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How did a modest Akron family firm snag the attention of Money magazine?
Joyce Johnson says that, as owners of a communications and marketing firm, she and her spouse, Don Olson, regularly approach myriad media to publicize their own clients. But when a staffer from the financial publication called Johnson & Olson in late fall, the couple was surprised when the editor queried about their own business.

“They asked us about our spending habits for our business and how we also manage to save for our kids’ college education,” says Johnson. “Before we knew it, they said they wanted to use us as a sample for a feature about American families who have small businesses.”

The business owners reveal their best and worst money moves in the December issue of Money magazine.

The business of benevolence

In today’s competitive world of free enterprise, insightful CEOs embrace the tacit expectations of discerning consumers.

Altruism is an ethic that ranks high on the priority list. And marketing minded companies — large and small — are strategically aligning themselves with worthwhile causes that mirror their market niche.

Carey & Littler Staffing Inc., for example, pioneered a project that helps prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s work force — a “School Bells Program” that provides school supplies for needy children in Akron Public Schools.

Since it was launched in 1996, about 20 other like-minded companies — among them Performance Staffing Systems, Callos Personnel Services and Dineen Enterprises Inc. — have joined the cause, donating and delivering the supplies to students in the schools.

At the beginning of this school year, 450 students at Crosby Elementary and Jackson Elementary schools benefited from the project.

For more information, call Carey & Littler Staffing at (330) 668-9800.

Lick the loopholes

Frustrated by undue legal loopholes, unnecessary government regulation and bureaucratic roadblocks that hamper your endeavors to succeed as an emerging growth company?

If you’re a source for job creation and tax revenues, you’ve got something to say about public policy issues that affect America’s growth companies. So, speak up. If you want a powerful and effective way to voice your opinions directly to policy makers, log onto www.aeeg.org/ and ally with American Entrepreneurs for Economic Growth (AEEG) — a nationwide network of more than 10,000 entrepreneurs who serve as united voice for emerging growth

AEEG’s members are some of the hottest, most successful companies in the country. The association works with business people, policy makers, the media and organizations throughout the United States to focus on legislation relating to capital formation, investment incentives and other issues affecting America’s growth companies.

In addition to advocacy, AEEG can keep you abreast of investment trends and entrepreneurial experiences. The network provides members with policy updates and legislative alerts, the latest statistics and trends of high-growth companies, a quarterly newsletter and access to the National Venture Capital Association’s educational programs.