It’s the height of the golf season on Cape Cod. That makes it a perfect time to conduct business.
Mixing work and play on the fairway is a tried-and-true strategy. But just like the game itself, it’s all about finesse. The longest driver still needs a deft short game. The same can be said about how to host a client, and when to actually bring up business.

Our guru shares some of the best advice he’s picked up recently.

At the Shepley Wood Products annual trade show, there was a particular buzz at the TD Banknorth booth. While neighboring exhibits boasted heavy equipment, window treatments and roofing supplies, the bank’s table was strewn only with baseballs. Hovering over them was Boston Red Sox great Rico Petrocelli signing autographs.

It’s not news that energy prices have been rising incessantly and, in turn, affecting the cost of doing business. Business owners, as well as homeowners, have been struggling with the cost increases for at least the past year. With no end in sight, concerns have been growing as budgets have been adjusted. What many business owners and residents don’t know is that a regulation enacted last year allows Massachusetts residents and businesses to shop around for energy providers.

Cape business owners have worked for years to manage the problems of a seasonal economy. Now that the average Cape Cod home costs $350,000 and the average rental goes for $1,000 a month, employers are faced with the dire problem of a workforce being driven away. To buy a house at the median rate, you would have to have a salary of $121,608. For the apartment, a $42,000 salary is necessary.

It’s called the Golden Triangle, the largest undeveloped commercial area remaining in Sandwich. For years, officials have sought clean, high-technology industry to generate jobs and tax revenues in this southern section of Sandwich below the Mid-Cape Highway. The triangle is bounded by Cotuit Road, Quaker Meetinghouse Road and Route 130.

Businesses run by married couples come with unique advantages and risks. Across Cape Cod, there are hundreds of married couples who have entered business partnerships. Cape Business asked three of them to share their stories.

In Cape Cod’s 15 towns, a revolution is slowly brewing on land use controls. Town leaders and voters are beginning to reorder the patterns of development that had been allowed for more than 30 years.

Could a chamber of commerce merge with town government? That’s what’s happened in Plymouth.

Bourne’s challenge is as stark as ever. How can it become a destination rather than a gateway to Cape Cod?

Congratulations to the 15 annual Mousetrap Award winners, honored by Cape Cod SCORE, after being nominated by their respective chambers of commerce. One thing each business has in common: they have survived for at least five years, not an easy accomplishment among startups. Now they appear poised for long-term success. They also contribute significantly to their communities.

Squeezed by energy costs, interest rates and sluggish home values, consumers and visitors are still managing to spend.

These two leaders must manage by coalition building among businesses, the community, and increasingly, second-home owners. They are young, confident women assuming the biggest jobs of their lives at a time of critical change for their organizations and the Cape. Together, they are responsible for more than 1,700 businesses – big and small. They take over from highly successful and trendsetting predecessors, but are expected to pursue new and expanded missions.