-There's no question that free stuff is awesome. That is, except when it comes to business plans. This week we responded to reader Alma's question about whether she could get a decent business plan prepared for her small business gratis. Here's the short answer: no.

-Public service announcement: please change your email address to something that sounds legit and professional before you email potential business partners, investors, or anyone who's respect you want. BunnyBabe08@hotmail.com isn't likely to do you any favors with that crowd...

-Wal-Mart may always sell cheaper DVD and chewing gum than a mom-and-pop shop, but we were reminded this week that there's always one area where small businesses can beat the big guys: customer service.

-The genius brains tasked with finding a way to monetize Web 2.0 Internet sites came up with their most brilliant idea to date this week: just make big banner ads. Like, real big.

-Despite what the business media will have you believe, so far the only thing social networking has proven good for is stalking exes and finding dates. Or so you say, readers.

-As the proliferation of gossip blogs and the office rumor mill aptly demonstrate, word-of-mouth is a powerful thing.

-We ran a bunch of good advice on business plans and starting a small business, none of which we can actually take credit for.

Happy Labor Day!