Ken and Daria Dolan, America's first family of personal finance, answer your questions every Friday.

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With more than 3.6 million jobs lost and unemployment headed toward 10%, more and more people are considering whether or not to leave the rat race and go into business for themselves. The Dolans share some tips and a few warnings that can help you decide whether or not to take the leap.

Dear Ken and Daria,

I'm thinking about starting my own business but I'm scared -- especially in this economy. Do you have any advice for me?

--Melanie

You'll find lots of strategies for managing your career and surviving this recession at Dolans.com.

We all have those friends who dress like they should be hung up in the MoMA. I'm certainly not that friend to anybody. But I do have this idea that style empowers you and, as we've shown right here on WalletpopTV, gives you an edge, especially if you're interviewing for jobs.

Meet StyleCaster, an inspiring guide to looking your best. Can't afford a personal stylist? Not friends with Rachel Zoe? Then StyleCaster will provide you with the dream cyber closet of ideas and network you with stylists, models, and other fashionistas with similar tastes. It's Facebook meets Elle.

"At the end of the day it's about discovery. You don't have to buy the products on StyleCaster. It's about discovering the things you already have and how to wear them better," says Ari Goldberg, the site's young, energetic C.E.O. and co-founder. Mr. Goldberg is in an especially inspired-mood today, given that his company just scored $4 million in funding. If investors see the potential in this, especially in a deep downturn, what can StyleCaster do for your look and closet?

I have heard about the kidnapping of dogs. A recent dognapping case ended up with a $10,000 ransom being paid.

I have heard about a lobster being held for ransom. That was a case of using the release of an unusually large lobster to solicit donations for a food pantry.

But I have never, until now, heard about someone in Lincoln, Nebraska holding a Mr. Coffee machine for ransom. It's a wonderfully novel idea. It's also quite seriously strange.

Apparently, they have always taken great pride in doing things a little bit differently in Nebraska. It's the home of the prairie wind wagon, the world's largest stamp ball, and Andy the footless goose. He also was kidnapped, but unfortunately he never made it home alive.

A new survey out of Indiana University found that 53% of women and nearly half of men have used a vibrator at some point in their lives.

The New York Times reports that "The researchers attribute the widespread use to easier availability and a cultural shift away from the bad ol' boy, Triple-X-rated sex toy industry. Vibrators are now sold at Wal-Mart, 7-Eleven and CVS; new Internet sites for sex products feature middle-aged models and aim at mainstream couples. Several companies market sex toys to women as young as sorority sisters and as old as postmenopausal golden girls through Tupperware-style home parties."

Did they just say Tupperware-style home parties? With the job market in shambles, "business opportunities" are generating strong interest, but as I recently wrote, they tend to be badly overrated and over-sold.

The sex toys party plan companies may be the more legitimate cousins of MLM. If you think it might be something worth looking into, there are actually a bunch of companies: Pure Romance, Passion Parties and Athena's Goddesses, along with a number of other smaller companies.

For things to look out for when evaluating these kinds of opportunities, be sure to check out Jon M. Taylor's 12 Tests For Evaluating a Network Marketing (MLM) "Opportunity". (It's a PDF File, so it may take a minute load.)

When Congregation Beth Simchat Torah heard that the hate-spewing protesters of the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church were coming to their turf, they cleverly decided to make a virtue of a visit by the fringe group, which has picketed the funerals of U.S. soldiers to get publicity for its anti-Jew, anti-gay, anti-American isolationism.

In an inspired moment of creative fund-raising, it convinced about 150 sympathetic community members to pledge $1 for every minute the hatemongers -- there were only six anyway -- appeared on their doorstep in New York City with signs bearing the group's usual invective, which has been trotted out for the cameras so often it ought to be trademarked: "Jews Stole the Land" and "God Hates Fags." By the time the haters departed, a mere 50 minutes after they arrived, $10,000 had been raised.

In 2003, The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act was instituted to ensure that American soldiers who were sent to combat positions overseas wouldn't be financially penalized upon their return. For Leon Batie, however, it looks like a year spent in a mud hut in Afghanistan may have cost him his businesses and credit rating.

The South Dallas/Fair Park Trust Fund, which helped Batie start his business, is the kind of community-based improvement group that conservatives and liberals can both get behind. From the liberal side, the program is designed to help revitalize a low-income minority community. Conservatives, on the other hand, can take heart in the fact that its support takes the form of low-interest loans that are offered to new business owners.

In many ways, Leon Batie is the perfect bipartisan poster boy for the program. An African American man who lived in the community, Batie took out a $50,000 loan to open a Subway sandwich shop in the heart of South Dallas. Fueled by that success, he opened two more franchises, receiving another $25,000 in loan money along the way. His stores did quite well, and the fund lauded his success in promotional materials and newspaper articles.

The key to thriving in the new economy is understanding why we do things, not just knowing how to do them.

That was one of the takeaways of a panel last night at the Morrison Hotel Gallery featuring WalletPop contributors Jason Cochran, Zac Bissonnette, and Bruce Watson; Huffington Post senior editor-at-large Russell Bishop; and "The Happiness Project" founder Gretchen Rubin. WalletPop's Andrea Chalupa moderated.

