I have been pondering effective ways of getting new local clients for my business. I could always go the usual routes, like classified ads. But I decided that a better way would be word-of-mouth, at least right now. So I went to the local drugstore this afternoon, and told the pharmacist.

Makes no sense to you that I went this route? I can see why, if you don't live in my town. If you do, it will make perfect sense---the pharmacist owns one of the busiest stores in town, and it has an honest-to-goodness soda fountain. Half the people in town eat there at some point during the week, and wind up chatting. He will hear of people who need my services, and he is happy to pass the word. He also said he'd tell his wife, who is a Realtor. She meets people every day who might just need some word processing done, for example.

Of course, I didn't get this good idea till I was already near downtown, so I didn't have any business cards with me to leave with him. That's okay---he had me write down the pertinent parts and will just share that till I can get back with cards. Informal? Sure. But that's how things go around here in some aspects.