Spending an hour with Nick Sarillo is bound to change your approach to business. You may have already read about Nick's Pizza & Pub--one of the top-performing pizza restaurants in the U.S. but I recently had the chance to meet Nick in person and discuss the philosophy behind the wildly successful Chicago pizza joint.

Local bail bondsman has made it his mission to find assault suspect. Stephen Bruce Unger Jr. is the first thing on Pat Westmoreland's mind when he wakes up in the morning. And he's the last thing he thinks about before he goes to bed. The local bail bondsman has Unger's picture as his computer's screensaver and can rattle off facts about Unger's life as if it were his own.

A good team of investors can be the foundation of your startup’s success, but a bad one can obliterate even the strongest ideas. Investors can provide more than capital to your business — they can become resources for organizing, marketing, and realizing ideas. Knowing what to look for in an investor and being able to attract the best kind of investors are vital skills for any new entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs often devote thousands of dollars to coaches, conferences, guidebooks and magazine subscriptions -- all to improve their business management skills. However, running a tutoring company has led me to an important realization: I learned much of the knowledge I’ve needed as an entrepreneur in high school.

The jury is still out on whether it’s worse to fire someone or to be fired. No one enjoys being in either situation, and all leaders hope they’ll never have to deliver that news. Unfortunately, firing people is sometimes necessary. But you can limit the pain of terminating employees by preparing them for the consequences of not meeting company expectations from day one.

The country of Nicaragua boasts some of the world’s most beautiful beaches and stunning volcanic landscapes. As a communist country until the fall of the Berlin Wall, there is tremendous opportunity for entrepreneurs with access to capital within this nation experiencing a sudden rise in capitalism.

Zachary Cook dreamed of flying helicopters for the U.S. Army, his fellow Aggies said Monday. Friends said Cook died Monday afternoon at St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan after the Black Hawk helicopter he was aboard crashed on the A&M campus, not far from the dorm where he once lived. He was 22.

As a CEO, it’s easy to feel you’ve reached the top with nowhere to go. But promotions aren’t necessarily vertical, and a lateral move at the peak of your career can offer enormous benefits, even without an increase in status or salary. Take former Procter & Gamble CEO Robert McDonald, for example.

I took it as a bad sign when my boyfriend's parents took a picture of us after only two months of dating. "You know, John, she's so nice I don't even notice the lip ring," I overheard his mother whisper. Two months later, the annual family newsletter came out with our faces in the center of the full-color page.

Drugs affect teens regardless of gender, race or income level. It doesn’t matter how well you’ve raised your kids — illicit substances and the intense social pressure teens experience can still influence their lives. As a parent, your most powerful tool is information. Knowing which drugs are available to teens, as well as the warning signs of drug abuse, is the first step to keeping drugs out of your home.

Have a mentor. Be a mentor. September Dohrmann discusses why both are so important. My first mentor transformed my experience at work. His advice was invaluable, and it instilled a lifelong love of mentorship that has helped me in my career and in my personal life. I often encounter men who haven’t considered looking for a mentor before, but I honestly can’t think of anything more valuable—especially for men who consider it unnecessary at first.

I’m always baffled when I visit exotic locations and see tourists in Hawaiian shirts and fanny packs gravitating toward the rows of identical restaurants serving the same toned-down versions of the local cuisine. Even when people travel halfway around the world to “get away,” they crave the familiarity and comfort of food that isn’t too out of the ordinary.

Entrepreneurs are bombarded with advice on using digital means to connect with customers. But what about connecting in real life? Although much of the marketing world is focused on what’s happening online, most of our real-life experiences with products and brands still occur offline. We go out to eat, take vacations, hang out with friends, shop, and attend conferences — even though we’re probably tweeting or Instagramming the entire time.

No one can tell you how to run your business. An entrepreneurship textbook or business mentor can help you learn how to develop a business plan or make investments, but the real learning happens when your business is tested in difficult situations. Over the years, I have made a lot of mistakes, but my greatest successes have come through trial and error.