Before I sing the praises of Consumer Reports let me just say that other than being a regular subscriber, I do not hold a financial stake in the magazine (in fact, is that even possible?).

In any case, there are some things about this particular publication that offer some helpful reminders and good tools for the small business interested in staying, if not small, than definitely in business.

For instance, every month CU lists all of the products that have been recalled by the manufacturers. Can you imagine being the company that didn’t plan, didn’t test and didn’t design a product that is produced on a national or global scale?

Enter your own demise here.

Of course, for the Hasbros and the “Sonys and the KitchenAids of the world, this isn’t a deal killer.

For the little guy, with stiff competition breathing down your neck at every turn, you gotta make that first chance count if you ever hope to get a second one. Because one false step is all it takes…

Also, isn’t it just a little curious that the entire CU business model relies on absolutely no paid advertising? In this, the Google era??

Just goes to show you, in the world of business, there’s room for lots of ideas - even contradictory ones!

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