Well, folks, we've made it to the end of the year and what a ride it has been. 2005 was a great year for me personally and professionally. I saw my business grow almost as fast as my kids. Both gave me great joy and just enough trouble to keep me on ...

Most people think Santa Claus only works one night a year. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, product distribution takes place on one magical night, but Santa's operation runs year round and is one of the largest manufacturing and distrib...

I was asked the other day what personality traits I thought were important to entrepreneurial success. I immediately gave my preprogrammed reply about passion and dedication and hard work. After taking some time later to ponder the question a little ...

I personally receive over a dozen checks and commission payments every month from various affiliate programs that I promote. Last month, those checks totaled more than $10,000 and some months they have been as high as $25,000. Given my success...

This has been an interesting week. My company has thousands of customers around the world, so my team and I are used to dealing with customer support issues and do everything possible to make sure every customer gets exactly what they paid for. A...

Does your company have an email policy? Did you even know there was such a thing? Well, there is, and if your company doesn't have one you are not only risking the professional image of your firm, but also risking potential liability issues that may ...

I am a huge fan of email. In fact, if you do business with me the bulk of our communication will not be through the telephone, but via email. Email is quick. Email is convenient. Email takes less time than long-winded telephone conversations. Most im...

Last week we talked about how a bad website can do your business more harm than good. That column brought several emails asking what is the key to building an effective business website. I replied with the same answer I always give: building an effec...

Do you know what "phishing" is? No, it doesn't mean you grab a phishin' pole and head to the nearest phishin' hole to catch some phish. Phishing has a much more sinister connotation. The official Webopedia definition of "phishing" is as follows: T...

Do you know your credit score is? Do you even know WHAT a credit score is? Don't feel bad. Most people don't. Your credit score tells lenders the type of borrower you will likely be based on your credit history. Scores in the United Stat...