Q&As

Today we meet Guy Morra, who joined MeritDirect earlier this month as a vice president of list brokerage. Morra brought along brokerage client relationships with Advanta Corp., Globe Life and Accident Insurance Co., J. Walter Thompson Co. and HSBC.

Collegiate Pacific Inc. posted net income of $1.7 million for the third quarter, a 41% increase over net income of $1.2 million in the prior-year.

Quebecor World Inc. reported a net loss of $38.1 million for the first quarter compared to net income of $6.3 million last year.

Warner Bros. Pictures is canceling advanced movie screenings in Canada as part of an effort to combat piracy

Speaking at a Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco last month, Google CEO Eric Schmidt summed up his vision of his company’s future in a pithy three-word mantra: “Mobile, mobile, mobile.” Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft have all attracted a lot of attention in the last few months with their efforts to expand their search business into the mobile world. But among the many factors that make search on a phone different from doing so on a desktop, one in particular may complicate life for the Big Three engines: the wireless carriers as gatekeepers of mobile services.

Craig Cochrane knew he wanted to break into electronic retailing.

Armed with an MBA from the University of Southern California and several years in network and digital television production, he just needed the right concept. That materialized in the spring of 2005, when he got together with fashion designer friend Joseph Walker and started BoutiqueOohLaLa.com, which sold skirts and other apparel.

In 2004, Karen Houghton left her post as advertising manager at the National Collectors Mint to found SimplyKaren.com, a site that markets mineral make-up.

E-mail has become the primary method of communication for many business owners. For some, e-mail is the “face” of the business to customers and prospective customers. A compelling, well-crafted e-mail will catch the reader’s attention and drive sales.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has launched a new free online training resource for budding entrepreneurs. The Small Business Primer is a self-paced assessment tool to help owners determine their business readiness, provide an overview of basic small business principles and introduce them to SBA counseling and training resources.

On May 19, an untold number of 90-year-olds will gather in downtown Salisbury, NC, to help celebrate the 90th anniversary of Cheerwine, a cherry soft drink sold mostly in the south.