Like a lot of small retailers, Henry Burton depends heavily on the holiday season to ring up sales, and, like a lot of retailers, this past holiday season proved especially challenging.

Your Biz blog: Everything in life seems to get more and more difficult these days. Now the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is getting in on the act.

Jan. 4: It’s a new year, and these tough economic times mean plenty of stressful situations for entrepreneurs and employees alike. Blowing off steam isn’t easy and one small business owner has decided to take matters into his own hands. (MSNBC)

Given the state of the economy, making the sale may take more work than ever. Michael Port, Founder of the consulting firm "Book Yourself Solid" and author of "The Contrarian Effect" lends his advice. (MSNBC)

Farnoosh Torabi, Sr. Correspondent at Thestreet.com and James Barrood, Exec. Dir. of the Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies at Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. answer viewer questions about how to ensure your employees are engaged with your company's mission and whether now is the right time to open a retail store in a mall. (MSNBC)

Not everyone is lucky enough to work for a company with an outstanding health care benefit program. Phil Micali saw a need for a place where the uninsured can go to shop for coverage. (MSNBC)

Liquor companies and bartenders are finding inspiration in the financial crisis, devising new recipes and reviving old cocktail standards to keep spirits alive during the holidays.

What about recession woes? In late 2008, the Subway sandwich chain surpassed the 30,000-restaurant mark. It has 1,600 stores scheduled to open this year.

There's holiday joy and post-holiday blues, but for America's retailers it's all been one big downer.

Video: What does 2009 hold for small business? Find out from William Dunkelberg, NFIB Chief Economist and Patricia Greene, Entrepreneurship Prof. at Babson College. (MSNBC)

Looking for a holiday bargain? You may only have to ask. With sales shaping up to be the lowest in years, retailers say they're taking consumers' demands for good deals seriously.

What happens when a successful company is also a family business, and making needed changes means changing the family legacy? (MSNBC)

While real trees are still the favored purchase among consumers, artificial trees are gaining ground as prices fall and they become more natural-looking.