of money andtime, and garner very few results.

Owners of thriving ventures know that, just as they must startwith a good business plan to launch their businesses, they mustdevelop a solid public-relations plan to promote theirenterprises.