This is the story of the passing of the torch – the oft repeated process of the young trodding in the well-worn boots of the old(er). This is the story of Forge Communications.

Founded five years ago by my father, Patrick Mangus, a 30 year PR veteran and member of the PRSA Hall of Fame, Forge is a corporate marketing communications and issues managment firm based in Pittsburgh.

Forge is my father’s third such venture, his independent PR agency odyssey starting in the early ’80s with Mangus/Catanzano and followed around 15 years later by Dickerson & Mangus, a more issues-dominated boutique shop. In his thirty-plus years in the business he’s seen a lot – the highs, the lows. And he’s managed to always stay on top. And now it’s my turn. A new decade. A changing media and marketing landscape. And a changing of the guard.

After 5 years in New York working on top-tier corporate clients I’m at the beginning of a small business adventure of my own and this blog will chart the course.

Every company wants the tools, tips and tactics to help them grow their business in 2010. Sure, it takes tenacity, discipline and, at times, dumb luck. But it also takes marketing, PR and New Media smarts.

As I work to grow Forge, I’ll use the strategies and tactics that we recommend to our clients every day. And as we succeed – and as our clients succeed with us – this blog will be a map to help ANY small business get there.