In my anxious wait for new summer episodes of 'Mad Men', and in observation of these wonderful summer days, I'm reminded of the days of old-school business, when sunny days meant hitting the pavement to meet with current clients and potential new customers. Days when you wined and dined to land that new sales account, or hit a few rounds on the green to build that customer relationship, ala last week's episode of The Office. Those were the days when you really tried to make an impression to get your foot in the door or secure a new client. The value of nurturing business relationships was more widely recognized - and greatly appreciated.

If you're struggling with your business this year, why not look at these beautiful summer days as an opportunity to continue building your client relationships? A nod to the old ways of doing business, if you will. Make lunch plans, meet folks for coffee.

And don't forget about the people in your office who make things happen as well. This year is the year to build relationships in every aspect of your business! I'll never forget my first company team meeting here in Seattle - floating around the Puget Sound on a beautiful sailboat with my boss and officemates. As we talked clients and business plans, I remember thinking it was the best team meeting I had ever attended.

Isn't it time for you to make an impression?

"In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words: people, product and profits. Unless you've got a good team, you can't do much with the other two." ~Lee Iacocca

Do you offer credit to your customers? If so, make sure you have it structured correctly.

I gained a great deal of insight working with a local retail company. With yearly revenue in the multi-millions, I was surprised at just how much money went in and out of the business without any paperwork or followup. Without proper paperwork, the owner just couldn't keep track of what accounts were delinquent or current. Most of his customers were on credit, and without a proper finance charge or threat of a closed account, they continued to add goods and services 'on credit'.

Offering credit to your customers is just another way to ruin your business books if not done properly. If you're extending credit to your small business clients, you should certainly have all your ducks in a row, from a nominal finance fee to a lawyer on call should you need to take legal action. Melanie Linder offers her credit tips in last week's Tip of The Day at Forbes.com.

If you do offer a payment plan, charge an acceptable finance fee--perhaps 1.5% a month, or 9% a year--and establish a reference checking policy. Ask to speak to at least three past creditors to evaluate the risk of recovering your money. If that sounds harsh, don't sweat it, says Kaufman: "This is business. It's not about being nice."

And for crying out loud, make sure your clients pay their bills! If you're having trouble getting customers to cover the credit you've extended, make sure to close their accounts immediately. Still can't get folks to pay up? Look into pursuing action in Small Claims Court. You'll be glad you did. Just like the article says - this is business. It's not about being nice.

As the daughter of two entrepreneurs, I learned a lot watching my parents run a business. From hiring the best in the industry to treating your employees and clients like family, I gleaned a great deal about running a business from my Mom and Dad.

On this Mother's Day week, maybe it's time to reflect on just how much your own Mom has influenced your company. BusinessWeek posted a great article last week about the impact of Moms on entrepreneurs across the globe, from Virgin's Richard Branson to Zipcar co-founder, Robin Chase.

How did Sammy Hagar, former frontman of Van Halen and founder of his own Cabo Wabo Enterprises gain insight from his mom?

"My mother always told me being a musician was never going to support me, so I needed something to fall back on. So even though I completely believed I was going to make it to superstardom, I guess it kind of stuck with me. So even early on, I was always starting some kind of business. Bicycle shops, a Red Rocker clothing line, Cabo Wabo. So now it's kind of like I have my music to fall back on."

Check out this great slideshow of Hagar, and others, commenting on the influence of their Moms on their business know-how!

What did you learn from your Mom that helps with the way you run your business?

If you don't have your tickets to this week's Vision To Venture event, you're missing out! Hosted by Microsoft® Office Live Small Business, the event features top Small Business experts, including Rich Sloan, co-founder of Startup Nation, John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing, Susan Wilson Solovic of SBTV.com, and Karen Dayan, Microsoft's Digital Marketing expert. Designed especially for women entrepreneurs, the day's sessions include tips on promotion, marketing, and branding for your startup venture!

