From JJ Ramberg:

This past weekend our senior producer Chris and I went down to Tampa to do a story on small businesses that were working with the NFL around the Big Game.  As so often happens, there were so many more interesting things about the companies we covered than we had time to talk about on air. 

We met a woman named Cindy Dervech who owns a company called Breezin Entertainment and Productions which provides bands and other entertainment for events.  She was thrilled to be working with the NFL since, as you can imagine, business had been down recently. 

When I asked her how she was surviving in this economy when people and companies were trimming their entertainment expenses, she told me that she had expanded her business into a diet consulting company – not exactly what I was expecting to hear. 

At first blush there seems to be little synergy between a weight-loss company and an outfit that provides bands. 

Cindy herself had recently lost a lot of weight.  And she found that she was getting asked quite often by the brides she worked with (to provide music for their weddings) how she did it.  It occurred to her that she could market two services to her customers. 

While the services may usually be unrelated, for a moment in time, when you are a bride, they're not.   When it comes to planning a wedding, losing weight and hiring a band are on the same to-do list.

Cindy says that because of this new source of revenue, she's been able to stay alive in a time when things could have been really tough.  A lot of experts come on our show saying that it's important to look for alternate sources of revenue when times are tough.  Cindy serves as a great reminder that you should look beyond the obvious.

I'm going to confess to you all that I have a really bad back. I can throw it out at a moment's notice. Play boxing with my son, or taking a fork out of the dishwasher are all potential back land mines.

But for me the biggest back buster is high heel shoes. I know, women are insane for wearing stilettos, but I love the way nose-bleed shoes look. Alas, my back hates them.

So, it's little wonder that my interest was piqued when I got an e-mail from a source at entrepreneurial business school Babson College who told me a group of undergrad students has come up with a high-heeled shoe with a retractable heel.

Brilliant! And in this economy it seems like shoes are the only things selling. Did you see that one of the most purchased products in Cyberspace this past weekend was women's boots, up 203 percent in sales over last year.

I figured I'd talk to some of the students responsible for this brilliant fashion idea, and they ended up bursting my bubble a bit.

A high-heeled shoe with a retractable heel (image by Jane Jung)

The students involved are taking undergraduate product design and development courses at Babson College, Olin School of Engineering and Rhode Island School of Design. The shoe innovation was basically part of a year-end project for some of these students and there are no concrete plans to bring the shoe to market, much to my chagrin.

I spoke with Jane Jung and Anna Slavin, business students from Babson, who were part of the project.

Jung told me she had an idea to stop carrying around flats and flip flops when she wore high heels, and the student team came up with a great concept -- high-heel shoes that transform into flats, addressing the perennial problem of feet that hurt after a night out in high heels.

Makes sense.

"We don't think we're going to market it, unless the opportunity arises," Jung said.

There's hope.

I think there's an opportunity here. I would consider buying something like that to give my back a break.

The students are going to present their prototypes on Thursday at the Rhode Island School of Design's Chase Center Auditorium.

Here are some other interesting products the students came up with that will also be on display:

--A better carry-on suitcase that reduces the load on your wrist and features compartments with improved accessibility.

--An intelligent device that reduces vampire power consumption from regular home appliances, such as computers and TVs, when they are in "sleeping mode."

--An improved bicycle storage system that enables easy deployment and configuration for municipalities and companies.

--An easy-to-use cell phone, featuring a better-to-read display, an improved user interface, and ergonomic design.

--A better refrigerator, featuring round turning shelves and a new form factor.

--A system that facilitates in-home recycling, enabling the effortless separation, collection, and disposal of recyclable materials.

--An easy-to-use laptop power adaptor that accelerates the process of packing and unpacking the power cord and provides a better aesthetic solution.

All of these ideas sound promising, but these budding entrepreneurs got me thinking about whether they even ponder what's going on in the world outside the walls of academia.

Is the recession even on their radar screens?

