Source: Yowza Co-founders of Yowza, Greg Grunberg (left) and August Trometer.

We have all been there, that moment when you get to the cash register, ready to take advantage of a discount, and realize you left your coupon at home.

That’s when a Hero saves the day — well not a real hero, but the actor and entrepreneur Greg Grunberg, best known for his roles as police detective Matt Parkman in the TV series “Heroes,” and co-founder of Yowza.

Yowza is a free smartphone app that does away with the need to clip or print coupons by offering deals directly to mobile devices. Users can search for nearby, participating retailers either via zip code or by using the device's built-in GPS to find stores within their location.

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Photo by: Tracy O.

Small business owners are looking to spend in 2012.

That’s according to the just-released Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index, which surveyed 600 small business owners in January 2012. It found that that 28 percent of U.S. small business owners plan to increase their company’s capital spending in the next 12 months.

That's in line with our own — smaller — survey conducted earlier this month with members of CNBC.com's Small Business Council. When asked if they were planning on spending in 2012, we heard a resounding yes.

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When an unhappy customer complains to your face, you have the opportunity to address their concern, and make sure they are happy by the end of your conversation.

When an unhappy customer posts a complaint on a social forum such as Twitter, Yelp or Facebook, you are at an immediate disadvantage. The complaint, right or wrong — and, isn't the customer always right? — is out there for everyone to see.

Which means you need to remedy the situation. Quickly. And diplomatically.

Here are some tips on how to effectively address online customer complaints on Yelp, Twitter, TripAdvisor and other social media forums.

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Thomas Northcut | Photodisc | Getty Images

If you don’t devote a small percentage of your time to working for free, you’re making a mistake.

Whoa, wait, hold on a second. Sheathe your sword of value. Don’t go all cold-blooded capitalist on me. Hear me out.

Most entrepreneurs don’t do pro bono work. (By pro bono I don’t mean for charity, I mean for another entrepreneur.)

A friend swears “pro bono” is Latin for “no way.” He says, “I’m against the idea of anyone working for free. As a more colorful person said, there are two kinds of articles on Huffington Post: Those that shouldn’t be written at all, and those that are too good to give away. I don’t think anyone should give away their profession.”

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In an effort to boost access to federal contracts and financial assistance, the Small Business Administration recently changed its definition of "small business" in a variety of industries for the first time in about 25 years.

Small-business advocates, however, aren't yet sure if or how the move will affect small businesses' ability to get federal government contracts. The SBA released 37 updated revenue-based size definitions of small businesses in 34 professional, scientific and technical services sectors, after starting work on the definitions in 2007. The new size standards take effect March 12.

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Erik Isakson | Getty Images

When the boss is unhappy, everyone is unhappy. And when the boss goes to the gym, everyone in the office can breathe a sigh of relief.

That’s the conclusion of a recent study, “Supervisor Workplace Stress and Abusive Supervision: The Buffering Effect of Exercise,” conducted by researchers at Northern Illinois University on 98 employees along with their supervisors. The study found that “supervisor stress and abusive behavior can be diminished when supervisors engage in moderate levels of physical exercise.”

Great advice. But it’s hard to follow, as any business owner who works 12-hour days knows. Still, there are some that make the time. Eric Casaburi is one who has been there. And he’s done it. He’s the founder and CEO of Retro Fitness, a fitness-club franchise, as well as Let’s Yo Yogurt. Sure, he’s surrounded by exercise equipment, trainers and buff people that inspire him day in and day out. But the New Jersey-based entrepreneur says he needs to constantly remind himself of the benefits of exercise.

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Photo: Infrogmation Revelers on Mardi Gras Day, New Orleans

New Orleans – As Carnival builds toward the out-of-control crescendo of Fat Tuesday, Barry Kern and his team of float-builders and artists are already preparing for next year.

One of the biggest free parties in the world fuels a multimillion-dollar industry for the city of New Orleans and is the lifeblood of businesses like Kern's studio, which has been operating for more than 50 years and makes or repurposes some 400 floats a year, or roughly a float a day, Kern said.

Mardi Gras season, which includes weeks of parades, fancy balls and parties leading up to Fat Tuesday, draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to New Orleans each year, says Kelly Schulz, spokeswoman for the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau. Schulz said a recent study conducted by Tulane University estimated the direct economic impact of Mardi Gras at roughly $144 million.

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Source: Pretzel Crisps | Facebook The small company that created Pretzel Crisps is in a trademark war with packaged-goods giant Frito-Lay.

Princeton, N.J. — As a serial snack-food entrepreneur, Warren Wilson is no stranger to the challenges of running a business.

In the early days of his first enterprise, selling funnel cakes at fairs, there was the time when, tired of losing money on inclement days, he bought weather insurance — and proceeded to lose even more money than he had when it rained. In the 1990s, he and his wife and business partner, Sara, once had to mortgage their house and sell off investments to make their company’s payroll.

But it still came as a bit of a shock when the Wilsons made what they thought was a routine move to register the trademark of their hot product — a flat pretzel snack called Pretzel Crisps — and it was contested by none other than Frito-Lay, the 800-pound gorilla of the snack food market owned by PepsiCo.

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