The government do not call registry has benefited consumers from receiving unwanted sales calls during all hours of the day. The cold calling tactic of the sales process has been forever changed and a growing challenge for business. The risk of calling a registered number can cost a business up to $11,000 in violation fines.

New rules have been added this summer, barring prerecorded sales messaging without consent and changes to measuring the maximum permissible level of call abandonment. Businesses have to ensure their telemarketing lists are clean or have some form of protection from calling a registered number. This can be challenge for a small business. There are several methods to beating the do not call list blues including getting referrals, using local search engine marketing or utilizing new technologies.

Dean Garfinkel, CEO of Compliance Systems Corporation, states some of the challenges businesses face is, “43 states have DNC legislation and the Federal Registry currently has more than 165 million numbers on file. While the cost and effort involved in implementing a DNC solution, training personnel on company policy, and constantly cleansing target market lists can be daunting, the chances of dialing suspect numbers without a foolproof solution in place remains high.” Garfinkel company provides a service called TeleBlock to block restricted numbers.

Regardless of the method used to run your sales process with certain roadblocks, an agile business can adapt and will try new tactics for breaking through the barriers.

This month the winners of the 5th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business were announced at the awards dinner in New York. This year I have the honor once again to be on the Board of Distinguished Judges.

The Stevie Awards has been called "the business world's own Oscar Awards" according to the New York Post. This year over 50 categories were open for competition. Winners include:

• Best New Product of the Year: MyStrategicPlan Software, M3 Planning Inc, Reno, NV
• Best New Service of the Year: Thyme for School, Thyme Out, Gaithersburg, MD
• Blog of the Year: Theglasshammer.com by Nicki Gilmour, Evolved People Media LLC, Brooklyn, NY
• Fastest-Growing Company of the Year:Search Wizards, Inc, Atlanta, GA

Strength occurs in numbers. Nothing can be more powerful for economic survival than combining the resources of various companies through the power of joint ventures, co-branding and strategic alliances.

A joint venture or strategic alliance is a form of partnership where businesses come together to share knowledge, markets, and profits. It's typical for a small business to balk at the thought of sharing customers and revenue but the sum can be greater than the parts.

What can you gain from forming a joint venture or strategic alliance?

• access to larger markets and greater customer base
• reduced marketing expenses and risks
• tap others with better core strengths

While a joint venture can reap many rewards for small business, one has to take the necessary cautions by doing due diligence and creating a joint venture agreement.

Should you or shouldn't you? That's a question to ask this year when it comes time to send your customers a holiday greeting card. No doubt, you have focused your business gaze on cost-cutting measures and the bottom line but should this expense be eliminated from this year's market budget?

It's easy to dismiss the impact a holiday business greeting card can have in times like these. Corporate gift buying may be out of the question but holiday cards are a smaller expense. Think about it for a minute. Your customers today have so far made a decision to stick with your business and are remaining loyal. A personalized thank you note or greeting card can simply say to clients how much you really appreciate their business.

A Hallmark Business Expression survey found 78 percent of respondents receive holiday cards from businesses and half of those recipients are more likely to do future business with a company that sends holiday greeting cards. An act of appreciation can keep you on the top of the mind of your most loyal customers.