Thoughts, comments, questions and other feedback from readers:

Responding to our post about when a small business should consider hiring a chief financial officer:

I would love it if someone would point out how to find a competent C.F.O. for hire. We are a small business and are not ready to add the full time salary of a good C.F.O. The CFOs for hire and accountants that say that they do more than transactional work that we have found were expensive and not particularly good at their job. At least, they didn’t seem to know any more than I do (I have a basic M.B.A). I found one that was recommended by several business owners. Turned out what he was good at was self promotion. He was terrible at financial management. Any suggestions? — HBirmingham, Birmingham

Responding to Jay Goltz’s post about overcoming your fear of pricing:

In my work helping small business owners price more effectively, I’ve found that fear of math often hides a deeper fear: that they are not actually “better” than the competition. Pricing forces us to put a number on our value, and while many small business owners talk about what makes them better than the competition, they lack the confidence to put the corresponding price tag to it. I say “be better, not cheaper.” You don’t have to be better for everyone. That’s one of the advantages of being a small business owner. You can make good money by serving the right niche. Maybe many (most?) people would rather save 10 percent on a frame, but if you become the go-to shop for people who want good frames, you’ll make good money. Sooner or later you have to believe your own messaging. – Reuben Swartz, Austin, Tex.

Responding to Bruce Buschel’s post about mining salt from the sea:

I just thought I would point out to all those that complain and moan about how the government has their hands in everything that this is a concrete example that there are sane rules, regulations and regulators. In this case the F.D.A. genuinely (and correctly) does not care about salt. They do not want it tested, certified, approved, tracked, or even looked at cross-eyed. They DO regulate adding things to salt that aren’t there naturally, but they have properly figured out that most of the bad things that can be in natural salty water either evaporate, die, or cannot be ingested in harmful quantities in food you could possibly stand to eat. – SirWired, Raleigh, N.C.

Responding to Adriana Gardella’s post about growing businesses and growing pains:

As a lawyer, misclassifying employees as independent contractors is rampant. The classification is not rocket science, and most employers who violate the law do so knowingly, and with one purpose — maximizing profits. The enforcement branches of state and federal labor agencies are so depleted, and overworked, few employers are brought to justice. The misclassified independent contractors, desperate for money, remain silent. Just another example of the extraction of money from labor to benefit the owner. — Scott, Chapel Hill, N.C.

Responding to Gene Marks’s weekly round-up post, which asked readers about working with their spouses:

My husband and I own a business together (since May 2003) and for the most part it’s been great. We have very different responsibilities and we spend our days in different cities, so when we see each other in the evening we have a lot to talk about. — Monika, San Francisco Bay Area:

Big mistake! I just bought her out yesterday… — Abu, Toronto

Responding to Adriana Gardella’s post about angel investors-in-training:

Why is it not gender-based discrimination when there are programs that can benefit only women, when it would be considered discriminatory if the programs could only benefit men? — B.N., Freehold, N.J.

Responding to Barbara Taylor’s post about her misgivings over shopping at Wal-Mart:

I guess you don’t care about fair treatment for women or members of minorities, as long as you can buy things cheaply. That’s what your shopping at Wal-Mart says to me. — CDM, Richmond, Calif.

It’s more than a little silly for small businesses to think of Wal-Mart as their competition. That is unless, you don’t have well defined niche. Wal-Mart tries to be all things to all people, or at least 90 to 95 percent of those people. Successful small businesses will practice the art of nichemanship. A well defined niche business will beat Wal-Mart, Costco or any other monolith in the niche they choose to operate within. The problem is most businesses don’t understand what their niche is. In fact, most small businesses will deal with anything that comes through the door. — Josh Patrick, South Burlington, Vt.

Responding to Jay Goltz’s post about Internet retailers not being required to collect sales tax:

Most retailers I know are not worried about Internet competition If you know your stuff, you can deal with that. Nor are we interested in stopping the “march of progress.” It is a question of fairness and ethics. Sales tax helps support, police, firemen, road construction, electric lines, and all sort of of civic improvements. Since Internet retailers use all these, shouldn’t they help pay for them? Isn’t paying these taxes a civic virtue and the sign of a good citizen? Unless Internet retailers intend to create their own systems of support, I think they should help pay for what helps them succeed. Do they owe society nothing? — Steve, Austin, Tex.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=293c2c26c1fb8a8fe07add8d3a598aac