Exporting. It's one of the hot strategies for helping boost businesses of all kinds, gear manufacturing among them. With domestic markets tight and new markets opening up overseas, exporting seems like a reasonable tactic. But while the pressure is on to sell overseas, there is equal, justifiable concern about whether the move is a good one. Horror stories abound about foreign restrictions, bureaucratic snafus, carloads of paperwork, and the complications and nuances of doing business in other languages and with other cultures.

Have you ever been confronted by a thorny business problem, only to discover - belatedly - that it has been creeping up on you for months, or even years?

The whole point of a trade show is to get leads that will turn into sales. No matter how attractive your booth was, no matter how smoothly the setup and the show ran, no matter how many visitors you had at your booth, if your presence at a show didn't net you any sales, then your considerable investment of time, money, and effort has been wasted.

Organizing a successful trade show exhibit is not unlike running Operation Desert Storm. The logistics can be a nightmare; the expense, horrendous; the details, mind-boggling. About the only thing you won't have to cope with is having someone fire SCUD missiles at you.

Cost cutting. It's the aerobics of the 90s for businesses large and small. More than just the latest buzzword or 90-second flash-in-the-panacea, it's a survival technique. Companies that aren't trimming the fat now may not be around in five years to regret that they didn't.

At the next meeting of your association's marketing committee, notice what happens. The rate of taking notes increases dramatically when the market analysis and international trade trends reports begin. Even with the handouts to match the overhead projections of numbers, the audience's pace is furious. This is vital, apparently hard-to-come-by information, and no one wants to miss out. Almost all of the information comes from one source, yet the data offered is only one small dip from an enormous treasure chest - the U.S. Government.

It's every gear manufacturer's nightmare. Your company had been named as a defendant in a product liability suit - one involving serious injuries and death. You're facing endless court appearances, monumental legal fees, and, possibly, seven figure settlements our of your coffers. The very existence of your business could be on the line. The question is, how do you prevent this nightmare from becoming a painful reality.

Dictatorships can be stifling. In an autocratic organization, employees seldom participate in decisions that affect them. By establishing a collaborative environment, you allow everyone to play a role in making your organization a success.

Countless research studies confirm this fact: Companies that advertise aggressively during a recession will flourish after the economic tide turns. Regardless of company size, effective advertising generally requires the services of an agency, and under current economic conditions, you may need one now more than ever. The question is, how do you go about getting the right one for your company.

You get calls and letters every day from people wanting you to use their ad agency, their direct mail program, their p.r. or marketing firm to promote your business. It seems everyone wants you to spend your money to communicate to your prospects and customers. But what's the best method for you?