"It hasn't come into play in our discussions," said Slavin. "The class is more focused on finding a problem and finding a solution for it."

Oh, if only life were that simple.

It's amazing to me that more women-owned small businesses are not taking advantage of a huge revenue stream -- the federal government.

Only 3.4 percent of all the federal contract dollars went to female entrepreneurs last year, according to data released by the Small Business Administration last week.

That figure's just unacceptable.

Earlier this year I wrote about long-awaited government rules that are supposed to help more women business owners jump on the government's gravy train, but many people believe the rules didn't go far enough.

"After nearly seven years of studies, delays and empty promises, the Administration had a chance today to finally show its commitment to women-owned firms -- unfortunately, this did not happen," said Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the U.S. House Committee on Small Business, after the rules under the "Equity in Contracting for Women Act of 2000" were finally released.

"These entrepreneurs are being shut out of billions of dollars in federal contracting opportunities, yet their concerns are falling on deaf ears," she added.

While I understand the disappointment Velazquez has expressed, women also need to step up to the plate and demand their share.

At a time when the economy is struggling, savvy businesspeople have to look for business wherever they can find it.

With a new administration coming into office, there will be new programs and initiatives, so now is a good time to check out what Uncle Sam has to offer.

You can get a little help from a new program co-launched by Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) and American Express OPEN, the small business division of the financial services company. The program is designed help give women a boost when it comes to accessing federal contracts.

"The numbers released by the SBA last week further validate our position that more needs to be done to improve access to federal contracts for women business owners," said Barbara Kasoff, president and chief operating officer of WIPP.

"The 'Give Me 5' program provides education about the federal procurement system in order to help women capitalize on this opportunity," she added. "Better access to federal contracts can help increase revenues for women business owners by billions each year, and the 'Give Me 5' program is designed to help women business owners reach that goal."

The federal government's goal is to have at least 5 percent of contracts go to women-owned businesses. But even that figure seems pretty pathetic, especially given that women own about 41 percent of the private businesses out there today.

So, what do you gals think -- can you surpass the goal this year?

(By the way, here's a link to the SBA's government procurement site, and here's some information just for women-owned businesses.)

Sean O'Rourke, owner of a technology consulting firm in New York called Syzygy 3, doesn't yet know which presidential candidate he'll be pulling the lever for this November.

"I'm undecided," he says, even though he considers himself a Republican.

And Rae Hostetler, who owns Zionsville, Ind., -based Hostetler Public Relations, says, "At this point I'm the skeptical voter and I can choose to skip the polls or exercise my vote. I choose the latter. My pick is with caution -- the lesser of two evils."

While you might think John McCain would be the slam-dunk choice for entrepreneurs at this November's presidential election because Republicans are often thought of as pro business, many small business owners don't see things that way.

There was a great article in The Wall Street Journal yesterday titled "Small Business Looks at Where Candidates Fall on Its Issues: McCain Seems to be Favorite, but the Picture Isn't Quite that Simple."

The article delves into how challenging it is for both McCain and Obama to court the small business vote.

Rather than a monolithic voting bloc, the small-business community covers a vast swath of geography and ideology. At the same time, lobbyists and business owners are frustrated at the scarcity of details from the candidates on many small-business policies.

"We'd like to see more specificity on almost everything. A lack of specificity breeds worries," says Todd Stottlemyer, president and chief executive of the National Federation of Independent Business, a lobbying group.

Indeed, one of the key topics small business owners are concerned about is healthcare, and many of the entrepreneurs I talk to are skeptical either candidate will have the backbone to revamp the nation's failing healthcare system.

"Healthcare is one of the big issues for me," said O'Rourke. "I'm a cynic and a realist when it comes to healthcare. It's going to be expensive to keep everyone alive and healthy for as long as they want."

While choosing a candidate that will help their businesses is important, it's not the most important factor for many small business owners.

"I don't just vote based on my business," maintains Hostetler. "As a business owner, I'm also very involved in my community and work with several non-profit boards related to women moving toward economic independence."
 
