When it comes to planning for retirement, many people simply glance at their employer’s 401(k) plan, check off a box here, fill in a percentage there, send it off to HR and viola, they’re done. For the small-business owner, however, the game is not so simple.

The countdown has begun. Three weeks until the carver pierces that succulent golden turkey. Or ham. Or turducken. Or tofurkey. Or whatever other tasty delight happens to be your entrée of choice for this most belt-busting of holidays.

There comes a time in the life of every trade show, convention, exhibition, educational conference and distributor meeting when expectations carried forward from the prior year run head-on into the brick wall of unrealized potential and unfulfilled promise.

That wasn't the case at this year's Connections Convention and Trade Show.

What with the last year's worth of interest rate hikes, stagnant wage growth and the home-equity coffers running dry, the time has come for that most reliable of consumers to lead the shopping charge: Enter the bargain hunter.

The purpose of the 2006 Truckmount Carpet Cleaning Equipment Market Study is to identify current and emerging trends in the carpet cleaning industry based on the opinions, preferences and purchasing behavior of carpet cleaning professionals and restoration specialists.

The inaugural Carpet & FabriCare Institute Restoration Symposium & Showcase held at the Torrance Marriott in Torrance, Calif., July 15, was a success by any measure, shining a spotlight on some of the issues the industry is facing today.

Smell that? The scent of economic slowdown is on the wind, and you know what that means. You can hardly pick up a magazine or turn on the television without someone trumpeting the latest ways to "Save When You Spend," "Cut Your Costs," and how to "Do Unto Others As They Do Unto You - For Less!"

It's always fun when a cutting diatribe you once unleashed upon the faceless monolith of Industry can now be viewed as quaint. Cute, even. It would be even more fun if sarcasm translated better to the page.

The 2006 Connections Conference and Exhibition made waves in Clearwater, Fla., at the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort, May 4-6. The warm weather and ocean breezes provided the perfect backdrop for the hundreds of cleaning and restoration professionals who made their way to the Gulf Coast.

Back in March I was invited to join the Los Angeles Chapter of the Carpet & FabriCare Institute on a tour of the Hyperion Treatment Plant in Playa del Rey, one of the most technologically advanced wastewater treatment plants in the world. Serving 2.7 million people, the plant processes an average of 360 millions gallons per day, with a capacity of 450 MGD (at peak wet weather periods, flows up to 1 billion gallons per day can be handled for short periods).