Over the next 12 months, Clark County  consumers are expected to spend $39 billion at retail.  To capture a larger share of this cash,  local small business owners should consider advertising.

The US Small Business Administration recommends that every SWFL small business advertise consistently.  “Think you have a great product?” asks the SBA. “Unfortunately, no one’s going to know about it unless you advertise.”  The SBA goes on to say, “Advertising, if done correctly, can do wonders for your product sales, and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your business."

Local business owners have depended on Las Vegas radio to market their goods and services since 1941.  That's when Laura Belle and her husband Maxwell Kelch put the first successful station, KENO, on the air.

Today, Las Vegas radio, by any key advertising metric, is still the best way for business owners to reach local consumers.

It is not a gimmick. Many Las Vegas business owners qualify for free advertising on local radio stations. They pay nothing out-of-pocket.  Zero. Zilch. Zip. Bupkis. Free.

Henry Ford understood that the continual investment in advertising was necessary for a business to be successful. “Stopping advertising to save money," he said, "is like stopping your watch to save time.”

Sometimes, though, when daily expenses challenge their cash flow, Las Vegas area small business owners must prioritize spending. Many times, unfortunately, Mr. Ford’s advice is ignored and buying commercials on Las Vegas radio will move down the list behind making payroll, maintaining delivery vehicles, and replenishing stock. A lot of times advertising doesn’t make a list at all.

Some Las Vegas business owners have discovered that their radio advertising doesn’t have to be sacrificed at all when belts need to be tightened. It turns out there’s a deep pool of “free money” that can be dipped into for the singular purpose of advertising. These funds are called cooperative funds, or co-op for short.

"We are firmly committed to radio advertising," says David Mizrahi, owner and President of Best Mattress. "For the past two years, we have been advertising on Las Vegas radio stations three to four weeks every month of the year."

Best Mattress is the number-one locally owned chain of sleep shops in Nevada. The company operates 17 stores in the Las Vegas area.

"We started the company 25 years ago with 6 locations. In all, if you count our stores in Mesquite and St. George, Utah," says Mr. Mizrahi, "we now have a total of 22."

Two years ago, after all his time in the mattress business, Mr. Mizrahi decided to aggressively invest in advertising on Las Vegas radio stations.