"I also don't see the Republican economic theories benefiting all Americans -- look at where we are today compared to eight years ago," she adds. "I also have concerns about the Republicans pandering to voters based on their vice president pick last week."

O'Rourke doesn't see it that way.

"I'm leaning toward Republican because the choice of [Sarah] Palin could be a brilliant move," he said.

It just goes to show that when it comes to a presidential pick, even entrepreneurs look beyond the bottom line.

Which candidate do you think is best for small businesses?

Last week, I was a guest on "The Big Idea," a show on CNBC hosted by Donny Deutsch, and the topic of the day was whether a husband and wife should start a business together.

I was on hand to talk about why this is probably not a good idea for most couples out there.

My mom has a saying -- "never with your husband."

She came up with it after years of trying to run a business with my late father.

Both my mom and dad were successful entrepreneurs when they operated ventures on their own. My mom ran a successful home tailoring business and also did well with a boutique in Manhattan. My dad was a serial entrepreneur -- a furrier, stationary store operator and restaurateur.

But when they combined their efforts things usually collapsed.

Why? If you ask my mother she'd say it's because of my dad's ego and his upbringing -- he was brought up to think men had to run the show.

When it came to my sisters and me, he wanted us to get a good education and never rely on a mate, but when it came to my mother, he wanted to be the boss.

I gave Deutsch five reasons for why couples shouldn't embark on cohabitation at work:

1. Marriage and business usually go belly up.
2. Kiss romance goodbye.
3. The dining room becomes the boardroom.
4. "I can't believe you said that." Try telling your spouse they screwed up.
5. The battle of the sexes. If you've never resolved the issue of which one of you is the boss at home get ready for all out war at home.

I know, I was being pretty negative. So I figured I'd offer you all some tips on how you might be able to make it work:

1. Follow the leader: I think one of the biggest things to figure out right away is the role for each spouse. In many marriages today, even though we're a more enlightened society, the husband often takes on the role of head of the household. How will that play out with the business, especially if the venture was the brainchild of the wife? You have to figure out who will be the leader of the company.
2. Erect a wall: While it's impossible to keep work and home life totally separate, couples have to do their best to have off-the-clock couple time, and they have to create boundaries when it comes to bringing family issues into the office or factory floor.
3. Find a mediator: Sometimes a couple will reach an impasse and be unable to decide on something, and because you're so emotionally invested in one another the risk of hurting your spouse's feelings is high. In general, I've always found that successful entrepreneurs have mentors or other business people they trust, and this sort of person would be a great source to help mediate any particularly sticky business decisions that crop up between you and your spouse.
4. Get on the same page: Before a couple even considers joining forces to form a company, they have to make sure they have a shared vision for the product or service they'll be selling. Since you could be sacrificing your most important relationship (your marriage) you want to make sure that the two of you have the same goals from the outset, or you'll be doomed.

The two couples I was on the CNBC show with -- Cricket and Brian Allen, the co-founderss of bot, a fortified water business, and Sandra and Kym Yancey, owners of eWomenNetwork, a national networking website -- seemed to have gotten it right.

Do any of you have stories of couple-run businesses that worked, or crashed and burned?

"I have quit feeling guilty that I'm a mom first."

I recently read this line in Working Mother magazine while I was sitting in the pediatrician's office waiting to have my son's tonsils checked. Ah, guilt -- every working mom has it at one point or another. How do you quit it?

I had to cancel an important story interview to get my son to the doctor's office, and I only started reading the magazine as a way to take my mind off a number of stressful thoughts.  Would I make it back to my office in time to finish an article that was due? Would the doctor tell me my kid needed his tonsils out? Would dinner be ready by 6 p.m. when my father-in-law was coming over.

The source of the quote above was Sarah Stevens, the owner of a technology security business in Charlotte, N.C., and mother of four kids, ages 9 and under.

