Craigslist is being sued by eBay because it claims it's management team "unfairly diluting" its holdings in Craigslist.

The online auction site has had a nearly 30 percent stake in the classifed-ad Web site since 2004.

The two companies are essentially competitors, but EBay, with thousands of employees, dwarfs Craigslist, which only has about 20.

And it's a whole different mentality over at Craigslist.

Last month, I interviewed Jim Buckmaster, the CEO of Craigslist, for a story I wrote on how MBAs were not the be all and end all when it came to becoming successful in the business world.

The guy was quite refreshing. To him, it wasn't all about money.

When I asked him why he didn't want to hire MBAs he said, "Generally speaking, the discipline taught to MBA students is useful in getting ahead in the business world. As a company we are not trying to get ahead in the business world, and we're not looking for individuals trying to get ahead in the business world."

I know, he doesn't sound like your typical CEO.

Here's some of his bio from the company Web site:

"Possibly the only CEO ever described as anti-establishment, a communist, and a socialistic anarchist, since 2000 Jim has led Craigslist to be the most used classifieds in any medium, and one of world's most popular Web sites, while maintaining its public service mission, non-corporate vibe."

You're probably wondering why the company hooked up with auction giant eBay if money wasn't the major motivator.

According to a Newsweek article  eBay "was an unsolicited suitor to quirky Craigslist in 2004. An unnamed former Craigslist shareholder sought out eBay and sealed a deal whose financial terms were never disclosed."

The article also stated that a company spokesperson at the time said Craigslist "never sought any outside money, and that's not going to change."

So what's a small business owner to do if a big giant starts pounding its chest?

Craigslist went after eBay in the company blog:

"Coming from a shareholder that views Craigslist as a prime competitor, filing suit without so much as mentioning these assertions beforehand seems unethical, and hints at ulterior motives.

Ensuring the future well-being of Craigslist and the Craigslist community is admittedly very important to us. But eBay has absolutely no reason to feel threatened here — unless of course they're contemplating a hostile takeover of Craigslist, or the sale of eBay's stake in Craigslist to an unfriendly party. In which case, they're out of luck."

By blogging, the company gets their side of the story out to the world, but mainly it's customers. From the 99 responses to the blog post most were siding with Craigslist.

One post summed up many of the responses: "EBay is really a big bully crying foul when they themselves are the real aggressors."

Even though it's unclear how eBay even got the Craigslist shares in the first place, entrepreneurs from all walks of life should use this battle between the two companies as a lesson to be cautious when bringing in investors.

"Not all money is good money", says Craig Jurecka, who works with the investment capital practice group of accounting firm CBIZ's Mayer Hoffman McCann. "My recommendation when you're raising money or bringing in investors is to do extensive homework."

And the key when you choose an investor, he stresses, is "you have to have similar views."

Clearly, EBay and Craigslist don't appear to be of like minds.

If you are a small business owner who wants to land a government contract, you are not allowed to have venture capital dollars pumping into your company.

For some reason, that's the way it's been. Perhaps it was supposed to be a way to level the playing field, so small companies weren't really deep-pocketed big companies in disguise.

But a bill that would eliminate the restriction, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez,  D-N.Y., who chairs the House Small Business Committee, was passed by the House this week. And that has some small business advocates up in arms.

"Our members and small businesses around the country are just stunned that Congresswoman Velazquez and her committee would pass legislation that will be so detrimental to small businesses," said Lloyd Chapman, president of the American Small Business League, in a statement.  "No matter what she says, the bottom line is that this bill is going to allow billionaires to take contracts away from legitimate small businesses in every state."

Velazquez doesn't see it that way.

During a hearing on the bill, which would extend the Small Business Innovation Research  program and Small Business Technology Transfer program, she argued that entrepreneurs should be able to use venture capital whenever it's available. "Small firms must not be penalized for accepting investment they need to advance their R&D efforts," she said.

[YouTube:7lpXdgDcrL0]

What's your take on this?

