Last Update: Friday July 25, 2008

Best Businesses of the World (BBW)

Small Business School (SBS).

This weekly, half-hour show has aired on PBS stations in the USA and on the Voice of America around the world. We have done over 300 episodes since 1994, about 20 new episodes per year. This show will be offered to every country represented at the forum for the following purposes:

a. Local television market

This series can be localized each week by a prominent business advocate in the country who might say, “Tonight I invite you to watch a show about entrepreneurs in the USA. These are real people who started a business from scratch and, although they have failed in their lifetime, this business became very successful and they became leaders in their industry and very generous within their communities. See how average people to extraordinary things. If these Americans can do it, so can you. Let’s watch the show.”

At the end of the show, that person, perhaps a Minister of Finance or Industry, might say, “You can study more online. If you are inspired, you can get help right here…” and local resources are provided.

b. The Focus.

This show is about starting and running a business successfully. It is a focus on the founder and the audacity of starting a business and the transformation into a successful business. It is about humility and honesty and graciousness.

Typically, episodes are about businesses with less than 500 employees, however, exceptions have been made. A local production of this show might also be considered so the emerging businesses within a country are also included.

In every country the very finest local television producers will be invited to do as many as ten episodes per year, first about those businesses that are the oldest in the country where the people within them are recognized for their fairness, vision, integrity, generosity, and leadership, and then, about all other businesses that have created the most jobs with the highest employee and customer satisfaction.

These two groups of business, when taken together, create a sense of order and continuity within that community. That effect expands to create continuity within the country and eventually in the world. These are people who treat their suppliers, employees, and customers most fairly.

This show will engage private and public businesses.

The best episodes from local editions of Small Business School may also qualify to be repackaged as a BBW episode.

Local productions, globally shared.

As a weekly, half-hour show, the remaining episodes will be from Best Businesses from other countries. All of these Best Business episodes will be online so programming directors can pick just those episodes they believe would enliven their market.

This show will be on commercial television and it will be advertising driven. Many of the national sponsors of the weekly television show, Small Business School, have already expressed interest in becoming an advertiser for this new show.

Production values. Each local producer for an episode of the show will be provided with a production tool kit so the episodes have continuity around the world. They will each share a similar open and close, segues and interstitials, music, and look-and-feel. All local producers will work with each other each season to enhance production values of the entire show around the world.

Production Schedule. In every country as many as 500 of the oldest businesses will be listed and another 500 of those that are nominated by the governors, mayors, economic development, business press and business professors for their leadership and integrity within their industry and for their generosity and ethics at home.

The general public will be able to vote on those businesses that get on the list; and based on that ordering, a production schedule will be created.

1000 businesses at 10 episodes per year is 100 years of productions.

The Focus and Emerging Developments

1. Voice of America. In 1995 the show, Small Business School, was broadcast around the world by the Voice of America through their nine global satellites. Stations around the world took that signal and the show was re-aired on local station throughout Latin America, Asia (including CCTV-9 in China, Mongolia, Thailand, etc.), the Middle East and Africa.

Many cable stations worked directly with the production to get the highest quality video to broadcast. More...

2. United Arab Emirates. The Dubai Business Channel picked up the series up in 2004 and they aired over 150 episodes as a daily for the better part of two years. The shows aired in an early-morning slot and again in the evening in prime time. Many episodes were repeated. The Dubai Business Channel broadcast the series throughout the world. People with satellite connection to the channel were located throughout the world.

3. World Tour. In the summer of 2007 Bruce Camber and Hattie Bryant visited in several countries including Japan, China, Vietnam, UAE, Russia, Norway and Iceland, to attempt to discern the support for a weekly production of Small Business School and the introduction of a new series to include all businesses to be called The Best Businesses of the World. More...

4. US-Arab Economic Forum., May 2008, Washington, DC. As a result of a series of discussions throughout the duration of this forum, the Arabic-speaking countries have become a major focus for the development of the Best Businesses of the World. More...