Redefining television's business model last update: June 2007 | view homepage

A Weekly Television Show 1513: Judy & Ken Done have learned how to "Leverage Art." Their business is an artform! 1512: Alexis and Donna Baase, have Taken Charge of Cowgirl Enterprises, Boulder, Colorado. 1511: Enrique Souto of Cafe Pilon says, "Acquire your Competition" and with his two brothers, they're doing it! 1510: She was "Open to Investors" to manufacture breathmints to save ethno-medicinal plants in the Amazon. 1509: The Tile Connection is the story of every local retail shop. Jimmy Fand started this one with his wife, Maria. 1508: Dale Crownover encourages us to "Get Involved with quality" and win a Malcolm Baldrige Award or two! 1507: Meet the three Calise brothers, "Good Old Boys" who promised their mother to be one for all and all for one! 1506: They manufacture records for audiophiles. It is where Perfection is an Art. 1505: In 1959 Darlene Jeter took that "Flying Leap." Today they're revolutionizing trash. 1504: Ron Altoon and Jim Porter "Work around the Clock" as global architects from LA. 1503: Glenn Walser says, "Know Your Costs or go Broke" They sell to the world. 1502: Our Harvard MBAs give us a taste of "Marketing Magic" with Wisconsin Specialty Cheese. 1501: Andy Wilson, founder of Boston Duck Tours, tells us to go out and get it because "The Money Is Out here." Stories about the soul of every economy Television for people who care On the Air: Join us first by watching the show every week on your PBS-member station. Airing: Listings for just one of these episodes. Without A Break Since 1994 There are thirteen episodes per season and, of course, four seasons per year. This is the 1500 Season: It went from October through December 31, 2006. Each season is numbered for groups like the TV Guide. This is, however, our 49th season of productions -- non-stop -- about small business airing on PBS-member stations. Here's access to other seasons: Signature Series: January - March 2007 1400 Season: July - September 2006 1300 Season: April - June 2006 1200 Season: January - March 2006 Other ways to find an episode of the show: You can search by business, owner, business sector, topic, Diversity I & II, Family, nation, State, or Women! Review several years of episodes by clicking on "view prior episode" just below the header or within the header, click TV, then the pull down previous episode. Specials: From the best points of many episodes we explore key small business issues. Television to make a difference Key pages: Each episode has its own home page, an overview with links to that business, the complete transcript, a case study guide prepared for business schools, and streaming video. Today, these case study guides are part of the curriculum of almost every business school in the USA and the around the world. Perspective: We live in the present; we reflect on the past; we project the future; and we struggle to know what is important and good within life, ie. creating harmony. Everyone helps to select a business to be on the show A discussion about a working business model for the future, by Bruce Camber, Executive Producer First, we turn to the PBS-station manager and get permission to do an episode of the show in their neighborhood. Next we contact every local Chamber of Commerce within reach of the station's signal. Usually there are 40 to 70 local chambers. We invite each to nominate four or five businesses that have the qualities outlined within our selection process. Usually there are over 200 businesses nominated. We invite their local small business advocates (Economic Development, Better Business Bureau, the mayors, the Governor, Workforce Initiative, people among the SBA-SBDC-SCORE, the business press, business professors, CPAs, and others) to vote. These are the people who know the hearts and minds of these business owners. They vote and we emerge with a list of the top ten. We then re-engage the station manager, the CPAs of each company, and each of their national trade associations make the final selection. Nobody can pay or has ever paid to be on this show. We are looking for the finest roles models for each of us, our industries, and our children. Today, everybody is a producer: We believe that part of television that lifts up exploitation as an art form (glamorizing violence and corruptive behaviors) can and should be replaced with the vibrant heart of creativity, value-laden work, and hope for the future. We have invited our loyal stations and our legacy sponsors of the show to take over SmallBusinessSchool for the future. We also invite all the Chambers and National Trade Associations to join them. By working together the productions can be increased from our 26 per year to 100, then to 1000, 2000 and eventually as many as 4000 per year where 3948 are local episodes. Fifty-two of those episodes are selected for the national and global feeds of the show There are 210 Designated Market Areas in the USA. I believe there should be at least local 10 episodes per year within each DMA. In several of the most heavily populated DMAs there should be as many as 26 new episodes per year. Also, the show is broadcast in over 100 other countries via the Voice of America. We wll work with every station and every country to produce local episodes and to be part of the new management of SmallBusinessSchool. One clear hope to cure the madness within the world is to lift up the best role models that we can find, knowing, of course, that we all have clay feet. None of us are perfect. Yet, inspiration to create is better than incitement to exploit. -BEC

The Small Business Index of Learning Companies
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