The article talked about how she sometimes attends meetings or work dinners with a baby in tow, and "I've had children spill on clients," she says. "I never really find balance, but I'm comfortable with who I am and what I do."

Turns out many mom entrepreneurs are having trouble staying on the business balance beam, according to a new survey.

A survey of more than 1,000 female business owners who are part of the Make Mine a Million $ Business program -- created by Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence and American Express OPEN -- found that 27 percent of moms have "a high level of stress related to balancing work and family demands, compared to just 18 percent of non-mothers."

And, as you might expect, the stress level is ratcheted up for mothers with preschool-age kids. Nearly 40 percent said they had high levels of work-family anxiety.

This wasn't all a doom-and-gloom survey. It also offered some tips from the moms surveyed when it comes to making things better.

"Moms -- especially those with preschool children -- do sacrifice personal time and sleep, but they employ a variety of strategies to ensure that family needs are met along with the demands of their growing businesses. Among those strategies: outsourcing household tasks, booking family time into their workday schedules and carving out family time on weekends."

While going through this survey I started wondering why we always ask women these questions and rarely ask men.

There are typically two parents in these households, so why isn't "dad does half the work at home" one of the top strategies these women employ?

Most women I know always gripe to me about how their hubbies just don't do enough when it comes to family obligations.

I'm lucky to have a husband who is a true partner, but even he would admit I get stuck doing a lot of the home stuff because I'm sort of a control freak, and let's face it, society still expects the mommies to handle most of the family load.

Maybe we women need to start thinking more like the "co-CEO" of the household and enlisting the guys to do their share.

So, how did my day end?

My son just had a cold and didn't need his tonsils taken out. My husband went to the store and started the baked potatoes while I was at the doctor's office, so dinner was on time. And I finished the article, although I did have to work after dinner.

Who has time to feel guilty?

What did you all do during the holiday weekend?

Our last-minute plan was to go to my father-in-laws summerhouse and leave my laptop at home.

The drive is about 90 miles and my husband and I promised each other we wouldn't go out to eat because money was a bit tight these days. The plan was to ride our bikes and catch up on some reading.

Even going on this mini vacation with the kids was sort of a luxury because of gas prices. But to heck with common sense, I needed a break from my hectic schedule.

Seems like many of you small business owners out there are feeling the way I am. But should we be waiting until the breaking point when we say goodbye to work?

Roy Morsch / Corbis file

Most entrepreneurs, nearly 60 percent, are throwing caution to the wind and planning a summer vacation, according to the American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor semi-annual survey. That number stayed steady with last year's findings.

High gas prices and the generally tough economy doesn't appear to be dampening your plans to relax.

But too often the driving motivation to take a vacation, according to the survey, is stress.

Nearly 35 percent of those polled said they "take a break when they're stressed or have had enough, up 10 percent from spring 2007."

Bad idea, says Kathleen Hall,? the founder of The Stress Institute.

"Taking time for vacation is not a luxury it's a physical necessity," she maintains.

Waiting until you're stressed to pack your valise, she adds, is plain old dumb because stress can lead to physical diseases, depression, and obesity.

So, she advises entrepreneurs to plan a vacation just like they do quarterly reports and meet with their accountants. Do an assessment of your schedule and include time off, a long weekend will do, she suggests.

"The most successful people don't live in a workaholic mode. Very successful people take time away from their work so they can reflect on it and be able to look at their work in a deeper, more creative way," she says.

I know. Money is tight to be jetting off every three months. But paring down the vacation fun will help with financial stress.

Some of you are already doing that. The American Express survey found 20 percent of small business owners plan to take a less expensive vacation this year. And it seems women are even more cautious -- 27 percent of female entrepreneurs said they planned to reduce what they spend on vacation, compared to 18 percent among males.

OK, I'll admit it, I'm the penny pincher at home, but man I miss eating out.

I was one of those teenagers who had really bad acne growing up, and I tried everything to clear my skin up.

I even swore off chocolate and Kalamata olives for 2 years but it really didn't make much of a difference.

