Barbara Findlay Schenck

Barbara Findlay Schenck is a marketing strategist and small business advocate. She is the author of Small Business Marketing for Dummies and Selling Your Business for Dummies, and co-author of Branding for Dummies and Business Plans Kit for Dummies, Second Edition

A graduate of Oregon State University, she began her career in Honolulu, where she was admissions director and writing instructor at Hawaii Loa College (now part of Hawaii Pacific University) before joining the staff of Hawaii's largest public relations firm. Seven years later she moved with her husband, Peter, to Southeast Asia to manage a community development program for the Peace Corps in Malaysia.

In 1980 they founded a marketing agency in Oregon which was one of the Northwest's Top 15 at the time of its sale in 1995. Following the sale, they packed up writing projects and moved with their son to Italy for nearly two years. Since 2000, Barbara's accomplishments include:

* Co-writer of the Edgar Award-nominated memoir Portraits of Guilt
* Author of Small Business Marketing For Dummies
* Co-Author of Business Plans Kit For Dummies 2nd Edition
* Co-Author of Branding for Dummies
* Author, Selling Your Business for Dummies, available October 2008
* Developer of marketing and sales lessons for the Microsoft Small Business Relationship program
* Marketing Specialist for Business Breakthrough presented by Visa
* Columnist and marketing anchor for the MSN Small Business Channel, Business on Main

ABOUT BIZSTRONG

WELCOME. Make BizStrong your online marketing, branding, and business planning resource center. Browse the Resources section for book excerpts, podcasts, and business advice. Or, click on FAQs for answers to marketing and branding questions. Go to the Bookstore to browse recommended business titles. Check back often for new information.

PRESENTATIONS & CONSULTING SERVICES. If you're looking for a conference or seminar presenter to help take your business, group, or association to the next level of marketing, branding, and business success, visit the "Bio and Services" page for presentation information.Contact Barbara to discuss a presentation at your business or before your group or organization's upcoming conference or event.

Speeches, workshops, and seminars are tailored to individual group needs. Following are the titles of a number of recent presentations:

* What is Marketing, Anyway?
* Ten Marketing Truths
* Ten Marketing Ideas to Avoid and Ten to Embrace
* Building and Burnishing a Business Brand
* Revitalizing Your Brand
* Small Budget, Big Impact: Do-It-Yourself Marketing
* Profiting from Customer Loyalty: Growing Your Business from the Inside-Out
* Survival Marketing: How to Get, Keep, and Win Loyalty from Customers
* Keeping Customers: The Key to Business Growth in Today's Business Environment
*Ten Steps to a Marketing Plan

NEWS COVERAGE.Click on the following links to read articles featuring Barbara or information from Small Business Marketing for Dummies, Business Plans Kit for Dummies, Branding for Dummies, or Selling Your Business for Dummies.

RESOURCES

BUSINESS PLANNING
Click here to reach the Bizstrong resource center for writing and using your business plan. Read book excerpts from Business Plans Kit for Dummies, along with articles and advice about preparing, updating, and putting your business plan to work.
SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING
Click here to reach BizStrong resources for small business marketers, including book excerpts from Small Business Marketing for Dummies, articles featuring the book, an audio of a marketing teleclass, and tips to strengthen your business marketing efforts.
BRANDING
In today's marketplace, brands matter more than ever before. Click here to read excerpts from Branding for Dummies, to listen to branding podcasts, and to read branding tips and advice.
SELLING YOUR BUSINESS
When you're ready to harvest the value of your business by selling it to a new owner, click here for tips, advice, and to read excerpts from Selling Your Business for Dummies.

BizStrong is dedicated to business success. Visit for free marketing, branding, and business planning tips and advice, answers to frequently asked questions, and resources to grow your business.

©2006 Barbara Findlay Schenck. All rights reserved.