EnTrends

graduation was in the buying office of
Macy's. He then received and outside
sales job with a company that
manufactured mailing and shipping
equipment. After becoming successful
with that company, Smith was
recruited by Bristol Meyers-Squib to
become a pharmaceuticals sales
representative.

Smith ended up disliking the
pharmaceuticals sales industry and
left to reflect on his true interests and
desires. Although still not sure of
what industry to work in, Smith
decided to try his hand at being an
entrepreneur. Having an interest in
cars, his first business endeavor was
to market an auto lot that rented
private parties a secure location to
advertise their vehicles for sale.

Smith and a friend from college
purchased property for the car lot in
the heart of Sacramento's "Auto
Row." They named the business
Public Auto Expo and Smith and his
friend charged a flat rate to private
sellers in order to place their vehicles
on the lot.

The two entrepreneurs created custom
sale signs that detailed the
specifications of each vehicle and
created a corporate look through
logos and professional uniforms.
Smith says, "For two guys, it was the
coolest job ever. A lot of people
would come by to check out the lot
and ask us who our franchiser was.
The theory behind it was very
intriguing. We were even visited by a
few celebrities."

During the peak of Smith's auto lot
business, he and his partner were
interviewed by a local media entity
and attention to the business grew

dramatically. Smith says, "Often times,
people you know won't be as
supportive about your business or
endeavor until they read about you in
the newspaper for the first time."

It was through that experience Smith
realized the power of free press. It
initiated his desire to help other
entrepreneurs gain the same type of
exposure. In 1995, he set out to help
entrepreneurs gain the media attention
their companies needed in order to set
themselves apart from others in the
industry. His first office was originally
a corner office in his bedroom.

Smith qualifies a small business as one
that has $25 million dollars in revenue
or less. A majority of his clients make
much less, averaging between
$700,000-$5 million in revenue.
However, There is no minimum
requirement that Entrepreneur PR's
clients must meet. Smith jokes that,
during the Dot Com era, many of his
clients had negative revenues.

Often, the decision for Entrepreneur
PR to take on a new client is based
upon the idea for the good of service
the client is offering to the public. If an
idea is promising, Smith and his team
tend to be enthusiastic about it. Smith
says, "We tend to look at it as
catching the early wave."

The fact that Entrepreneur PR focuses
primarily on small businesses sets it
apart from other public relations firms.
Smith says, "Even though a majority
of businesses are small, almost no
public relations firms will work with
them. Typically, the reason is that it
requires a large amount of money for a
firm to work with a particular client.
Much like Rolls Royce automobiles, a
public relations campaign is a high-
end process, tailor-made for the client.
The smaller companies are eliminated
in the process."

Smith says that, while there are a
handful of firms that will work with
small businesses, very few offer the
type of dedication that Entrepreneur
PR does. Smith and his team are
constantly on the lookout for low-cost
options for their clients and educate
them about the magic of public
relations. Smith also goes out of his
way to promote his clients saying, "I
go on media tours to places like New
York to meet with publications such as
Business Week. I don't think I have
ever heard of another small business
public relations firm personally
visiting the media for their client."

Smith says that, with around 25 million
small businesses out there, the media
is becoming increasingly aware