4. Punctuality is a key indicator of how an employee will act once hired. If an applicant is late for an appointment, dismiss them from consideration unless they have an incredibly good reason.

5. Appropriate attire should always be worn to an interview. Dirty, scruffy clothing, rags or hats, and other unsuitable clothes should immediately dismiss an applicant from consideration.

6. Listen carefully as applicant explains why they left their previous job(s). Someone that continually has problems with supervisors and/or co-workers will probably have same conflicts with your company. Don't hire an obvious problem no matter how desperately you need help.

7. Always hire someone that you find likable. You don't need to become bosom buddies but you must be able to work with them in a harmonious environment.

8. Create a job description that you can give to your applicants. A properly written job description will answer a great deal of questions and eliminate later problems if person is hired.

9. Take time to check references. Previous employers can give you a much clearer description of an applicant's ability, a great deal more than personal references.

10. Always make your job offer in writing. This will preclude any misunderstandings.

Take time to make quality hires and your business will reflect your time and effort in performance of your employees and your company's bottom line.

Mike Burstein has been writing for the SOHO and Small Business market for over 10 years. He has helped countless small business owners solve start up problems, create best practices, automate their offices, get free publicity and dramatically increase traffic and sales.

Thankfully, Yahoo! 'grandfathered' all its old listings and my original listing still keeps sending traffic to my site for fr*e.

Wow! Didn't that make me want to hit myself upside head for being slow to build my business?

Not hard enough, it seems.

Not long afterwards, another of my favorite traffic generators, Overture, raised its minimum bid from a penny to a nickel. My existing listings were grandfathered at a penny, for which I was again grateful. However, again I chastised myself for not having added thousands more keywords and phrases that would also now be grandfathered.

I could see writing on wall, and cautioned myself to put past behind and take advantage of present opportunities.

Did I take my own advice?

Barely. I added just a few more sites and relevant keywords, and Overture's mimimum bid was again raised, this time to a dime.

So I kicked myself, hard.

If Overture's tendency to increase their prices according to U.S. coin denominations is any indication, their next mimimum bid may well be a quarter.

So, will I learn from past, or will my bruises and missed opportunities continue to mount?

That choice should be easy for any of us.

Learn from history to put time on your side. Start building your Internet business now to take advantage of today's lower prices and competition.

Don't put it off until tomorrow, because after all, tomorrow never comes, and time IS money!