Are those who make these decisions that far removed up "corporate ladder" they can't see this isn't customer care at all and having opposite effect?

Each and every one of our customers and consultants should be made to feel like they are our most important one. If we don't take care of them, someone or some other company will.

Small and home businesses have an incredible opportunity to take back customer care and relationships way it is supposed to be. We are in an incredible position to "take care of business". Technology is wonderful. Without technology, there would be no internet and many of us would not be in business. However, there is no technology on this earth that can replace human connections. Technology will never replace our customers knowing that there is someone who truly cares about their needs.

So, how about you? Are you taking care of business?

Patty Gale is a successful entrepreneur who specializes in personalization and customer care for all her clients.

She exchanged her suits, hose and heels for working at home in her "jammies" and is on a mission to empower other women to do the same.

I’m probably not only person that drove a car that was older than I was during college, or who ate Ramen noodles more than once almost everyday. Don’t forget lessons you learned while you were a poor college student – same ability to make do with what you have can save you a lot of money in long run. I had just graduated from college and I wanted to get a new computer to replace older, though fully functional one I was using. This was before I took my own advice to consolidate student loans, so money was still pretty tight. I wanted to kick myself when I saw that price on computer I bought dropped $300 in three months. Some expenses are necessary and unavoidable. For everything else, look to see if you can manage with what you have for a while longer.

Don’t Do It Alone

Nobody likes data entry – it’s time consuming, boring, and time consuming. If you find yourself spending too much of your day punching numbers into spreadsheets, consider hiring someone or outsourcing it to another company. If you think that you can’t afford part-time salary, do an inventory of your time and see if what you would pay someone is worth amount of time you’ll be able to invest into meatier matters of your business.

I know I’m risking sounding like your father giving you a lecture about money, but remember that a penny saved is a penny earned. A successful business minimizes costs while maximizing profits.