"Kids Don't Have Lobbyists: Part I" is Latest Installment of Thanks in Advance Campaign

CHICAGO - December 11, 2012. The impact of the pension squeeze on future generations of Illinois children is the focus of a new video posted today as part of Governor Quinn's "Thanks in Advance" Internet campaign to educate Illinoisans about the urgent need for pension reform. A two-part video - "Kids Don't Have Lobbyists: Part I" - goes behind-the-scenes at a children's focus group about breakfast cereal which turns into a serious discussion of pension reform. As the gravity of the pension problem becomes clear and the kids realize their voices are not always heard, they decide to hire a lobbyist.

View the first part of the "Kids Don't Have Lobbyists" video at ThisIsMyIllinois.com or the "Thanks in Advance" Facebook page.

"Nobody has more at stake in fixing the pension problem than the children of Illinois," Governor Quinn said. "In the past decade, the pension squeeze has forced lawmakers to make deep cuts in early childhood education, after-school programs and grants for college-bound students. Tomorrow's children face a difficult future unless we act responsibly to ease the pension squeeze."

According to the Governor's Office of Management and Budget, state spending on public pensions is projected to exceed education spending by 2016. The state's pension payments - which made up just 6 percent of the state's budget in 2008 - have soared to 16 percent of the budget in 2013. That increase has "squeezed" the education portion of the budget from 30 percent down to 26 percent. The "squeeze" by pension payments on essential state services is the focus of "Thanks in Advance," which has attracted more than 30,000 unique visitors since its launch to the website.

The "Kids Don't Have Lobbyists: Part I" video joins three videos on the "Thanks in Advance" website, including one launch video and two videos by legendary "explainer" and founder of the Khan Academy, Salman Khan. Khan was named by Time Magazine as one of the World's 100 Most Influential People for his commitment to offering a "world class education for everyone everywhere". Part II will be launched in the coming days.

In April, Governor Quinn proposed a plan that would rescue the pension systems, ensure employees have access to benefits and prevent skyrocketing pension costs from eating up core services like education and healthcare. The governor's plan would fully fund the pension system by 2042. "Thanks in Advance" aims to build public awareness about the need for legislative action on pension reform in Springfield and empower citizens to make their voices heard. The legislature is scheduled to work January 3 - 8.

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December is National Write a Business Plan Month - so designated to encourage unhappy employees to become their own satisfied bosses. Whether your goal is to own your own business, become a consultant, a speaker or an author, you'll need to start with a business plan.

Even if you launched your business years ago, it's important to revisit and refresh your plan. In recent years, the economy, technology and consumer habits have changed rapidly and dramatically, affecting every aspect of your business. That makes it absolutely vital to re-evaluate your short- and long-term strategies.

One of the most critical elements of any business plan is your marketing strategy. Too often, people don't think through that all-important component with the same rigor they tackle aspects like projected cash flow and long-term goals.

Or, they do put thought and effort into planning for market research, promotion and positioning - and then never follow through on their great ideas.

One problem is that most entrepreneurs (or professionals or authors) don't have marketing experience. They may be skilled tradesmen, savvy financial advisers or talented writers - the expertise they plan to build their business around - but they're not marketers. Some don't realize that executing a solid marketing strategy is essential to any venture's success; others know it's important but don't know where to begin.

Here's why it's so important: You may have the book that changes the way business is done, or the product that solves a problem for lots of consumers, but if no one knows about it, they can't come looking for it. Marketing is the fundamental building block of any business; it's what drives the business, so it can't be an afterthought.

The marketing component of your business plan should include a budget for time (if you're going to tackle the job yourself) and/or money. You need a timetable and a professional website that attracts visitors and makes it easy for them to learn more about you, your product, book or service -- and equally easy to purchase what you're selling.

Here are some other points to consider as you're developing your marketing plan:

• What is my message? Your message needs to be more than "My product is great." What's the problem it solves? If you're a professional, what's the value you and your service offer? How are you different from your competition? As an example: At EMSI, we create visibility and credibility for our clients using a pay-for-performance model that guarantees media exposure and sets us apart from our peers.

• Who is my audience? Unless you have a niche product, consider your potential audience in terms of ever-expanding ripples. For instance, a collapsible coffeepot may be just the thing for a college student's tiny dorm room. That's your initial target audience. But his parents and grandparents, who are helping outfit that dorm room, might also be audiences. If they've downsized their living quarters, they might just want one for themselves, too. In fact, it could be great for campers, boaters - anyone living in a small space.

• Which are the appropriate media outlets for a PR campaign? Social media is great for niche products because online forums build communities around common interests. Daytime TV talk shows tend to have audiences with lots of women. Most newspaper readers are now 55 or older. Once you have decided who your audience is, figure out what they're watching, listening to, reading, and doing online, then customize your message for that medium and audience.

