In 2002 when Jeffrey Lubell began True Religion Brand Jeans out of Los Angeles, sales were slow to start and so he decided to give them away for free. WHAT?

He provided the sales people, of trendy boutiques who were stocking his product, a free pair of his jeans. Within days of the sales people wearing his jeans, they had sold out of stock!

He took his free message to the streets offering his business card to total strangers with a message, "Email me your pant size and I'll send you a free pair of jeans."

His FREE word of mouth strategy paid off and today he estimates his sales for 2006 to be $148 million, according to this month's Entrepreneur Magazine.

What can you give away to increase your awareness, create goodwill and grow your business? Some times giving something of value away can increase your bottom line!