While some business people are perfectly content golfing or playing tennis in their time off, others apply their competitive spirit to more extreme pursuits. These high achievers share several characteristics: They search far and wide for challenges, they’re competitive, they have uncommon amounts of energy and they have the financial means to travel, whether to climb Russia’s Mount Elbrus, kite surf in Brazil or hunt rare black impala in South Africa.

Left unchecked, underachievers can drag down an entire team’s performance, and that goes double when the problem staffer is family.

It may seem that landing that New York Times interview, getting featured on the front page of AOL or winning a $135,000 business contest means that, as a business owner, you are set for life. In truth, it’s just the beginning.

Technological innovations, workforce trends and entrepreneurial spirits are allowing more American workers to step away from cubicles and corner offices and into the comforts of their own homes.

He’s the boss, she’s bossy. He’s assertive, she’s domineering. He strategizes, she schemes. He’s powerful and likeable, she’s powerful or likeable.

Every entrepreneur knows that it’s lonely at the top. Jeff Smith is no exception.

One morning last year, Cyberguys, a computer and tech accessories retailer, started getting a lot of calls from customers with the same question. Was the company really selling hard drives for $3?

Having just begun using social media in 2012, Safe Credit Union is relatively new to content marketing. But it hasn’t taken long for the company to discover the benefits of engaging online with its customers and potential consumers.

When it comes time to launch your new products, offers and ad campaign for the new year, your focus will likely be on the initial offer. But your success will depend on the behind-the-scenes planning you do ahead of time.