Does it create an unfair advantage for those small firms lucky enough to get venture backing? Or does it open up the door to entrepreneurship by removing investment restrictions?

The bill passed the House 368-43, and it now goes onto the Senate. This is your chance to voice your concerns or support.

Chapman's group is urging "concerned citizens and small business owners to contact their congressional representatives."

No matter which side you're on, that's a good idea.

When blogs first came on the scene, they were basically online diaries.

I remember this freaky guy I worked with about nine years ago at a newspaper in Florida was writing this new thing called a blog. His posts were mainly about his sex life, or lack of it. And he also blogged about how he hated journalism and really wanted to be a musician.

What got me thinking about the origins of blogs was a story in the New York Times Friday about how blogs are now being used to air dirty laundry.

Duh! That's why blogs were created. But recently, blogs have turned into little more than advertising sites for businesses and places where journalist can write shorter stories that are infused with a bit of opinion, and sometimes humor.

But alas, the best-read blogs are filled with personal musings, sex, and the more dirty laundry the better.

So what's a small business owner to do if they want a blog that's well read? Should they start writing about their escapades in the bedroom?

"Unless your sex life is so interesting that you think it will gain you customers, I would strongly discourage getting too personal in your business blogging," says Rich Sloan of StartupNation.com. "It's important to draw a clear line between the 'who you are' as an entrepreneur and as a person beyond your business."

It's good advice, but every entrepreneur wants to make sure his or her blog is read. Obviously, if you have something titillating on it you'll get more hits. No?

Ken Makovsky, president and CEO of public relations company Makovsky + Company,  doesn't even know how many hits his blog "My Three Cents" even gets.

And he definitely doesn't feel the purpose of his blog is to share his personal life with clients or interested readers.

The blog, he says, "is more of a professional undertaking, to really demonstrate our communications skills."

He does blog about stuff he's passionate about, but it's all in the context of communications and public relations.

One thing that got him passionate and blogging recently was an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times about the Olympics:

"'Faster, Higher, Stronger, No Longer,' an op-ed in this Sunday's issue of The New York Times urges the end of the Olympics because of certain sordid incidents throughout its history," he wrote.

"The Olympics must remain a symbol of hope and goodwill, and that alone should sustain its reputation, despite the obstacles it may always face. As globalization accelerates, so will the need for greater world cooperation and integration. An American pull-out would certainly represent a rejection of those values as well as being a further blight on our own reputation."

OK, so it's not sex. But it is interesting.

Richard W.C. Lin says he "ain't Rockefeller, nor Gates, nor Buffet."

So, when he passes his New York State property casualty exam, which he's taking this month, he'll need money to be able to set up his insurance practice.

Since banks are getting tougher when it comes to lending money, especially to budding, new small business owners, he figures his best bet would be a Small Business Administration loan.

Well buddy, it might not be that easy.

SBA lending is down, nearly 14 percent, and the answer for why is different depending on whom you talk to.

Some believe the SBA has tightened the lending screws.

"With fewer options in the private market, and in the midst of an economic downturn, it is inexcusable for SBA to make it tougher for small firms to get capital," says Nydia M. Velázquez, Chairwoman of the House Committee on Small Business. "Affordable financing means access to opportunity."

And she says business owners are turning to plastic to fund their businesses because of it, pointing to a 14 percent spike in credit card use among small firms in the past five years.

A spokesman for the SBA says it may be more about reduced demand for loans from small businesses themselves.

"This uncertainty on both sides of the borrowing transaction may explain why SBA loan volume is not enjoying the typical 'counter-cyclical' bounce we've seen in the past when credit is tightened," explains Michael Stamler with the agency.

Stamler also pointed to a recent survey by the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders that found "two-thirds of SBA lenders had tightened standards on 7(a) loans, SBA's primary business loan program, and more than 60 percent of SBA lenders said they are seeing a decline in demand from businesses for loans."

No matter what the reason for the decline, there still are people like Lin out there who are clamoring for some cash.

I figured I'd ask an expert about the best way to go about securing an SBA loan, just in case there really is all this money to go around but no takers?

