Get Your Cliques Get the lowdown on news, trends, programs, and more.

We're not saying one's high school persona can't be escaped. (God forbid.) But when we asked some successful BIZ Experiencess, "In high school, what clique were you in?" we couldn't help noticing a connection between their teenage temperaments and the businesses they started.

Name/Age: Steve Lake, 30

Company/Location: Sector 9 Inc., San Diego

Product: Skateboards

Clique: "Classified as a semi-jock, partying, surfer guy. To me it was a great clique with lots of positive people. Actually, five of my friends from high school now run our multimillion-dollar company."

Name/Age: Kristin Knight, 31

Company/Location: Creative Assets, Seattle

Service: Staffing firm

Clique: "I generally got along with all the different groups. My group of friends were good students, very involved with school activities, but we got into our share of trouble. I was a cheerleader and worked in student government."

Name/Age: Price Givens, 28

Company/Location: Vervex Technologies; Irvine, California

Product: Database and corporate intranet software

Clique: "I had most of my interests outside of school. I hacked on my computer, I did a lot of technical drawings, I fabricated elaborate make-believe corporations and came up with all kinds of crazy science experiments. I hold an informal patent on a weather device that alerted me in my sleep if it began snowing enough to cancel school."

Name/Age: Anthony Mark Hankins, 30

Company/Location: Anthony Mark Hankins Inc., Dallas

Product: Women's sportswear

Clique: "I was the `fashion police' . . . I once wore a burlap cape to school with an artist's hat and leather pants. Some people talked about it for a while, but before the day was over, everyone was raving `burlap' and what a wonderful fashion find."

You Snooze, You Gain

By Victoria Neal

All of us know the agony of the post-lunch lull: the heavyeyelids, the inability to form complete sentences, the longing forthe warm bed so reluctantly abandoned that morning. If you cansympathize, the solution to your slump could be simple: nappingduring your workday.

"[The American work force] is nap-ready," says BillAnthony, a professor at Boston University and co-founder of TheNapping Co. Inc. (http://www.napping.com), a Reading,Massachusetts, napping products and services business. "Sincethe invention of the light bulb, we have become a sleep-deprivedculture." According to a study done by the National SleepFoundation in 1998, nearly one in three Americans sleep as littleas six hours or less per night during the workweek (expertsrecommend at least 8 hours), and 37 percent of adults report beingso sleepy it interferes with daily activities. No wonder sleepinesscosts U.S. businesses more than $18 billion annually in lostproductivity.

You say you don't have time to get your work done, let alonesleep? Anthony, who is compiling data for a book on workplacenapping, contends all it takes is a 15- to 20-minute timeout.

Priscilla Jane Dwyer, 37-year-old owner of Carpe Diem Games LLC,a manufacturer of award-winning children's card games, naps atthe office at least once a week. "After a nap, I have muchmore concentration," says the Reading, Massachusetts,entrepreneur.

Next time your neck is having trouble supporting your head, doyourself a favor and take a brief snooze. Both you and yourbusiness will see positive results.

Smart Move

Count Sheep

• Worried about nodding off into a La La Land coma? TryWestclox's Napmate ($15), a compact, folding alarm clock with a15- or 30-minute timed "nap" button. Available atWal-Mart and Kmart.

• The Company Store, a mail-order business, offers the ExecutiveNapping Pillow Kit ($79.99-$95.99), an executive briefcase equippedwith a pillow, a pillowcase and a copy of Bill Anthony's TheArt of Napping (Larson, $9.95, 800-828-2197). Visit http://www.thecompanystore.comor call (800) 285-DOWN.

Cyber Classes

By Amanda C. Kooser

Online education is a growing industry, and the SBA isgetting into the act with its SBA Classroom (http://www.sba.gov), which offers threecourses: "How to Raise Capital for a Small Business,""Are You Y2K Okay?" and "The Business Plan."Our senior editor, Cynthia E. Griffin, logged on to check itout.

The lessons are simply written, so if you're somewhatknowledgeable about the subject, the information will seem verybasic. But if you're a novice, they're a good startingpoint.

For example, since business financing is my "beat," Iwas more critical of the lesson on capital. Although it mentionsvarious options, it concentrates on obtaining a bank loan--notalways the most realistic option for start-ups.

Because I'm not as knowledgeable about computers, I learnedmore from the Y2K course. It not only explains which of your ownsystems may be impacted by the millennium bug, but also makes youconsider the external forces that could affect your company, suchas your suppliers and partners.

Once you've finished each course, a quiz tests whatyou've learned. If you want more details, click on theresources following each course. There are specific references foreach topic, plus suggestions on which U.S. and Canadian governmentand quasi-governmental agencies can offer more information, andlinks to a variety of business publications.

Enrollment is free; you need Internet Explorer or NetscapeNavigator 4.0 or higher. Those with Netscape also need theScriptActive plug-in, 30-day shareware you can download from theSBA Classroom site. (This includes a companion plug-in, DocActive,which isn't required for the SBA Classroom; if you elect totake it, be aware it could alter how your e-mail functions.)

Like any good school, course offerings will change, so don'tforget to check back periodically to see what's new.

The Name's Bond

You're battling business competitors, not globalvillains--but why not exhibit some James-Bond-style flair whiledoing so? Here, our picks for products guaranteed to make you feelpositively 007:

Size does matter . . . whenyou're on the go. At 2 pounds, the BJC-50 bubble-jet printer issmaller than your laptop. Whether you're traveling by plane orllama, jet-setting or visiting clients down the street, you canprint two color pages per minute or 5 ½ black and whitewithout running back to the office.