When I hit my twenties a friend of mine treated me to a facial for my birthday and I was in shock how much it helped my skin problem. I vowed to get lots of facials so I to could become one of the lucky clear-skinned humans. That is until I found out how much my really nice friend ponyed up for the facial.

It was nearly $100 for a half-hour treatment at some fancy schmancy Manhattan salon. Being a poor journalist at the time, I figured it would be the last time I'd make it to a facial spa.

But what if there were drop-in facial shops that offered cut rates on facials? (Look at all the cheap manicures you can get on almost every street corner today.)

Ivan Hunter / Getty Images

Sherryl Ford, the founder and CEO of Facelogic, did just that and now runs a franchise operation of spas that only offer facials, and do it for under $50 for a 50 minute treatment.

It came to her one night.

In 2005, she owned a day spa and two Curves fitness franchises and realized lots of her spa customers were not coming on a regular basis for facials even though they loved them because they just couldn't afford the luxury.

She was charging between $70 and $125 at the time for a facial. So one night, around 2 a.m., she woke up and wrote her idea for inexpensive facials on a four-by-six inch piece of paper.

"It was a missed market in the beauty industry," Ford says.

She approached Gary Findley, the retired president of Curves, who lived in Waco, with her idea, and he loved it and signed on to handle the sales for the new firm.

The first Facelogic opened in May 2005 in Waco.

She, along with two partners, now have 40 franchise locations with 60 additional under development across the country, although now there are mostly concentrated in California and Texas.

Her first store on the East Coast opened this month in Morristown, N.J.

When she started out she figured she'd hire estheticians right out of school to keep her costs down, but it turned out there's such a glut of people who specialize in facials out there the shops typically hire individuals with two to five years of experience.

Sales for 2007 hit $2.4 million and she projects to bring in nearly $4.5 million this year, and have 1000 locations by 2014.

Quite a feat for one of those supreme beings who never had an acne problem.

Ha! Made you look.

I'm not trying to anger all of you out there, but when it comes to business, men want to be in control, while women are the nurturers and consensus builders.

I don't think that's the case in all situations, but the idea is drummed into our heads day in and day out!

Yet another survey points to just this phenomenon among entrepreneurs.

"Small business owners want to control their destiny," says Sastry Rachakonda, director of Discover's business credit card, which polled 1000 small business owners with five employees or less in its monthly Discover Small Business Watch is a monthly survey. "However, men and women do this in different ways. For men, it is about being in control and being their own bosses, while for women, it is about having more flexibility with their time."

The business owners were asked what was the biggest reason they became entrepreneurs and among the women polled, 32 percent had flexibility at the top of their lists, while only 17 percent said it was all about being your own boss. On the other hand, 27 percent of men put independence at the top and 24 percent said flexibility was the key.

When it came to decision-making, "77 percent of men said that they make most business decisions on their own, compared to 72 percent of women who said the same. Similarly, more women than men, 28 percent to 23 percent, allow employees and associates to participate in business decisions."

So which one of the genders is doing it right?

There's nothing wrong with consensus building. But sometimes you have to take the bull by its horns.

Who will be more successful? That's the main question.

"I can't say either gender has any distinct advantages through their preferred approaches to things like decision-making and networking," Rachakonda explains. "Success in running a small business is more about having done your homework, securing the necessary financing, setting realistic expectations, and most of all, having the aptitude to handle constant change."

With all this talk about gender differences, the poll did find some similarities, and you're not going to believe in what area…worklife balance.

Turns out, 81 percent of both sexes surveyed says they were balancing work and home life either "pretty well" or "very well."

About 15 percent of those polled answered "not so well" to that question and 3 percent said the balancing act was going "badly."

"The results seem to indicate that the vast majority of small business owners, led by their independence and flexibility, are finding the kind of time they need to spend with their families or with interests outside of work," Rachakonda explains.

Hey, I guess that's what really matters, no?

