Inc. Magazine: March 1, 2004,

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Closing the Deal: Three big-time investors have rolled into Miami to listen to 33-year-old whiz kid Marcelo Claure try to sell them a chunk of his company--and, my God, he`s late! Christopher McDougall
How I Did It With Howard Rubenstein: Howard Rubenstein is PR`s top dog, a man who represents the corporate and the celebrated, a neat combination of blue chips and black eyes. Adam Hanft
Top 25 Cities For Doing Business in America: If you`re looking for cities large, medium, and small where job growth is robust and economies are strong, head to the ones on this year`s Top Cities list. Fort Lauderdale, anyone? Joel Kotkin
The Buzz Guru: Straddling the worlds of street art and commerce, marketing specialist Shepard Fairey knows how to get alternative culture kids talking about mainstream brands. Rob Walker

Politics: SBA Slams the Door on Borrowers: SBA to borrowers: Drop dead! Bobbie Gossage and Elizabeth Wasserman
Innovation: Bad Patent Reform: Pending patent reform could leave entrepreneurs unprotected. Lora Kolodny
Five Ideas to Watch: Easy parking, better emergency response, free names, fragrant law enforcement, and precocious fashion design. Rod Kurtz
HR. Dept.: When an Addict Seeks a Job: Fresh from rehab, a former worker wants his job back. What can you do? Jess McCuan
Resources: On the Web: Learning to Play the Game of Risk: A new site helps would-be exporters calculate their risk. Rod Kurtz
Q& A: Mad Cow Doesn`t Scare This Rancher: A top rancher`s mad cow moment. Jess McCuan
Update: Controversial IPA Silences a Watchdog: One of the most controversial Inc. 500 companies ever wins a legal battle. Joseph Rosenbloom
Ideas & Culture: Getting an M.B.A. Via Tivo: What you can learn from Paris Hilton. Nadine Heintz
Lawyers Rethink Their Pay: The American Bar Association is seriously considering new pay rules. Bobbie Gossage
Small-Game Developers Poised to Score: Gamers see a new way to compete. Lora Kolodny

Sales: Trash Talkin`: No one likes to admit it, but bashing the competition is part of doing business. Alison Stein Wellner
Strategies: Plan B (and C and D and...): When was the last time you looked at your business plan? Entrepreneur Craig Knouf has revised his more than 120 times. Overkill? He doesn`t think so. Nicole Gull
Technology: Reinventing The Powerpoint: New tech tools to liven your tired old PowerPoint presentations--and give your online marketing efforts a boost. Kevin Ferguson
Case Study: Losing Mcdonald`s: Inventor Hettie Herzog scored a major coup when McDonald`s came calling. Then the fast-food giant bailed out, leaving Herzog with tough decisions to make. Michelle Leder
Getting Started: Don`t Quit Your Day Job: How to launch your start-up--without losing your day job. Lora Kolodny
Ask Inc.: Diving Into The Media: How valuable is press coverage, anyway? Plus, when investors say no. .
Tech Buyer's Guide: The Best Bang For Your Tech Buck: With new offerings hitting the market like a tsunami, entrepreneurs should spend their precious IT dollars with care. Brian L. Clark

Street Smarts: Learning From JetBlue: One day flying JetBlue, I found myself being served by David Neeleman, the airline`s founder. When was the last time you met your customers and asked how you could better serve them? Norm Brodsky
Grist: What`s Love Got to Do With It?: The level of romantic involvement between businesses and their owners is getting dangerous--for love, as we all know, is not a condition for rational thought. Adam Hanft

Trends: Bare Minimum Workweek: When others are putting in 60-hour workweeks, these clever souls have found ways to get out of the office early and often. Patrick J. Sauer
Cars: In the Driver`s Seat: Craftsmanship, luxury, technology: Would you expect anything less from the first all-new Bentley in more than 50 years? It`s the Continental GT. Patrick J. Sauer
Travel: Dossier: Answer the call of Shangri-la; go virtual at the Waldorf-Astoria; or work out in the privacy of your hotel room with your own "fit kit. Larry Olmsted; Ondine Cohane
Office Culture: Range Rovers: Who said business was a dog-eat-dog world? Nicole Gull
Private Lives: License To Kilt: As Robert Burns might put it: Gie me ae lad wi` ae song O auld; gie me ae man wi` pipes O guld. Patrick J. Sauer
Essentials: Things I Can`t Live Without...: Knowing what the top stars of show biz would like to find in their Oscar goodie bags is part of Lash Fary`s business. Needless to say, he has a keen sense of what he wants, too. Riza Cruz

In This Issue: Art and commerce aren`t the natural enemies they are often made out to be. John Koten
What About the Children?: This month it`s mostly about values.

Buyer Beware!: The Inc.com Sound Off! area has lighted up with feedback on International Profit Associates, a business consultancy covered in a feature by Joseph Rosenbloom in the June 2000 issue of Inc. This month, on page 32, Rosenbloom updates Inc. readers on where the company stands today. See what business owners and ex-IPA consultants have to say about the company's business practices at www.inc.com/keyword/IPAsoundoff.
Perfecting Your Pitch: Marcelo Claure has half a day to convince three skeptical investors to give him $50 million, and the investors don't even know what his company does. Follow Claure's financing story by Christopher McDougall on page 70. Then check out tips from business experts in this collection of articles on creating a winning pitch at www.inc.com/keyword/perfectpitch.
City Search: Want to relocate to a business-friendly city? Joel Kotkin's "The Top 25 Cities for Doing Business in America" begins on page 93. Inc.com offers even more cities that made top billing, including a complete ranking of more than 250 large, medium, and small cities, as well as a separate ranking of the best cities by major industry at www.inc.com/keyword/bestcities.
Fresh Inc.: Find out what Inc. writers and editors are saying about today's business stories on Inc.com's weblog, Fresh Inc. Read current and past posts, make comments, and suggest your own topic. Go to www.inc.com/keyword/freshinc and discover what's new.