• BJC-50

• Canon Computer Systems

• (800) OK-CANON

• http://www.ccsi.canon.com

• Street Price: $349

It's a cell phone, it's a date book, it's a Webbrowser . . . it's the pdQ Smartphone!It's also an address book, e-mail reader and pager. The pdQ isa Palm III platform PDA grafted onto a cellular phone. It runs allprograms available for the Palm III, with stylus input and cablefor hookup to your PC (optional MacPac available).

• pdQ Smartphone

• Qualcomm

• (800) 349-4188

• http://www.qualcomm.com

• Street Price: $399

For undercover spy missions or everyday business "videomemos," consider the Ruvi, the world's smallest camcorder.Conveniently disguised as a still camera, it holds up to 30 minutesof HI8XR-quality video and audio, or 350 still images with fiveseconds of audio apiece. Stored on a reusable cartridge, the videoand audio can be downloaded to a VCR, camcorder or PC.

• Ruvi

• Sony Electronics

• (800) 222-sony

• http://www.sony.com

• Street Price: $599

Gotta Have It!

By Laura Tiffany

Hold back the crowd. We have the complete series of 1968Psychedelic Flower Pez for $500 each! If you think that's toosteep a price to pay, we have a footless, dark green Mr. Ugly foronly $45!

Huh?

Oh, never mind. Only a true Pezhead understands the joy ofdisplaying a prized $300 vintage dispenser. But it's OK. SaidPezhead can just hop online and share the glorious news with amember of the Pezhead e-mail group.

If you're feeling a bit left out, don't. Look around.You probably collect something, and unless it's bellybuttonlint, there's a chance someone else out there in the worldcollects it, too. With fan pages, e-mail groups and newsgroups,obsessed fans are no longer alone, and even the nichiest of nichepassions are making it out into the real world, wherefans-turned-entrepreneurs are starting businesses to feedcollectors' frenzies.

Joseph Somers started SomersZoo (http://www.somerszoo.com) in 1996 tosell toy, character and ad collectibles (with an emphasis on Pezdispensers) online. Last year, he made the leap to a Chicagostorefront. "The opportunity to collect is way bigger thanpeople know," says Somers, 28, of the Pez scene. "TheInternet has created a forum for that information to bedistributed. Now anybody can [pursue] a global hobby instead ofbeing confined to where they live."

Michael Bochiccio found a niche of his own online--selling LuchaLibre, or Mexican wrestling, masks--while catering to the hugecommunity of wrestling fans with American and Japanese merchandise."I don't think there's a lot for males ages 15 to 30on television," says Bochicchio, 26, who started his company,Highspots Inc. (http://www.highspots.com), last yearafter he took a trip to Mexico. "Wrestling is a man's soapopera." Fans collect toys and T-shirts of their favoritestars, then go online to discuss their exploits on and off themat.

Some obsessions have equal presence both offline and on. Fans ofAnime and Manga (Japanese animation and comics) form clubs to viewfilms and will travel to find merchandise with their favoritecharacters. Andy Joo's goal is to make products more accessibleto old fans--and new--by making his five-store Southern Californiachain, Manga House, newcomer-friendly. "I focus on what'spopular," says Joo, 34. With more than 3,000 Anime TV seriesand movies in Japan, and only a handful familiar to U.S. viewers,Joo believes Anime will only get bigger.

As for wrestling and Pez? Well, if Hulk Hogan runs forpresident, there's no telling where this sweaty sport will end.And as long as Pez keeps churning out dispensers featuring popularcharacters like Snoopy and Donald Duck, these low-tech candymachines will have a crossover audience.

Wrestling

• The lowdown: Check out the Web sites for the WorldWrestling Foundation (http://www.wwf.com) and World ChampionshipWrestling (http://www.wcw.com).

• Buzzwords:Juice means blood (what else?);gimmick refers to the wrestler's costume, props,lifestyle, etc.; a person who thinks wrestling is real is amark; bump refers to the way a wrestler lands on themat in order to lessen the impact and minimize the risk forinjury.

• Bored: Debate your favorite wrestler's merits athttp://alt.pro-wrestling.com

• Mecca: Minnesota, of course.

• Wear: Anything spandex, and don't forget yourmask.

• Hot: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

• Buzzkill: Everyone knows it's fake; don't evendiscuss it.

Anime

• The lowdown: Read the Anime Web guide (http://www.tcp.com/~doi/alan/webguide/awgHome.html).

• Buzzword:Otaku means a hardcore fan, but usewith caution--some people think it's offensive.

• Bored: Learn Japanese.

• Wear: Toys as accessories and Technicoloreverything.

• Hot:Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon,Pokémon (for the elementary school set).

• Buzzkill: Watch Japanese and American versions ofSailor Moon; create your own Web site, and use it to rantabout translation and censorship.

Pez

• The lowdown: Read the FAQs at http://www.pezheads.org

• Buzzwords:Floppyhead means the Pez head isbroken; dispensers manufactured without feet arefootless.

• Bored: Learn to make a Pez gun at http://www.pezheads.org/pezfaq.htm

• Mecca: Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia inCalifornia (http://www.spectrumnet.com/~spectrum/pez/index.html).

• Hot: European lines like Asterix.

• Buzzkill: Large toy store chains selling Pez for $3 eachwhen the drugstore across the street has them for 79 cents.

Contact Sources

Anthony Mark Hankins Inc., (800) 789-4264

Carpe Diem Games LLC, P.O. Box 741, Reading, MA 01867,(781) 944-2838

Creative Assets Inc., (888) 304-9600, info@creativeassets.com

Manga House,andy@mangahouse.com

Sector 9 Inc., (619) 552-1296, http://www.sector9.com

Vervex Technologies, (800) 841-6621, larry@vervex.com