by Becky Vickman - Wherever you go, you cannot help but notice the social media icons everywhere you look. You see them at the end of commercials, at the checkout of stores and on almost every website. But how important is social media for small businesses? It's more important than you think.

Ironically, a smear campaign by a disgruntled competitor turned out to be the best thing to happen to my business. I'll explain how that worked out for IndigoTea, and what you can do when someone attacks your business reputation online.

Pinterest is fun; the social aspect is a key element, as Pinterest allows you to see what your friends have added, and in turn they can see your likes, "pins", and such. Why not leverage that "fun factor" with your own customers? 

Wow - this has been a crazy month! Busy, busy, busy - a new print ad for Dream Hats, new clients, big projects, and even more big things coming in November.

I haven't gone anywhere; I've just been so busy lately, that I haven't had time to finish up the half-dozen articles I have draft versions waiting.

However, I have been pretty prolific elsewhere of late; my first article as a contributing author over at The Work At Home Woman came out yesterday (woohoo!); my mojoPortal tutorial articles are ongoing at Arvixe, and I've had puh-lenty of work from my customers (including new ones!) 

Our guest post today is from Sharon Sullivan, of Dream Hats. Dream Hats serves a wide range of clientele, including a strong contingent of historical/fantasy re-enactors. Where better to make contact with this market segment but at the conventions they convene at? As a result of this in-person interaction, Sharon's developed the following tip list for entrepreneurs considering live events.