How do you know when to merely make adjust and when to completely reinvent? Jane Pollak talks to Jim Blasingame about the need to constantly check your competitive position in the marketplace to know when to adjust and when to reinvent.

What do you do when your city needs to reinvent itself? Suzanne Mulvehill is part of a group that is re-designing and re-branding their city, as she tells Jim Blasingame. With the help of a consulting firm, Lake Worth, FL is creating an entrepreneurial environment for the arts.

Just because we're technically out of the recession, doesn't mean that small businesses aren't going to have maintain tight management practices. Bill Conerly talks about this with Jim Blasingame, including how the next expansion will look different from the last one.

How does the valuation process work when buying or selling a small business. Andrew Sherman talks to Jim Blasingame about the uptick in mergers and acquisitions, whether now is a good time to buy or to sell, and how a buyer will evaluate a prospective business to buy.

Surveying the credit landscape, how is it looking for small businesses? Tom Markel joins Jim Blasingame to reveal where the opportunities and challenges are for small businesses to get credit, including for start-ups. One source they discuss is an increase in private lending.

What is brand equity and how do you create it for your small business? Peter Meyer and Jim Blasingame discuss the balance sheet effect of how your small business is perceived in the marketplace, how to increase brand equity and what to do when a brand liability pops up. They also talk about using brand equity as a platform for growth.

Take a lesson from McDonald's founder, Ray Kroc, who said his company didn't sell food, it sold fuel. Jim Blasingame talks about why small businesses should understand how the competitive differentiation process really works the way Mr. Kroc did.

What will cause the next economic expansion? Michael Cox joins Jim Blasingame to discuss what caused the last economic expansion and predict what factors will produce the next one. They also talk about investment opportunities in the coming expansion, including what small businesses should plan for.

There are many initial requirements to having a successful start-up, and Richard Hooker joins Jim Blasingame to talk about some of them, including the plan, the capital, grants and venture capital.

What are your management peers saying about the economy? Bill Soward joins Jim Blasingame to report on the most recent survey of business managers concerning the recession and possibility of economic recovery.