It took the federal government almost seven years to finally submit a proposed rule that would help women-owned small businesses get a level playing field when it came to the federal contracting procurement process.

Some argue -- most notably the sponsor of the original bill in 2000 -- the new rule doesn't go far enough to help women business owners.

Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman House Committee on Small Business, sponsored the "Equity in Contracting for Women Act of 2000" that created the Women's Procurement Program as a way to give women some needed traction when it came to competing for government jobs.

But the program never passed go, mainly because the federal government spent years reviewing and assessing how the plan would be implemented.

Even in the government's own Q&A that accompanied the announcement last week by the Small Business Administration, the long time delay gets top billing:

"Q. Why did it take so long to implement these procedures given that Congress passed the law authorizing them in 2000?

A. Supreme Court decisions require legislative findings to justify a gender-based preferences program such as the Women-Owned Small Business Contracting Procedures. In general, set-asides and other preference programs are subject to a high degree of Constitutional scrutiny and require careful study and thorough justification. For this set-aside, Congress delegated the complex and controversial responsibility to SBA — we believe a first for a federal agency.
 
Understanding this hurdle, SBA did attempt timely implementation. The agency completed its initial study in 2001, but during the review process substantial questions were raised, which necessitated an independent review by the National Academy of Sciences. Following the conclusion of this review, SBA contracted with the RAND Corporation, which specializes in government studies, to perform a new analysis, which provides the basis of the proposed rule."

Velazquez saw the delays as merely stalling tactics.

But now that the procedures are on the table, will it mean women entrepreneurs will finally find parity when playing in the government-contracting arena?

Not quite, Velazquez argues.

"After nearly seven years of studies, delays and empty promises, the Administration had a chance today to finally show its commitment to women-owned firms – unfortunately, this did not happen," says Velázquez. "These entrepreneurs are being shut out of billions of dollars in federal contracting opportunities, yet their concerns are falling on deaf ears. This is extremely disheartening and it cannot continue."

What's got her angry is that the government has limited the number of industries where the program can be implemented to four including, national security and international affairs; coating, engraving, heat treating and allied activities; household and institutional furniture and kitchen cabinet making; and motor vehicle dealers.

After a "rigorous process" of review, the SBA says these were the four industries where women-owned business were underrepresented.

Velazquez is crying foul. "To suggest that the only women who deserve support are in industries as small as kitchen cabinet manufacturing is downright insulting," she explains. "The Administration needs to go back to the drawing board and come up with an effective program that will help ensure the success of female entrepreneurs across the country – this is what the women of America deserve and it is the right thing to do."

The House Small Business committee will hold a hearing this month to address the new procedures.

If you've got an opinion on this either way contact the SBA pronto. The agency is accepting public comment for about two months. Speak up now or shut up later when you can't get your foot in the door.

The tragic story of a kind man who used a portable toilet one day in a park and ended up paralyzed inspired nearly 90 small business owners to embark on one charitable mission.

For six weeks, plumbers, roofers, and painters, just to name a few, worked hard at transforming Pedro Toala's home into an accessible dream house. This former bus driver was the victim of what was deemed a prank, when a bunch of kids tipped over the portable toilet he was using in Wilmington, Delaware.

His story got lots of press attention locally, and many were moved when he forgave the men who ended up breaking his spine.

How were so many busy small business owners able to join forces and do something good for Toala?

It was Pedro's story, says Cher Przelomski, who spearheaded the project and is co owner of the Planning Factory International, a corporate special events company that employs six.

The Planning Factory reached a milestone this year, having been in business for 25 years, but instead of throwing a party the owners decided they'd rather get involved in a community service project.

"I thought we could apply our skills of planning and coordination and do something and suddenly it dawned on me…it was Pedro. We needed to rebuild his house," she says.

That's how  the "Pedro Project" was born.

Toala lived in a split-level home and was unable to get to certain floors because he was now in a wheelchair.

Przelomski started calling everyone she knew and even people she didn't know to ask for help. Everyone said yes, "except one t-shirt guy."

