Referrals are nice. They're not like winning the lottery but they give you a warm fuzzy feeling, kind of like when you find $20.00 in you winter coat pocket that you just took out of storage. Referrals are also a necessity. Consider the pest management slump many companies are in right now. To put it bluntly, the phones aren't ringing like they did a year ago. However, referrals are saving my bacon.

A few years ago, when I was deciding what to do with my life, a large company was looking to hire me for a mid-management position. Because I was going to be working with many employees underneath me, I had a slew of psychological tests done.

For anyone who knows me personally, they'd agree that I have a type AAA personality. Take a cup of Adam Sandler, mix it with a glass of Hulk Hogan, throw in a pinch of Chris Rock and add a splash of David Lee Roth — and you have created Pete Schopen on a slow day.

The most important networking we can do is in our own community.

If you are a small business owner like me, you are only too aware of gas prices. During the past few months, the cost for a gallon of gas has increased by more than a dollar, depending on where you live. By the time you read this article, it is a real possibility that my market, Chicago, will have hit the $4-per-gallon mark for regular unleaded gasoline. As I write this, gas has already reached $4.09 for Premium.

Alot can happen in two years: You can fall in love and get married. Bear Stearns can rise, fall and rise again. MC Hammer can make and lose a career. A relatively unknown state senator from Illinois can rise all the way to becoming a presidential candidate. And Schopen Pest Solutions can go from $0 to more than $280,000 in combined sales in two years.

Pompeii. The Titanic. The Great Flood. Donald Trump's hair. Bridgette Nielsen's acting career. These disasters from the annals of mankind all pale in comparison to my first try at hiring an employee. It went so poorly that the residuals will affect my company for the remainder of this year.

Like Tom Hanks in the hit movie Cast Away, Pete Schopen has been on a work island by himself since April 2006, but that all changed this January.

My name is Peter Schopen. I am a Tacobellaholic.