Charles H. Green, the author of "The SBA Loan Book",  offers some advice:

"The most important think is to provide as much information as possible about why you need the funding, how you will pay it back, how you can provide a secondary source of repayment if all doesn't go as planned in your business opportunity, and expect and respond to whatever information the bank will request," he explains.

And as far as choosing a bank to get your SBA loan through, he suggested a smaller, community lender is probably best because they'll be more responsive than the mega-banks.

But before you do anything go to the SBA's Web site and get a list of preferred lenders in your area.

As for Lin, Green believe he probably would be eligible for a so-called SBA express loan which is similar to a line of credit for two years with terms out over a five year period.

Those types of loans are determined by your credit history and the income you've been historically able to generate.

"He may not get what he needs, but he can operate for a year and go back and increase the loan," Green maintains.

The other key point, he stresses, is the be realistic, especially during tough economic times. Do your research and realistically project sales and profits from sales and document those for the lender.

"Show them you've done your homework and your chances for success are better," he notes.

It's like we're watching a scene from that dumb reality show, "The Bachelor," and in this case the bachelor is Yahoo.

Who will walk down the aisle with Yahoo? Microsoft? Google? Time Warner's AOL? Even News Corp. is getting into the act, considering a plan to team up with Microsoft in its bid for Yahoo.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

The Bachelor, aka Yahoo, has a lot of hot, crazy babes to choose from. If you're a small business that wants to place ads on search engines to get people to click over to your Web site, you just may want to tune in.

Each potential merger scenario could affect the future of your Internet ad dollars.

Most analysts believe Microsoft will prevail in its bid for Yahoo, and while that may seem on the surface to mean higher prices for ads because there will be less competition, think again.

"The risk to advertising rates was increasing as Google approached monopoly power and was less and less concerned with competition," says Rob Enderle with tech advisory firm The Enderle Group. The possibility that some of Google's rivals will team up could mean more effective competition, he says.

"As long as they don't illegally collude prices are more likely to go down than up as the two battle for customers," Enderle says. But don't look for much change unless and until the dust settles from any merger, which is sure to be complex.

Miki Dzugan, president of Rapport Online Inc., an Internet marketing firm that helps small business owners figure out where their cyber ad dollars should be going, is on the fence about a Yahoo-Microsoft marriage.

"Heaven would be if Microsoft purchased Yahoo, kept Yahoo intact under the Yahoo brand, and used Yahoo search and Yahoo Search Marketing to power Microsoft Live," she says.

A worse scenario would be if Microsoft merges Yahoo into Microsoft Live, and replaces Yahoo Search Marketing with Microsoft's adCenter, she says. Dzugan considers Yahoo's solution far easier to use for small business owners.

"People hate using Microsoft. They are arrogant and they don't have very good software, competitively speaking. Using Microsoft adCenter is very slow, and I find I burn up a lot more time managing it than I do Yahoo or Google."

Right now, she says, Yahoo is a perfect alternative to Google for the little guy.

When small firms use Google, Dzugan says, their small budget has been "promptly gobbled up with nothing to show for it," she explains.

Yahoo, she adds, has lost so much of its market share to Google that advertising on Yahoo is sometimes a better bet for a small business when they're starting out because they don't get lost in the sea of ads.

If Google and Yahoo were to partner, that would probably just mean a bigger Google.

So, tune in next week, for another edition of "The Internet Search Engine Bachelor."

You never know who else will be showing up on Yahoo's doorstep with a wilted rose.

Two years ago, the owner of one of Philadelphia's favorite cheesesteak joints, Geno's Steaks, ended up at the center of the national immigration debate when it's owner Joseph Vento put up this sign in his store:

"This is America: When Ordering Please Speak English."

[YouTube:MeNHJCQDyIA]

As you can imagine his sign got him in hot water including a two-year investigation by the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission that looked into whether the small business owner discriminated against any patrons and violated the city's fair practices ordinance.

Well, the commission found recently he did not discriminate against anyone and now this entrepreneur wants payback.

