It has been an interesting summer 2010. Many many projects bid on, only a few actually decided to go ahead and get work done. We have attributed much of this to the summer season, but it is also attributed to many small businesses that are very uncomfortable with  the confusion in all areas of the Federal government.

With no stability of message and actions, and not knowing where the next tax or regulation was coming from, companies just sat tight and waited. The administration has complained that business have money but are not spending it, perhaps this problem is of their own making. We all look forward to the November election, if for no other reason than nothing will get done in Washington, and that is usually a very good sign. Watch how business reacts if the Republicans take control of one or more house of Congress. If that happens, watch a grow spurt in the economy. I see it coming.

As to what I originally started to blog about, I have seen more and more companies turing to IDEAS4 for a broader range of services. On many occasions in the past, they might have chosen a new website design, or a new logo, or an advertising campaign. Now I am seeing organizations looking to firms like mine to provide a broader range of services all at one time.

Luckily we are built for this type of service. Our customers get a more consistent level of branding and messaging, and usually at a lower price than they would have paid by hiring several firms that specialize in one thing or another. We welcome other organization that are considering a new website, brand, ad campaign or other marketing effort to consider IDEAS4.

My business, and the business of most of my friends and colleagues, seems to be turning around. Everyone in my circle has become more optimistic and encouraged as business picks up in websites, marketing, publishing, advertising and similar fields. But why?

The economy is stagnant, the stimulus by all accounts but Joe Biden’s has not done anything but waste a lot of our money, unemployment is still rising, the stock market appears to be in a wait and see mode, and yet, companies are spending again.

As we all probably know, recessions are in large measure psychological. Yes, there are other economic factors, but when the media says there is a recession coming, businesses stop employing and slow manufacturing – and that in turn leads to the recession. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

And this recession is largely no different. Business has been sitting on the sidelines waiting for things to turn around, but there is no turnaround coming. But when a business, one that needs to grow to survive, sits idle, management gets antsy to get things moving again. And that, in my opinion is what is happening right now.

Businesses cannot wait any longer for a government program to work, and most now know it won’t. So all across America businesses are starting to tick up their spending in order to get their businesses growing again. You see dollars being spent in marketing and related fields, Internet services like SEO and optimistic entrepreneurs plowing ahead with the better mousetrap, spending on services and products. And that in turn starts the money flowing through the economy again.

And as the money starts flowing, more people become optimistic and start to spend as well, and the upward spiral of economic grow begins.

This is a true capitalistic movement, one not borne from government bailouts, one-time spends like cash for clunkers or multi-million dollar government stimulus grants for the migration habits of wilderness ants. Nope, this is a capitalist resurgence. Businesses need to grow to survive and can no longer sit on the sidelines waiting for things to happen. So they are making things happen themselves.

That that resurgence is a self-fulfilling prophecy as well. Only this time the media is no where to be found. Until the election draws near…

As we approach the 2010 elections and businesses have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and the economy beings to bloom again, the party in power will take all the credit. “See, we told you the stimulus worked.” Or “See, we told you the tax cuts would work.” But the reality is, it’s capitalism that works. The drive and desire to make money, lots of money is what pulls us out of recessions.

Now, as the economy turns, it is incumbent on the government to get out of the way and let capitalism do its thing. And when it does, it’s a beautiful thing, and we again become the envy of the world.

IDEAS4 launched a new site today, Critiki.net, designed to provide do it yourself marketers and advertisers critique and feedback for their creative ideas, marketing plans, advertising, websites and other communications tools.

I get feedback all the time from small businesses who want me to take a look at their ads, websites, brochures and things, because they don’t have anyone to bounce the ideas off of. It is especially true if you can’t afford an advertising agency and don’t have any formal training in marketing or advertising.

For $50 IDEAS4 will provide you some basic feedback on your creative – ads, direct mailers, whatever – and help point you in the right direction strategically and creatively. That is a great deal.

At the higher end of the spectrum, we can provide a deeper look at an entire campaign, from target audience to execution and can provide creative resources like copywriters,  photographers, stock photo houses and others.

In the end, we hope they like the feedback and the new direction they are provided and decide to hire IDEAS4 to do some of their work, but it’s not mandatory – this is just a resource for small businesses to help make their marketing and sales effort  stronger.

For more information go to http://www.critiki.net