1:30 a.m.: The life of a writer all too often revolves around word count, deadlines and catchy leads. But today, November 20, I have been transported to a paradise of sorts. I have been deployed to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, where my only assignment for the next two and a half days is to cover The Summit Series, an event extraordinaire made extraordinary not only by the magnificent setting--a waterfront resort featuring spa services, tennis courts, and alluring pools--but also by the company I'm keeping during my brief escape from reality. More than 60 attendees comprised of entrepreneurs and some impressive movers and shakers have come together from across the country.

For some, it is not their first time--they met previously in Park City, Utah, where stories of the last Summit weave a tale of a vibrant getaway just like this one is promising to be. Others, like me, await in anticipation. And the mastermind behind it all: Elliott Bisnow, cofounder of Bisnow, a national media company based in Washington D.C., who envisioned the possibilties of bringing bright, innovative, successful entrepreneurs all under one roof--or in this case, to one specified location just outside of Cancun--and made it happen. It's the perfect forum to discuss ideas, address challenges and give back. And for many of the entrepreneurs I spoke with tonight, it's also the perfect opportunity to network while taking a much needed vacation. And while I retain the power of the pen, limitations do exist even in paradise: our destination must remain unknown (in other words, no mentioning the name of the resort) and no photos shall be taken after dark.

With print media searching for a way to continue its ad-supported life in a world dominated by Google, the folks at TypePad have stepped up to offer a lifeline to recently axed journalists. You know the folks, the ones laid off by the Los Angeles Times, Conde Nast publications and Time Inc., and even website companies such as Gawker Media.

There are thousands of them out there, and TypePad wants to at least offer them the hope of self-sustainability on the web by offering its "Journalist Bailout Program," which includes a TypePad Pro account, enrollment in the Six Apart Media advertising program, and blog promotion via Blogs.com. The deal is for recently unemployed journalists. read more...

After the smoke clears...

That was the message awaiting me when I got home from work yesterday. I live just a few miles from the fire line in Southern California. My wife and I spent Saturday watching local stations, awaiting the latest news on the firestorm. When the evacuation zone reached a street a little more than two miles from the house--the fire was five or six miles away--we packed some bags and got the vehicles loaded just in case. read more...

As the world reacted two weeks ago to the election of the first black president in the U.S., the national election fervor was rivaled in California by the passing of Prop. 8, a bill to overturn same sex rights.

There was a time when something like this would have a minimal impact on small businesses, but the viral impact of any decision can have unexpected consequences. read more...

When I turned 21, I also turned into a stereotype.

I was at the local bars every Thursday night, and my friends and I became elder statesmen of late nights, philanthropists that believed in lost causes and connoisseurs of bad decisions.

But, out of our element some evenings, we'd show up to dead bars, listen to terrible bands and drink at places that didn't wash their pitchers. We'd get pushed around by unruly bouncers, stared at by awkward biker burnouts and wait in line with clubbers that thought anywhere was a dance floor. We just had off nights sometimes.

And it might've been because we didn't have Randy Rantz to help us. read more...

An O'Neil Associates/ASBA Arizona Economic Indicators Monitor poll of small-business owners in Arizona found that 44 percent of those entrepreneurs oppose spending public funds on hosting an NFL Super Bowl in their communities.

The results, reported in the Phoenix Business Journal, indicate that 66 percent of the business owners polled would support a Super Bowl if they felt the conditions would be advantageous, however.

As an entrepreneur, it's natural for you to think your product or service is the only one of its kind. It's like being a parent: All parents think their children are beautiful and unique snowflakes. Only in small doses do you start to find out you might be wrong. And it even happens to the big boys.

This week, a European court blocked a bid by Lego to trademark the shape of its bricks. Legal mumbo jumbo aside, this is a big deal. After all, if any company deserves a trademark for a shape, it's got to be Lego, right? read more...

I give up.

I can no longer lie and say that I understand the pet industry. I can't. It's too hard.

There are so many things in life that I can't quite comprehend: yogurt as a trend, paying over $100 for dirty jeans, how Amy Winehouse is still alive, why Peter Cook cheated on Christie Brinkley and now...the pet industry altogether.

A Small Business Administration report (PDF) released this month finds that immigrants in the United States are 30 percent more likely to start a business than native-born Americans. The research, conducted by UC Santa Cruz professor Robert W. Farlie on behalf of the SBA's Office of Advocacy, finds that immigrant-spawned enterprises generate $67 billion annually--11.6 percent of American business revenue.

"Immigrant business owners make important contributions to the U.S. economy," Farlie states. "They start 16.7 percent of all new businesses in the United States and represent 12.5 percent of all business owners."