He wants an apology from the city's Mayor, who Vento says, "came out against me," and he's considering suing the city.

Vento believes his right to free speech were violated; and he wants the city ordinance changed so no other small business owner has to go through what he did.

"I was fortunate to have the resources to fight," he says, where other small firms would have just been forced to take the sign down.

Even though he was vindicated, he feels the commission did not hand down a clear enough verdict proclaiming his innocence.

His attorney, Al Weiss, says the wording of the commission's finding was not a ringing vindication. It said the panel found "insufficient evidence," and that leaves too much room for interpretation.

Weiss says his client wants the wording changed on the decision, and he also wants the ordinance changed. "He doesn't think the next guy, a small pizza shop or Chinese food guy, should have to fight for their freedom of speech. We think the city should get a panel together and rework this ordinance," he says.

The way Vento and Weiss see it, anyone can find a sign, or a flag, or any store display offensive and try to force a small firm to remove it.

While opponents have claimed Vento was discriminating by displaying a sign that asked for his patron to order in English, he stresses he never refused to serve anyone. His point, he explains, was customers should try to order in English if they can, and that immigrants should do their best to learn the language in order to assimilate.

"It's my right to make a political statement. That's my right," he proclaims.

If Vento doesn't get what he wants out of the city he is considering suing on principle.

"It's not about the money," he says, maintaining he'll give back what ever he wins from a suit to the city.

The way he sees it, he's standing up for the little guy and gal.

"Just because something is not politically correct doesn't mean they can come in and bully us small business owners," he says.

I'm in love with my accountant.

Actually, it's not a "Pride & Prejudice" kind of love. I really don't know the guy that well, but he does my taxes. Something I would never want to go solo on.

But I applaud small business owners who are able to go it alone. That's great. You save lots of money and control your own tax destiny.

I don't want that kind of responsibility, honestly.

Turns out most business owners are as chicken as I am.

Tim Boyle / Getty Images file

About 78 percent of you will be hiring a professional tax preparer or outside consultant to help you file your taxes due next week, according to the 2008 OPEN from American Express Small Business Monitor that surveyed 627 small business owners and managers of firms with up to 100 employees.

There are only 17 percent of you brave souls out there that do it yourselves, and of those 6 percent use pen and paper to figure out what you owe Uncle Sam.

Wow, how old school.

Most of you go-it-aloners have left the dark ages and use tax software, the survey found.

So are we all just wimps if we hand off the tax-filing responsibilities to someone else?

"I think small business owners must take responsibility for their financial statements.  They should use accountants to prepare their taxes but do the monthly statements themselves," says CEO of ProfitabilityChannel.com and author of "The Ugly Truth about Small Business".  "Tax law changes so quickly that business owners should not take the time to learn all about them.  That's the job of their accountant."

She actually thinks entrepreneurs should educate themselves in bookkeeping. Yikes.

"If a business owner doesn't know enough to question his financial statements when he receives them from their internal bookkeeper, he has to invest the time to talk a bookkeeping class at adult education," she dares to suggest. "It will be the three most miserable months he can spend.  However, when he's done, he will know enough to question his financial statements each month."

Are any of you up to that misery?

Mike McDonnell, who runs a public relations firm and also has a rodeo and bull-riding promotions business, has the solution. He has a bookkeeper and an accountant.

His one-man operation, called Donnell Public Relations and based in Pueblo, Colorado, is enough for him to handle without taking on the tax system.

He pays his accountant, that he's had for 12 years, upwards of $1000 and doesn't ever question the expense.

"I do not have the time or knowledge of tax law," he says. "And those of us who run our own businesses want to get every dollar coming to us."

Amen brother!

Does your small business really need a cell phone with James Bond type surveillance capabilities?

Sometimes all you need to do is call someone.

Cell phones are becoming so complicated these days, just calling a business contact takes a bunch of strokes, beyond just dialing the number. And I keep hitting the stupid speaker button on my iPhone with my cheek, allowing everyone near me at the supermarket to hear my conversation while I'm ordering cold cuts.

