r business, but rather look
upon it as a pace-maker for you.

If you had ten experts working for you studying how to improve your
business you would certainly get benefit from it, but probably not
enough benefit to offset the great cost of hiring these ten experts.

On the other hand, if you have ten competitors who are sitting up
nights studying how to improve their businesses, you can get the
benefit of their experience without it costing you anything.

The world is big and there is room for all, but old compensation says
the prizes are given to the fittest.

If you are a laggard, if you are on the defensive instead of on the
aggressive, get busy, wake up, do it now.

Advertising

Good advertising is good publicity. Advertising is the thing that makes
your trade increase.

Everything you do in connection with your business and every act of
yours outside of your business is an advertisement.

Reputation is an advertisement, so is honesty, politeness,
correspondence, methods, catalogues, circulars and salesmen. Neatness
is an advertisement, and so is promptness, thoroughness. And then there
is another kind of advertising which is your statement in the
newspaper. This is the printed kind of advertising, and this kind of
advertising is the most common, in fact, when we suggest that you
should advertise, it immediately comes to your mind that advertising is
space in the newspaper.

Keep in mind, however, when we speak of advertising we refer to
everything in connection with your business that makes an impression
upon the public or the prospective buyer.

Some of the old timers refrain from printed advertising in newspapers,
saying that the best advertisement is merit. Merit is a good
advertisement, but it is mighty slow in its action.

If the inventor of the typewriter planned and built the machine in his
barn without letting anyone know about it, if he kept absolutely quiet
about his doings, relying on the fact that the typewriter had merit, it
would never be known to the public unless he told about it. If the
inventor of the typewriter waited for merit alone as the vehicle for
acquainting the world with the merits of the typewriter, the world
would never know of it, unless, perhaps, a fire inspector or an health
officer accidently stumbled across the machine while inspecting the
premises.

If the inventor waited for intrinsic merit to sell his goods, he would
find that months and years would elaps