Gary Robinson is a neighbor, friend, and client who has served as one of our in-house computer gurus since 1996. He built our computer network and connected me with Jeff O'Sullivan, the programmer that built our first Internet site. Gary is one of those special people you can never thank enough. In fact, eight years later, I just got off a phone call with Gary in which he de-mystified another computer issue.

Hint: as you consult, make friends with computer nerds [I use nerd as a term of affection, not derision], because you'll always need them. If you are into business at all, you'll always have computer problems that need solving, and as a rule, computer aficionados like to help. And being self-employed, you can't dial extension #2437 and ask the IT department to send someone over.