• Rules from the BABY’s Book on Becoming a Billionaire
  
  

  • Rule #91: If you get their money first, it is highly likely that you will get their attention next.

  • Rule #172: Nothing—absolutely nothing good can come from excess.

• Stash the cash: Following her mother’s advice, “Hide money from your husband so you have a nest egg,” led to initial funding for entrepreneur Melanie Sabelhaus, a pioneer in the short-term executive housing market and then deputy administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

• Get fired and get rich: Neil is angry about the $200 million severance package awarded to the former Pfizer CEO.

• Excessive excess: VIP bottle service, restaurant “power tables,” and parties where kids arrive by helicopter celebrate the wrong things forcing our value system into the red.

• Driving ideas to market: Idea engineering consultant David Minter, co-author of “Lightning in a Bottle,” presents an alternative plan to focus groups and brainstorming for new product development.

• Technically supported. Frustrated customer finds a clever way to sue Dell Computer over its lack of customer service.

• Grading under the curve? A listener is concerned that the U.S. education system is years behind that of other countries.

• Takes 2.0 to Tango: Web 2.0’s user empowerment and open source applications can save you money, advises Kevin Hawke in our Ask the Expert segment.

Melanie Sabelhaus, formerly the Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Small Administration, is currently a partner with Superior Financial Group which provides capital to small businesses. Sabelhaus is a successful entrepreneur with more than 25 years of business and corporate experience. She founded and served as chief executive officer of Exclusive Interim Properties (EIP) from 1986 to 1997, when the company merged with four other companies to form Bridgestreet Accommodations. The company did an IPO in 1997 and went public on the NASDAQ as Bridgestreet Accommodations. Sabelhaus became vice president of Global Sales and served on the board of directors of the publicly held company until 1998. For 15 years prior to starting her own business, she served in a variety of management positions with the IBM Corporation.

Kevin Hawke is director of client services for Geary Interactive, one of San Diego’s largest online ad agencies. Their clients include Apollo Group, Trump, Sahara Las Vegas, 20th Century Fox and Greenpeace. The firm provides creative services, technology, analytics and marketing and search.

David Minter is a partner in Minter and Reid and is the co-author (with Michael Reid) of “Lightning in a Bottle,” which explains why most new business ideas fail and offers a tested and proven alternative. Minter has been developing new concepts and ideas for high-growth companies in the entertainment, technology, retail and food industries for more than 25 years. He began his career managing competitive analysis and planning for Motorola, and then moved on to work for Dole, where he was responsible for international market information. David then began his decade-long tenure with Blockbuster Entertainment, a Viacom Inc. business, where he worked with many of Wayne Huizenga’s business units—including Blockbuster Video, Blockbuster Music, Spelling Entertainment Corp., Republic Pictures, Blockbuster Park, Discovery Zone, as well as the Florida Marlins and Florida Panthers sports franchises.