A local construction firm called Wohlsen oversaw the building, a high-end furniture store, Pala Brothers supplied the furniture, and the list goes on and on.

William Hart, senior project manager for Wohlsen, was moved by Toala's story, especially since construction workers spend lots of time in portable toilets at job sites. "That could have been any one of us," he says.

We typically hear about how large companies throw money at charitable causes, but small business owners rarely get the attention they deserve. It is true, a smaller company has fewer hours and dollars to spare, but it can happen if you put your mind to it.

"You can get involved. You can spare the time," says Przelomski. "The way I looked at this, it was a short-term project."

And she also admits she was quite the taskmaster, making sure all the businesses involved stayed to the tight six-week schedule they had laid out at the beginning of the project. "I created a production schedule, day by day, what was happening and who was doing it," she explains.

I asked her how much money and time her firm has shelled out. She laughed out loud and said, "it's impossible to calculate. I've been off for the last six weeks working on this."

So what did Toala say when he saw his revamped home with brand new furniture and a new kitchen:  "Dios mio!" "Oh, my God?" "I don't believe it. I can't believe this." "Thank you, thank you, thank you." (This according to a news account in the local paper.)

How did Przelomski feel when she saw Toala crying?

"I was so proud we were able to pull the community together and rebuild the house and give him a more livable, workable life," she says.

A friend of mine told me that her boss invited her and a bunch of other employees to his house for a holiday party.

It was a nice gesture, until she found out she had to cook something for the soiree. If any of the invitees were at a loss on what to bring, the boss gave them a food assignment.

Have we all lost our minds?

I like potluck as much as the next guy, but don't your workers do enough for you during the year? Why the heck would you assign them yet more work when they're supposed to be letting down their hair and relaxing?

Turns out, the evening was tense, and most employees couldn't wait until the night ended. The day after my friend was still harboring resentment that she had to make like Julia Childs.

Another buddy of mine had the opposite experience.

A high level manager at her company invited her and her husband to a dinner at a fancy restaurant. The guy even brought bottles of expensive wine from his own private cellar to imbibe his employees.

She came home slightly inebriated and with a glow about the manager. "It felt great, especially since he took the time to choose wines from his special reserves and the stories he told about the wines wove into our work somehow. The personal touch was the best part for me," she says.

So, which of my friends do you think will "over deliver" for their boss in the New Year?

I put "over deliver" in quotes because I recently attended the Massachusetts Conference for Women and Jack Welch, the former CEO for GE, spoke about how workers need to "over deliver" for their bosses if they're going to climb the ladder of success.

Great sentiment.

But sometimes the boss has to do some over-delivering. Or at least not expect workers to slave away in the kitchen when the big guy invites them to celebrate a year well done.

That doesn't mean you should let your employees go wild.

I found a funny list of "don'ts" for small business owners when it comes to holiday parties from a London-based small business site called Bytestart.

Here are the best of the bunch:

"Tables and photocopiers: Dancing on desks is likely to cause damage to property and people. It amounts to misuse of company property. Make it clear that such activities will not be tolerated or that certain parts of the office are out of bounds on the night of the party."

"Decorating the office: Use a stepladder to put up decorations – not a swivel chair, warned the Trades Union Congress and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents recently. Don't hang the tinsel on computers or other sources of heat; and don't decorate emergency exit signs."

"Misguided by mistletoe: Your staff policies on bullying and harassment and discrimination still apply at the office party. This is one reason why mistletoe is dangerous.

The laws on discrimination apply at the office party regardless of location. So when one man told a female colleague, 'You look worth one' at an after-work leaving event taking place in a local pub, the tribunal had little difficulty in ruling that it was in the course of employment and therefore discriminatory."

And finally, the gifts --

"If telling people to bring a Secret Santa gift, ask that all gifts are inoffensive. Some gifts – notably underwear and sex toys – have sparked complaints in the past."

It just seems like life's more fun in England.