The net result? Stock climbed to a four-year high this month and has climbed more than 70% since Stewart went behind bars.

LESSON: If you stumble, turn to your PR department for right "humble" moves to make. It will get you sympathy vote and keep your stock value high.

<><> Publicity is Always Good <><> There is no such thing as bad publicity. Stewart made more headlines as a jailbird than she ever did as guru of gracious living. She has had more opportunities than ever to put her message forth, and attracted attention of an entirely new consumer base.

Aside from curiosity seekers, Americans are a forgiving lot. Says Rob Stearns of business school at Arizona State University and author of Winning Smart After Losing Big, "Americans will forgive high crimes and misdemeanors and impeachable offenses, but they won't forgive arrogance." With her well-oiled PR department and public acts of contrition, Stewart has this angle covered.

LESSON: When media turns its spotlight on you, use it to your advantage to increase your customer base and brand recognition.

In aftermath of tragedies like Enron and Tyco, and in a time when we need ethics, values, and soul more than ever, Stewart demonstrates that almost any lack of personal and corporate values can be forgiven if your PR department is good enough.

Stewart has shown us that success and fame are to be envied and sought after, regardless. She demonstrates that being a money hungry "control freak" behind bars is more newsworthy than anything that actually improves human condition.

While Martha Stewart isn't to be blamed for general condition of media, we suggest that she will emerge from her jail time more hardened and media-savvy. But will she be more socially responsible (notice that her website www.marthastewart.com teaches people how to spend, shop, and consume more graciously than ever but remains mute on good-citizen topics like giving and donating)? And because she will be more of a role model than ever, what kind of values or lack of them will she pass on to next generation of business and public leaders?

Stephanie Yeh has spent many years in the business world consulting with major corporations around the world. She has also coached numerous corporate executives and small business owners on business strategy and management. Contact her at syeh@theartofbusinessbook.com access her work at http://www.theartofbusinessbook.com.

You do not have to get your own toll-free phone number or work 7 days a week. What you do have to realize is that if you are reselling an affiliate program or your own product that you are in business for yourself.

You have a choice as to how you want to run your business. You can sit back and wait for sales to happen or you can go out and make sales happen. Run your home business like you expect to be treated by other businesses. Do not spam people; do not buy a bunch of worthless hits, do not pay someone to get you posted in top search engines.

Run your new home business just like a real company because it is a real company and you have a real opportunity to be successful or to fail. The only difference between an online business and a traditional business is location and in some cases inventory. Everything else is about same. You have a product and you want to sell that product to people who want your product.

Think about this...Remember, building a business takes time and patience. If you are promoting affiliate programs do not sit around waiting for someone to find your affiliate page. In addition, too many people think that once they have put up their own website traffic is just going to pour in. This is not true as anyone with a website knows but it is a reason so many people get frustrated and quit. You need to go out and promote your website or affiliate program and you need to be aggressive in your approach.

There is nothing magical about running your Internet business. This business is run same as any traditional business and it will succeed or fail depending on what you put into it.

Read any book or bio from anyone who has ever started and run a business and you will see that everyone put a lot of time and energy into their business. Do same and treat your own business or affiliated businesses like your own and you will do fine.