For more information, check out the Vision To Venture website. If you missed out on tickets, don't fret! You can register for the free, on-demand Webcast that will be available later this month. Though the event tour winds down with the Seattle stop, you can catch a glimpse of what to expect here at SBTV.com. Podcasts from San Diego's April 15th event can be downloaded here as well.

What are you waiting for?! 2008 is your year to make it happen!

Today, we have a big sustainable tip for small business owners – make sure your new "green" practices, and products, are really green!

I've mentioned a number of sustainable business tips here in my column, but as many of you may have noticed, sometimes a product labeled as "green" or "sustainable" really isn't! (For an example of misleading labels, take a look at Whitney Keyes's post on her non-vanilla Vanilla cookies!)

I came across a great guest post at Amazon's Green Scene blog written by Seventh Generation's self-titled 'Chief Inspired Protagonist' Jeffrey Hollender. Mr. Hollender, Seventh Generation's President, talks of the rampant greenwashing that's sweeping the "green" product industry – and how you can make sure you're really buying a "green" product.

Some of his tips include:

• Is it the product or just the packaging? A box of office paper might promote itself as "earth friendly" because its cardboard packaging contains recycled content, even though the paper itself was made from virgin fiber. Beware of green claims that are based on just one green attribute.
• Is the label full of fluff words? Most green claims--like "planet safe," "earth friendly," and "environmentally safe"--are not required to meet federal standards and as a result may not be meaningful. The term "organic"--which applies to ingredients made without conventional pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, etc.--is an exception. Food products that are 100% organic may display the USDA Organic seal. But "organic" is not regulated for household and personal care products.
• Is the claim verifiable? Terms like "recycled" are too broad to be truly meaningful. Look for quantifiable data. Specific percentages are essential and must differentiate between "pre-consumer" (waste generated at the factory) and "post-consumer" (waste we recycle at the curb). For example: "Our packaging is made from 85% recycled cardboard (15% pre-consumer and 70% post-consumer content)."

To read more of the blog post, click here. To read more of Jeff's thoughts, check out The Inspired Protagonist.

Last week, during National Business Week, I received a great email from Jason in Tukwila about finally hiring a dedicated Human Resources Manager. In my experience, it's always the big guys who have folks in all the right positions – including Human Resources – while sometimes, the little guys, aka Small Business Owners, have a limited staff and budget that it's often difficult to have a dedicated Human Resources Manager. It's been my experience, as well, that when you don't have a dedicated HR person, important business regulations start to fall through the cracks.

Let's take for instance a small company I worked with recently. Already overloaded, their Director of Operations was trying to serve as the HR Manager as well. Unfortunately, this meant that many HR-related tasks were at the bottom of a long list of responsibilities. I was surprised to find there was little paperwork for employees when they were hired or released from employment (fired, quit, or layoffs). There was no employee handbook, and no general office rules set. In addition, since there wasn't a central, unbiased HR person, the staff felt as though their voices weren't heard on many of the office policies (or lackthereof). This almost created a bit of a hostile environment – without employee support, the office morale was dismal.

Moreso, I was surprised that the business owner was unaware of the legal ramifications of not having a dedicated Human Resources Manager. Without proper hiring and firing paperwork, you run the risk of a he-said, she-said after the fact, which may end up costing you thousands in legal fees, should legal action be needed. From an in-house potty mouth to displays of offensive decorations or clothing, without proper rules and regulations, small business owners run the risk of harassment lawsuits or other nasties from disgruntled employees.

Now, I'm not saying your Director-of-Operations-slash-HR-Manager can't do his or her job – I'm saying that it's in your best interest as a small business owner to have a staff member dedicated to the ins-and-outs of Human Resources. That way, someone is always on top of what's happening amongst your employees, staying on top of all the rules and regulations that are necessary to keep your small business running smoothly.

Yahoo Small Business has a great Management and Human Resources information section to check out – including a great article by Administaff's CEO and co-founder Paul Sarvadi. Entrepreneur.com has a great Human Resources section, complete with how-tos and a whole list of downloadable HR forms.

The Free Management Library also has an outstanding page dedicated to all things Human Resources, including a Brief Overview of Human Resources Management.

