America’s most lauded small business television show, Making It! proudly celebrates 19 years and ove

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) December 7, 2007 -- Production has begun on the 19th year of Making It! Minority Success Stories, a syndicated weekly TV program that goes on location to tell the inspirational stories of small business owners. The multiple Emmy Award-winning show begins this season with episode number 515, which may be a record for this type of business program.

In March of 1989, when Nelson Davis TV Productions launched Making It! small business was not the hot topic it is today. “When I went out to sell advertisers on the idea of supporting this show, I was met with a lot of blank stares. Banks were focused on big business and only tolerated small business owners. They had lost touch with one of the foundations of the American Dream,” creator and Executive Producer Nelson Davis said.

Because of the show’s long and continuous record, some of the more than 1,000 entrepreneurs have grown multi-million dollar businesses, while others have faded from the business scene. The brother and sister team of Helen and Marty Shih, the very first Making It! story, have built an international marketing juggernaut that now grosses over $500 million yearly. They began with a simple flower shop in downtown Los Angeles. Exercise infomercial star Billy Blanks was just rolling out his Tai-Bo videos when the Making It! cameras came calling.

Others who’ve shared their business wisdom include Hyrum Smith, who created the Franklin Planner System, Earl Graves, Publisher of Black Enterprise, and Jack Canfield of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” fame.

Making It! was a pioneer in programming to a niche market of multicultural business owners. Integrating advertisers into portions of the program content was another way that the program ploughed new ground. A sampling of America’s Blue-Chip corporations support the show as advertisers including Hilton Hotels, Boeing, Comerica Bank, McDonald’s Owners, Honda and others. They want to promote their minority vendor development programs and advertise through a platform reaching a diverse group of consumers.

Making It! is broadcast on KTLA, Los Angeles, KSWB, Sand Diego, KKPX, San Francisco and KSPX, Sacramento. Viewers can also see program segments on its web channel, www.makingittv.com and in 2008 there will be a nonprofit affiliate for small business owners, the Making It! Institute for the Advancement of Business.

“With Making It! the possibilities are endless,” said Lynette Romero, the Emmy Award-winning reporter who co-hosts the show with Emmet Miller.

Contact:
Neha Kashyap
Marketing Coordinator
nxkashyap@tribune.com
(323) 460-5456

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