Columns

Come one, come all to the McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce‘s “Carnival of Commerce” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 18 at McHenry High School West Campus, 4724 W. Crystal Lake Road.

When SweetPea Cakes in Crystal Lake opened its doors Monday to celebrate its second anniversary, owner Carrie Curie expected a busy day.

Dear Dave,

There’s a theory on Wall Street that goes something like this: If you follow the crowd and buy the hot investment of the day, chances are you’ll be scooping up shares when most others are about to sell.

There are two widely held opinions about Twitter. Those who use it love it, while those who don’t dismiss it as a gimmick.

Prospective borrowers and tenants often are faced with being asked or required to sign a personal guarantee.

It’s Super Bowl time again. And whether you’re a sports fan or not, you probably can learn something from the Super Bowl teams that you can apply to other endeavors — such as investing. What might these lessons be? Take a look:

OK, so part of my every Saturday morning routine before I head hither and yon is that I grab a cup of coffee to go from a local (and yes, a chamber member) establishment.

Brian Wesbury will never be accused of being dumb. So before the question even was finished, Wesbury already was smiling and nodding his head.

Dear Dave,

The Cary Grove Area Chamber of Commerce will welcome a new board of directors at its annual dinner tonight. The event is scheduled to attract more than 150 area business, community and governmental leaders for our year-end celebration of accomplishments and chamber recognitions.

Stop for a second and think about the different ways you communicate every day at work. Cell-phone calls, personal emails, work emails, text messages, work-phone calls, meetings and more.

The McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce celebrates its 60th anniversary at “Blue Diamond Ball” on Jan. 28. Festivities start at 6 p.m. with complimentary cocktails and hors d’oeuvres followed by a filet mignon and champaign chicken dinner.

Dear Dave,

Gathering in the morning as Thursday’s snowstorm began, a group of interested parties picked up some pointers on global opportunities.

The Richmond-Spring Grove Chamber of Commerce will celebrate its 19th anniversary annual luncheon later this month.

The Woodstock Chamber of Commerce and Industry has a great deal to celebrate in terms of accomplishments for 2011 and goals to be achieved in 2012.

Ah, these first glorious weeks of the New Year. With the most sincere intentions we’ve made, and probably already broken, more than a few personal resolutions.

If one continues to listen to the relentless 24/7 noise, one would think that we are a struggling country that is destined to disappear from the face of the earth.

Howard Schultz, the chairman of Starbucks, once said: “Life is a series of near misses. But a lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all. It’s seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future.”

Dear Dave,

Try to put aside the political back and forth on the issue of presidential recess appointments while the Senate may or may not be in continuous session. Then, and only then, can we begin to look at the appointment of Richard Cordray to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for what it will be.

The arrival of the new year gives small-business owners a chance to fix some of the problems that may have dogged them through 2011.

A store credit card isn’t the only way to get exclusive perks.