TheBuzz Erika Engle

---

Another step in the birth of a business

HONOLULU public-relations man David Patterson is just back from chilly North Carolina and more than a week of training as a PR Store franchisee -- and got a nice surprise, aside from the four inches of snow that fell.

"They call us clients," he said. "We are the clients of the franchise system and they treat us that way."

Since last we checked in with the small businessman setting up a full-service marketing venture to help other small businesses, he has found a location.

PR Store of Honolulu will front Kapiolani Boulevard on the ground floor of the new Public Storage building at Kamakee Street.

"The (Honolulu) Design Center is about a block or so down the way. They're getting a lot of attention. I feel like that area's becoming a revitalized area of Kapiolani," he said.

His storefront will be exposed to lots of eyeballs as motorists slog down the boulevard, creating potential for some to stop off in the parking lot in back. Through his years in the news and public relations fields, Patterson is already working with clients, while others are likely to find him using the location feature at www.prstore.com, the franchisor's Web site.

The PR Store offers services from printed business materials to traditional broadcast and online advertising and marketing.

"We'll do anything you want, but we're not in business to do what Kinko's is doing. The reason we do offer business cards, is because it's part of the whole branding package," Patterson said.

Web-site building will start at $950, while an e-commerce site with Flash would go for $15,000. Television commercial prices start at $2,500, "but a bigger, Hollywood-style production" would cost more.

Shipping issues will delay the opening from his March intentions to April, but his spirits are undampened.

"I was very excited to find out that everything is customized. They even hate using the word template," he said.