Q&As

The board of directors of MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc. has declared a quarterly dividend of 14 cents per share payable on Jan. 23 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Jan. 9.

TattooFinder.com hopes expansion of search engine marketing, a discount program with design studios and viral marketing will help double the size of its business to $2 million this year.

It all started back in 2000, when Stephanie White rediscovered a childhood pastime of making jewelry with beads. This, she thought, might be a good idea for an online business.

She used search engine marketing to grow SW Creations, a burgeoning enterprise that’s getting more than three million hits per month.

It’s the start of a New Year, so that means it’s time to make some meaningful New Year’s Resolutions. You know, the kind that will make more money for your clients and yourself. It’s time to take a new look at what exactly you are selling for your clients. It’s also when you look at who really are your customers and prospects.

Owners and managers of small businesses in the western states are by far the most confident in the country about prospects for the next 12 months, according to International Profit Associates.

NASA and the Nobel Prize committee may be faced with more complex calculations, but for most of us, figuring out the best deal in a cell phone/ wireless plan combination in our local area comes about as close as we ever get to higher mathematics. But visitors seeking a roadmap through the wireless dark can turn to a consumer Web site, MyRatePlan.com, that consolidates information about available cell plans and handsets into a searchable database that users can access.

Despite U.S. consumers

Office supply chain Staples is looking for a few good photos that it can turn into posters.

Job search Web site Monster.com is out with a new campaign that focuses on the fuzzy, positive points of looking for a new position.

There will be no regular mail delivery or retail service at U.S. Post Offices on Tuesday, Jan. 2.