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Allan Grant met his company's co-founders, Jeff Yee and Nori Yoshida, at a bar.

The Study: "Legitimacy Vacuum, Structural Imprinting, and the First-Mover Disadvantage," by Stanislav D.

The numbers say the economy is growing. But what does that look like on the ground? To take the pulse of the recovery, we polled our Inc.

The book: Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry, by Stephen Denny; Portfolio. The big idea: Dominant, deep-pocketed companies are often so myopic they don't notice the upstarts sprinting between their feet.

WHAT'S HOT, WHAT'S NOT Sales increase for fitness and sports centers, the small-business sector with the strongest growth from 2009 to 2010: +13.62% Sales decrease for car washes, the small-business sector with the weakest growth from 2009 to 2010: -12.18% Sageworks TRENDS Among people who text, the average number of text messages sent per month: Men: 555 Women: 716 The Nielsen Company State of the Media 2010 THE WORKPLACE Area, in square feet, of workspace lost by the average office worker from 1994 to 2010: 15 International Facility Management Association HIRING The portion of small businesses hiring in 2010 that said they added fewer workers than they needed: 42% Reasons for hiring: Replace an employee who left: 41% Support growth or expansion plans: 21% Some other reason: 18% Don't know: 1% Revenue or sales has increased: 13% Economy is getting better: 5% Tax credit for hiring unemployed workers: 1% Wells Fargo/Gallup TAXES Lowest and highest overall tax burdens for entrepreneurs: South Dakota: 1st New Jersey: 50th Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council REALITY CHECK Retail price, per gallon, of black ink in the average printer ink cartridge: $4,371 PC World THE ECONOMY Increase in the sales of trucks and cargo vans—considered a useful indicator of small-business activity—in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with a year earlier: 24% Edmunds.com

Fashion designer Marc Ecko will offer internships at start-ups funded by Ecko's venture arm. "Kids spend a great deal of money on college," says Ecko, who is launching his program with the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. "Our goal is to get them teed up for employment."...After an American Red Cross worker tweeted about getting "slizzered" on Dogfish Head beer, dozens of the brewery's fans donated blood and money to the Red Cross.

A sampling of Wayne Rogers's business ventures: Wayne Rogers & Co. After providing financial advice to fellow actors, Rogers launched this investment firm in 1971

Product designer Amir Khella ( amirkhella.com ) writes that when he couldn't quite pull the trigger on his start-up, he tried scaring himself into action. It worked.

Civil servants are widely denounced for being neither civil nor offering much in the way of service. Drivers trying to replace lost licenses and companies seeking permits for underground storage tanks don't normally encounter a lot of beaming faces inquiring, "How may I delight you today?" The state of Michigan wants to raise its service game, and it is turning to entrepreneurial businesses for help.

I have two main addictions that if I don’t get the crime rate goes up where ever I’m at in the world! One is cigars and the other is coffee. Well, it looks like there’s going to be a marriage! ...

PGT: Jimmy Walker tied the course record with a 9-under 63 on Thursday to take a two-shot lead at the Houston Open. Phil Mickelson was seven shots back.

Brittany Lincicome and Stacy Lewis overcame the stifling desert heat for 6-under 66s Thursday, taking the first-round lead at the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Hey Good Life Receivers! You should know, my morning ritual before taking on the tasks of bringing you the very best in world class personal, professional and spiritual development is eating a hearty breakfast and planning the day ahead with ...

In 1974, Beverly became the first African-American model to grace the cover of Vogue Magazine. During her 30-year span in the image industry, Beverly has been a barrier-breaker for all women -- re-inventing herself, shedding old behaviors and developing self-love and empowerment.

As a nation, we went from being gold based to debt based. It really allows the nation and the government to print money at will. To control inflation, to control pricing and the flow of currency so the other nations around the world that are based on the US dollar also went through that change. By going through a resource based currency to a debt based currency, the skies the limit unfortunately.