Remember, we're working smarter - not harder - in 2008!

Just checking in on how National Small Business Week is treating you! It's been great to hear from some of you via email on how you've been focusing on your small business this week.

Jason in Tukwila writes:

"I've taken your advice and pulled everyone in for team meetings this week. For the last few months, it's been very incohesive in our office, so I've tried to spend this week trying to make our office run smoother. I finally did myself a favor and hired a full time Human Resources manager as well. I'm tired of doing it all!"

Way to go Jason!

Roberto in Kirkland says:

"Thank you for your suggestions. We have cut our advertising budget this week by ending contracts that haven't created any leads. We're hoping to put the money instead into upgrading our computers."

Yay! I'm so glad that so many of you have heeded my call!

Be sure to also check out my guest post on NSBW at small business blog Startup Spark, written by entrepreneur Shannon Cherry. My guest post is part of an April blog scramble over at b5media - where I co-write their food industry blog, Daily Blender.

I suggest, dear readers, that if you're not able to actually attend next week's National Small Business Week in New York City, you instead make a conscious decision to focus on the future of your small business. Just for one week! Sit down and ask yourself a few good questions about the path you're on, and then explore your options. Not only will the NSBW website have live webcasts of the NYC events, there are plenty of other online resources to help build your small business as well!

• The US Small Business Administration features The Small Business Training Network for small business owners. The SBTN, according to the site, is a virtual campus providing quality and targeted online training to meet the information needs of prospective and existing small business owners.
• Register.com has a great Small Business Learning Center, featuring articles on key subjects for small business owners, such as Marketing, Build Your Business, and Customer Service.
• Jennifer Hoffman over at My Organized Biz offers timely advice to small business owners on organizing and decluttering their offices. Think of it as freeing yourself!
• SustainableBusiness.com has a comprehensive list of sustainable business links. Why not explore new ecofriendly options for your business?

So do yourself, and your small business, a big favor next week - take the time to re-evaluate, renovate, and educate!

Good morning, dear reader! I hope you don't mind a little shameless self-promotion for this dreary Wednesday morning!

First, new reviews are in for my food book, Career Diary of a Caterer!

★★★★★ "Highly Recommended"
ArmchairInterviews.com

★★★★ "A Great Example of Entrepreneurship"
ReviewYourBook.com

Second, don't miss me on my Earth Day radio debut! Tune in to Radio Sandy Springs on April 22nd at 8:30A PST (11:30A EST) as I'm one of two featured guests on the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Hour, hosted by Chef Jae Gruber of the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta.

photo courtesy of Jennifer Heigl

During a recent business meet-and-greet, I was surprised to hear from a fellow entrepreneur that her sales were slumping. Well-known throughout the community, she was quite successful with her small business. I inquired as to new products or services she was offering, perhaps partnerships she was busy building. She looked at me, nearly embarrassed, and confessed that she had been so busy with managing things at her office, she hadn't really thought about where her company was headed.

Whether you've been in business for one year, five years, or twenty years, it's always good to re-evaluate - particularly when you feel as though you've lost your direction. Why? Because it gives you an opportunity to review your business model and re-define your plan of attack. Without a master goal, and a plan, it's difficult to execute projects, leaving you, and your business, in a stagnant position.

Forbes recently posted a great article with the twenty most important questions that they feel every business owner should be able to answer. I pose these questions to you, dear readers, because perhaps it's time for you to do some re-evaluation.

Highlights from the article:

What is your value proposition?
This is the single most important question of the bunch. If you can't explain--in three, jargon-free sentences or less--why customers need your product, you do not have a value proposition. Without a need, there is no incentive for customers to pay. And without sales, you have no business. Period.

What are your strengths?
Google writes powerful search algorithms; Steinway works wonders with wood; Cisco sniffs out promising new technologies and buys them. Figure out what you're good at and stick to it. An obvious notion, perhaps, but plenty of zealous entrepreneurs lose their way--especially when the world seems so full of possibilities.