Daily Press (Victorville, CA) via NewsEdge :

Feb. 23--For 39 years, David and Susan Johnson have carried on a healthy small business, selling sewing machines and vacuums at the Valley Sew & Vac store in Victorville.

T h e Jo h n s o n s h ave noticed a recent slowdown in sales, but they have kept afloat and developed a cross-promotional relationship with Andrea's Quilting Quarters across the street.

"We refer customers to Andrea, she refers customers to us -- we have a very good relationship," Susan Johnson said. "It's about small businesses sticking together to develop outside relationships and work with other businesses in the community so their name can be known."

Across the Victor Valley, local businesses are hunting for advertising partners and other low-cost alternatives to mainstream marketing to help weather the economic downturn. It's a time when small businesses must figure out how to trim advertising dollars while boosting sales.

Mojave Copy and Printing Inc. owner Sam Pulice is teaming with Mark Austin of C-Me Promotions & Embroidery to share an ad in an upcoming chamber of commerce newsletter.

"We've shared information and we talk about how we're going to work together," said Pulice, who started seeing a noticeable drop in customers around October. "We decided to partner up on advertising and share costs."

For some veteran business owners, the serious need to invest in marketing is relatively new.

"I'm working with 15- to 20-year-old businesses that have never had to do any marketing, or they've done very limited marketing," said Nicole Kinney, business counseling and training manager for the Inland Empire Women's Business Center.

The center provides free and low-cost training workshops for startups, plus free and confidential business counseling.

"Our goal is to have everyone leave here with a plan, a course of action that will help them to start their business or develop a marketing plan to increase their sales," Kinney said.

R e n e e Z e l i f f o f High Desert Business Solutions said she's been helping clients take advantage of lowcost or free online ways to network and spread news about products and companies.

"Article submissions are a really big thing right now, because you can post them for free and they get spidered by the search engines and will drive tons of traffic to your Web site," Zeliff said.

Low-cost advertising typically requires a greater investment of time, such as networking on Facebook and LinkedIn, Kinney said.

"You just have to be more creative," Austin said, adding he might consider marketing his company online on social networking sites.

Business owners are also turning to survival workshops put on by local agencies, cities and San Bernardino County for cost-savings tips.

L a s t m o n t h , S a n Bernardino County 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt and the county Workforce Investment Board teamed with the town of Apple Valley to host a business survival workshop, where dozens of agencies offered resources to boost sales and trim costs. More than 50 local business owners showed for the event, including Pulice.

"A lot of new companies have come and gone bankrupt and left empty buildings," Susan Johnson said, "but there are small businesses that are still swimming against the odds, and we are making it."

<<Daily Press (Victorville, CA) -- 02/24/09>>