I’ve asked my business friend, Charlie Chaplin, to address you folks today.  He brings a special opportunity to the table that I think you’ll find interesting.  Please give him your full attention.

Why, thank you, Biscuit.  Yes, we do have important matters to discuss today.  In particular, I’d like to point your noses to the Corporate/Small Business Program.  I think that once each of you understands how it works, you will find it quite beneficial to your, uh, bottom line.

You all have heard that to find out what makes a program or politician tick, you should “follow the money.”  Well, in the case of the Corporate/Small Business Program, or C/SBP, there is no money trail to follow.  Gasp!

Yes, that’s right.  While there’s no money trail, there is yet a very real boost to your bottom line if you participate.  Because of the appeal of our program to all walks of life, we can drive traffic to your website from places you’d least expect.  Let me explain.

I’m told that our website receives close to 200,000 hits annually.  Well, as you can imagine, that’s a lot of fur balls to swallow.  It also means that if we link to your site, you can be receiving a lot more hits, too.  But, as in all types of business relationships, you have to reciprocate.  That is, if we link to you, you have to link to us, too.  That will benefit us, too.

To make it more appealing to you, we’ll even set you up a place on our web directory with your logo there.  From there, folks can see who’s helping us BC SPCA Biscuit Fund animals out.  And if that’s not enough, we will network with your friends and provide a guest speaker at one of your events.  (You will probably find that one or more of us will insist on coming along.  You know, we’re actually the stars of the show anyway!)

Having a relationship with the C/SBP can have a very pawsitive effect on your community relations.  People will commend you on your initiative, giving your readers a good feeling about your company.  And just think of all the clicks on your website you’ll gain from the link at BC SPCA Biscuit Fund’s website.  Even if it’s a small fraction, when you’ve got all those goose eggs in the number of hits per year, that still amounts to a lot of fur balls.

Why, we’ve already got over 35 affiliations with folks from several industries that include automotive, musicians, actors, bed and breakfast, upholsterers and, my favorite, pet care places.  Did you know that there are already 13 auto body shops listed on our C/SBP page?  I can certainly see the benefit to their businesses having a place on our website.

Before I go, I have two more nibbles of information that will interest you.  First, as a company you can sponsor one of us.  Just imagine placing a poster picture of one of us on every bulletin board in your company.  (You know, we’re kinda cute and folks love looking at us.  How can anyone resist?!)  Wouldn’t it be great, too, if your poster pet could appear in person, too, at one of your community relationship events?!

Second, someone in your company can contribute to one of our online blogs.  Just imagine, you can put in a good word for your experience in your relationship with the C/SBP and get even more hits on your website.  Of course, that will help us a great deal, too.

Can you imagine a Yorkshire Terrier like Barney being the official greeter at a Bed and Breakfast?  Or, how about a Lab like Beatrice welcoming visitors to a music studio?  (Labrador Retrievers are sometimes known for being rather quiet and good with people – important where it comes to people.)  And, of course, someone like yours truly is always welcome in the Board Room!  Where it comes to upholstery, I think folks can take just one look at Jack (the rabbit) and get the picture – soft, cuddly and soooo comfortable.

Thanks, Charlie.  Folks, there’s room for many more businesses in our C/SBP program, too.  Just imagine a local gymnasium sponsoring “Charlie, the Horse,” or an Information Technology Service Provider sponsoring Xchange, the Shih Tzu.  Why, the pawsibilities are endless!

Thanks for listening with your ears.  Be sure to pick up an information pack on your way out.  Any questions?

/Signed/  Biscuit