Here's a little clip of what Jason Cochran had to say (for more video clips of the panel, see our Facebook page and become a fan!):

While the recent economic boom may be most famous for its expensive restaurants, outrageously priced vacations, and insanely high corporate bonuses, its ultimate symbol may well have been cocktail culture. While beer remains the plebian quaff of choice and wine is popular with a more staid crowd, mixed drinks demonstrated energy, excitement, and expense. For many a sophisticated clubgoer, there was nothing more impressive than an experienced bartender, bottles flipping in the air, producing a crisp Mojito or a sweet Cosmopolitan.

Of course, as with so many boom fetishes, cocktail culture had a lot of smoke and mirrors. Bottle service -- which basically involved buying massively inflated bottles of booze and quaffing them with pals -- was more about flashing wealth than about enjoying the finer things. After all, who in their right mind really pays a 1000% markup on a bottle of Grey Goose?

Wal-Mart does pretty much everything well, or at least according to plan. So the news it's backing off the expansion of in-store medical clinics offers up a rare Wal-Mart failure.

Wal-Mart had planned to open 400 clinics by next year, but as of February had just 31, and that's down from 78 the year before, according to Business Week Magazine.

When in-store clinics started popping up some years ago, it seemed like a genius idea, for both patients and the retailer. As a person who works for herself and occasionally gets sick, I am one of those casting about for a place to get quality treatment for a reasonable fee.

Several American cities are left almost deserted after being hit hard from the current recession. The bankruptcies of U.S. automakers have caused many residents of Detroit, MI to venture elsewhere in hopes of re-launching their careers. The vision of a "fresh start" is common talk among many Americans as they struggle to survive the economic slump. If you are searching for the best place to begin your new career, look no further. Although many cities are featured in the "best places to go" series across the web, I noticed that Washington State is always mentioned.

The unemployed have a new fashion accessory that doubles as a way to market themselves -- silicone wristbands that have "Laid Off. I Need a Job" printed on them.

The yellow or pink wristbands are colorful enough to grab someone's attention, as they recently did for an unemployed concrete worker who was wearing one and was hired when a passerby who owned a construction company saw it, according to KRCG 13 story in Missouri.

Or a girl in Atlanta who was asked about her bracelet in a convenience store and told the woman, "I'm looking for a job," and was recommended to someone who was hiring, and was then hired, according to Barbara Bourn, who came up with the idea for the bracelets with a friend in Florida who is also a victim of the recession.

"You wear it everywhere you go and you will get noticed," Bourn told the TV station. "Market yourself wherever you go, 24 hours a day."

This new way to dress for success costs $3 online or can be bought for less in bulk to give out to family or friends, or to sell. More than 6,000 of the bracelets, which should make for great ice-breakers anywhere, have been distributed since they were released in March.

With 14.5 million unemployed people in the United States, they should find a lot of customers.

Here's a video from her Web site on the bracelets:

Bless their hearts, Holli and Steve from Saginaw, Michigan: the newlyweds who starred in last night's premiere of TNT's "Wedding Day." (Produced by Mark Burnett, the show is basically "Extreme Home Makeover" for nuptials.) I can guarantee you that, despite a wedding that featured 500 pounds of bulk candy, a cheerleading squad, and a camera crew, Holli and Steve's guests were all talking about the same thing the next day: the performance by Boyz II Men.

No, seriously. Boyz II Men. I, for one, would be thrilled to have them play my wedding -- if I could plan my wedding for a nice summer night in 1991. Back then, my weekends mostly involved devising and revising dance routines to "Motownphilly." Watching the much older Boyz take the stage at Holli and Steve's reception, I was mildly horrified for the couple.

Warehouse clubs have introduced millions to low prices via buying in bulk, but applying the power of the group is now getting discounts on everything from restaurants to sporting events.

I stumbled upon Groupon fairly recently. One of those "heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend" kind of things. I don't usually go for coupons, too many hoops to jump through, but one buy and I was hooked.

This is a round-up of the most popular finance links from Tip'd, the social news site for finance, in the past week. This week's stories include tips on reducing overhead by using Google Apps for business, another take on the old adage "spend less than you make'" (which we honestly cannot hear enough), and the President's credit card statement.

Barack Obama's Credit Card Statement (37 Tips)
A tongue-in-cheek look at the commander-in-chief's credit card statement. Looks like he's running awfully close to his credit limit! Add to the discussion on Tip'd.

Last month, fellow WalletPop blogger Aaron Crowe interviewed the CEO of Izea on how he pays bloggers to tout the wares of advertisers. Now Izea plans to move its controversial marketing onto Twitter. It will soon unveil a new program called Sponsored Tweets, which will pay Twitter users to promote products.

So will this make tweeters rich? Hey, it could be a better use of your time than tweeting about what you had for breakfast or your relatively uninformed opinions about nuclear proliferation. You could actually write something of interest to more people besides yourself -- and make money at it.