The rush among nominally healthy banks to pay back TARP funds has unsurprisingly generated a great deal of controversy. Commentators and politicians alike are bothered given their certain knowledge that once the money is paid back, banks will resume...

Are you still keeping your books using a spreadsheet — or worse, a time-consuming paper accounting ledger? Make 2010 the year you get your books organized and in tip-top shape. Let...

Chuck Dymer is a strategic mentor, having done more than any single person to help me understand lateral thinking processes and how integral they are to business success. You could...

You can fire underperforming employees. As a customer, you can quit giving business to a vendor. But, is there a time when a business should fire customers? When should a company change to...

At every job I had before becoming a cartoonist, on my desk sat the traditional IN and OUT trays. And occasionally I’d get those really busy days where my inbox was so full I was sure my desk...

No time like the holidays to remind us how much needless waste clutters our mailboxes. Direct-mail outlets and retailers are in full force, sometimes sending two or three copies of 100-page glossy...

The title pretty much says it all, and frankly, how is this possible in 2007 is beyond me. But wait, isn't it 2009 (almost 2010?).  Yes it is. An therein lies the rub.  I wrote this two...

As I mentioned yesterday, Google released quite a bit of news covering a wide variety of areas. One of the larger headlines revolved around their new effort to integrate real-time search into the...

With concerns over unemployment continuing despite last Friday's rosier-than-expected numbers from the Labor Department, last Thursday President Obama held a "jobs summit" for...

Call it the Tiger Woods phenomenon. New research weighs in on how men and women pick their mates. There’s an adage that says if...

I was riding the train back from Long Island to Upstate New York last weekend and was lucky enough to sit next to a woman in charge of running a shelter for battered women. With nothing to do...

Hello, It has been QUITE SOME TIME since I have updated here, yes? Lot’s has happened, let me enlighten you. If you read the “About Me” section of this blog, you will know that it was always my...

Most small-business owners want to become more energy efficient - they just can't spare the cash for big upgrades or to replace older equipment. But some good news: Utility...

Seth Godin hits the nail on the head in reference to using the Web and social media for your business: The problem is no longer budget. The problem is no longer access to tools. The problem is...

Welcome! We're in the midst of the holiday season. That means the time to get those email newsletters out and into the inboxes of your customers is NOW. But before you hit...

Email marketing is one of the dominant ways that a small business reaches out to customers and prospects. Email marketing is about relationships — and successful relationship marketing involves a...

Just over a month ago I detailed 10 things to do before launching your blog. That post covered how to generate initial buzz, getting your social accounts in order and how to begin promoting...

I'm generally not tracking the "post ads to your social networks" movement, be it sponsored blog posts or tweeting ads to your followers on Twitter. There is one aspect to it...

In the midst of the merry, merry, because I think of Thanksgiving week as ushering in the late fall and winter holidays, I received an instant message from a friend. He has found a new job...

Do you know about the Small Business Administration's Emerging 200 (e200) initiative? The program identifies 200 inner-city businesses across the country that show high-growth potential,...