• What's your budget? When you've answered these questions, you should be able to determine how much marketing you can do yourself (if you'll be doing any at all) and how much you'll need help with. If you're handling it yourself, budget for the time it will take to do things like keeping your website active with fresh blog posts once or twice a week; posting content on social media; developing pitches to get print, radio or TV interested. If you plan to pay a professional for marketing services, use your marketing plan to explore the costs and timetable, and budget accordingly.

Whether you're launching a dream or strengthening your existing business, you need to lay a good foundation with a solid plan. If marketing isn't an important component of that plan, your rocket to the moon will likely fizzle and fade.

About Marsha Friedman

Marsha Friedman is a 22-year veteran of the public relations industry. She is the CEO of EMSI Public Relations (www.emsincorporated.com), a national firm that provides PR strategy and publicity services to corporations, entertainers, authors and professional firms. Marsha is the author of Celebritize Yourself: The 3-Step Method to Increase Your Visibility and Explode Your Business and she can also be heard weekly on her Blog Talk Radio Show, EMSI's PR Insider every Thursday at 3:00 PM EST.

For American companies, 100 percent is the new normal.

That's not a sales figure or a stock value.

That's the perfect score that 252 companies earned when we evaluated their workplace policies for LGBT employees in this year's Corporate Equality Index (CEI).

When we started the CEI 11 years ago, there were just 13 perfect scores.

So while the federal government and many state governments lag behind, American businesses continue to make great strides on LGBT equality. The result is a total transformation in the lives of millions of LGBT employees and their families.

Bring the CEI home by checking out HRC's 2013 Buyer's Guide - a helpful holiday shopping tool to see which brands are best on LGBT equality.

HRC's goal with the CEI has always been to provide companies with a roadmap to fair policies. As more and more businesses compete to retain top talent, LGBT-inclusive policies have become a corporate standard - just 11 years after our first edition.

There's a lot more good news out of this year's CEI. Here are some of the other amazing stats and what they mean for equality:

• A record 74 businesses actively and publicly supported pro-equality legislation at the state and federal levels. Without their help, victories like marriage equality in Washington may not have been possible.
• 2013 saw the largest growth in the survey's history, with 54 new businesses participating - up to 688 this year, more than double the number that participated in the CEI's first year.
• Last year, we insisted that companies include transgender-inclusive healthcare coverage if they wanted to earn a perfect 100 percent score. Now an impressive 42 percent of CEI participants offer it, up from 19 percent last year.

Enacting these company policies isn't just the right thing to do - it's good for business and makes an enormous difference in the lives of millions.

But there's still quite a bit of work left. While the average score of companies who participate in the CEI is 84 (in the green), the average score for corporations who chose not to participate in the CEI this year is a disappointing 11. And that's the biggest problem - a full quarter of businesses in the CEI are in the red, just because they didn't respond.

Now you can take part by downloading the 2013 Buying for Workplace Equality Guide that'll show you how your favorite stores and companies treat their LGBT staff. (There's even an app for that!)

Don't wait until you're finished shopping - check out the CEI and the Buyer's Guide online, by downloading the mobile app onto your iPhone, or by texting SHOP and the company name to 30644 today.

Thanks for taking a minute to look through and share this encouraging and great news.

The crash could start as early as the New Year - all because of a short-sighted law passed 38 years ago called ERISA.

And the scary part is, it doesn't matter if Congress compromises now or not. It's likely too late to stop it.

Here's what you need to know...

ERISA is a bill passed in 1974 that brought us IRAs and 401(k)s. And since then millions of workers have been stuffing money into these retirement accounts.

That's nearly 40 years of savings and wealth inside IRAs and 401(k)s. And almost half (48%) of that wealth is invested in the stock market.

Here's where it gets dangerous...

ERISA threatens retirees with losing 50% of their retirement account if they don't exit the stock market by age 70.

Once a retiree turns 70 and 1/2 years-old, starting the next April 1st they must start withdrawing at least the required minimum each year... or else pay a large penalty.

So what happens if a large demographic starts turning 70 all at the same time... like the baby boomers will in 2016?

They will leave and the stock market will tank. The sudden drop will cause more investors to leave the stock market, and the full-blown crash will be upon us.

Many baby-boomers, having passed age 65, are already retiring and taking their money out of stocks.

That's why many of the Ultra-Rich avoid the stock market altogether.

This free presentation reveals how they're investing instead. Including the one investment the top 1% are betting on right now.

In fact, just recently Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, referred to the stock market as a "platform for hackers" and a "recipe for disaster." That's another member of the Ultra-Rich jaded by the stock market.

To discover how the Ultra-Rich are choosing to invest instead - including strategies many in the middle class have never heard of - you need to watch this free presentation now.

Click Here to Watch Revealing Video

P.S. The MAJORITY of stock market trades are now made automatically by computers. The decisions are triggered by algorithms designed by companies like Goldman Sachs and "hackers" like Mark Cuban described.

That makes trading stocks like entering a lion's cage. Make sure to watch this free presentation to see what the Ultra-Rich are doing instead.

P.P.S. Did you know you don't have to invest your IRA and 401(k) in the stock market? There are ways to free the money inside and invest in safer investments like gold, income-producing real estate and more.