Small business owners must be at their wits end when it comes to all the options cell phones offer these days. What's right for your business? Is it worth getting 3-D maps, or voice controls, or GPS?

Dirk Lammers / AP

These are just a few of the new options phones are starting to offer, according to a Wall Street Journal story that ran this week.

But it got me thinking about whether having a phone with a nannycam is really something any business needs.

Small business owners have to ask themselves what they and their employees will be using their phones for, says Camille Hamilton, owner of  CMIT Solutions, an IT professional service provider to the SMB segment.

Sounds logical.

"Do you really need all these bells and whistles? Probably not," she maintains. "If you have an employee who just needs to call clients then a basic phone with a good connection is enough."

To Hamilton the coverage and the cost of cell phones plans is a top priority.

And, she adds, think of cell phones as disposable because few people hold onto them today for years, and employees often lose them. That means you want to pay as little as possible for the best phone that works for your business.

Many of her clients are small firms that have three to 30 employees and many of these entrepreneurs are making cell phone purchase decisions "haphazardly and not sitting down and looking at how it fits into the entire tech environment."

So, forget about the cell phone hype, and think about what you need, she stresses. If you run a construction company, for example, you may want to get the most durable phones on the market so they survive when an employee throws the phone in the back of a pick up truck.

If you've got delivery or sales people on the road, then GPS enabled phones are probably a good call.

As for Internet, in most cases you and your employees probably don't have to be surfing the web when you're out on the road.

Hamilton has Internet capability on her Blackberry, which her husband calls her Crack-berry, but she admits the only thing she's used it for lately is getting sports scores and keeping on top of the political race.

Beware all you cheating small business tax filers out there.

The IRS has ramped up its technological capabilities and is using it's gigantic data base to sniff out businesses and individuals trying to pull a fast one on the federal government.

There's a great story in InfoWorld last week that talks about how the IRS is using its giant data warehouse and is "able to discover areas where tax cheating had become rampant, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, or small-business tax shelters."

This at a time when IRS audits of small firms that make under $10 million annually is on the rise, up to 20,020 in 2007 from 17,871 the previous year.

So what's an entrepreneur to do?

First off, don't cheat. That's pretty easy.

For those of you who are playing by the rules but still afraid of being audited because your record keeping consists of receipts shoved in the linty corner of your briefcase there may be help.

Here's some advice, from Steve Buschel, tax partner for accounting firm BDO Seidman, that may help you duck a possible IRS audit. Emphasis on the word "may".

Please don't come back to me all ticked off that you got audited anyway. You can e-mail BDO Seidman and yell at them. (Only kidding.)

OK, the tips already:

1. Are you a sole proprietor? If so, the IRS may be scrutinizing your return extra carefully. The Treasury Department even suggested that the IRS be able to compare credit card records to Schedule C filers' tax returns. The message – the IRS is paying attention.  Be sure income from all sources is being reported.  In addition, your self-employed business reports a loss, it may be subject to the hobby loss rules unless you can establish that your primary purpose for engaging in the activity is to make a profit.  Maintaining adequate records may be critical in proving this.

2. Pay special attention to business expense write-offs. The IRS is increasing the number of its probes regarding deductions; so be careful and save those receipts.

3. If you are part of a partnership pay special attention to your K-1 when filing. The IRS continues to enhance its K1 matching process so that it is now fully computerized. Be sure to pick up every item on your K1 – because if you don't the IRS will!

4. Pay attention to the AMT.  If your business is subject to the AMT, there are specific forms you will need to include. If you want to determine if the AMT applies to you, talk to your tax professional. NOTE: Items on the business tax return of a pass-through entity (S Corps and/or partnerships) may create AMT liability on the personal tax return of the business owner, so keep this in mind as you prepare to file your 2007 business/personal income tax returns.

5. Do you own an S Corporation business? Because S corporations are not subject to federal income tax (other than tax on certain built-in gains and, possibly, passive income) owners need to be diligent in reporting their complete compensation packages.

And no fudging people! Big Tax Brother is watching.