After starting several businesses on the side, helping others with their own online stores and running this blog for a couple of years now, I’ve come to recognize certain patterns and character traits that define success and failure. Running a successful business isn’t just about luck. It’s not just about taking the leap of faith. It’s not about having the perfect plan or finding the perfect niche. It’s about how you deal with problems as they arise. It’s about how you adapt to certain situations when things don’t go your way.
The problem most new entrepreneurs face is that it’s hard to distinguish between good and bad investments of your time. It’s difficult
It is with a heavy heart that I watch the disaster in Japan reveal the devastation that has occurred. Who knows how many small businesses have come to an end as a result? While many of us will never experience a disaster such as that, there are many more potential disasters waiting in the wings for small businesses like ours. And any one of them can put you out of business. 
So you set up your business, got your email lists humming along, cranked up your wordpress blog, set up your Facebook profile and business page, and made sure you were able to claim your branded twitter handle. Whew! Makes me tired just writing that. The truth is, in addition to all the regular stuff you have to do to move your business forward, with social media things are much more hectic.