Battle of the Brand Is image really everything when it comes to your business? Listen as entrepreneurs and experts sound off about whether branding is crucial for success, then decide for yourself.

Entrepreneur Chrissy Azzaro has business down to a"T." Well, down to a T-shirt, actually. Azzaro, 28, isfounder of My-Tee, a 4-year-old Los Angeles fashion company.Besides its signature product-the My-Tee T-shirt-the six-employeecompany makes its own line of skirts, shoes, tank tops andaccessories that retail from $32 to $78. Publicists and buyersbrowse My-Tee's trendy showroom in Los Angeles for the latesttrends and clothing lines. The company has built considerable buzz:Celebrities from Hilary Duff to Courteney Cox have beenphotographed in My-Tee clothing. This exposure helped the companyrack up $1 million in sales in 2003.

Azzaro defines her brand as sassy clothing that's casual yetsexy. Branding, she says, has built her business. "It pushedus out of the pile of other people," Azzaro contends."Instead of being underneath 100 T-shirt companies, it pushesyou to the top. Branding is very important for any smallbusiness."

Or is it? Ask a group of entrepreneurs how much branding reallymatters, and you'll get different answers. Some think it'sreally important, while others don't. Each entrepreneur couldhave a slightly different definition of branding, and a few mightnot even know, or really care, what branding is. To brand or not tobrand-that's the question. And everyone has an opinion.