There was liquid laundry detergent all over the floor.

The day before Thanksgiving, 2001, Products Inc. of Minneapolis faced one of its worst moments.

The company markets environmentally friendly cleaning products made from biodegradable, nontoxic plant ingredients such as soy, orange, coconut and corn.

It also operates ?refill stations? in grocery stores that allow customers to refill their bottles so they don?t end up as waste.

Four years ago, one of these refill stations exploded all over the floor of one of its premier clients, Whole Foods, the day before the biggest shopping day of the year. ?They weren?t happy,? recalls Laurie Brown, the firm?s founder and president. ?But they didn?t kick me out of the store.?

In fact, since that stressful day the manager of that Whole Foods, located in St. Paul at 30 S. Fairview Ave., has done a testimonial for Products.

I talked to two local CEOs in the same business, selling meals that customers assemble themselves, who are taking opposite routes. Their stories, in this month?s Informer, present a rare opportunity to consider a common entrepreneurial debate.

How Joe Heron, Ardea Beverage, tries to create a worldwide brand from soda pop

A new section of the federal tax code, 409a, governs the deferred compensation plans that are popular among small businesses. Everything from bonus plans to phantom stock to severance agreements need scrutiny to comply by December 31. Wendy Citron, an employee benefits expert with Halleland Lewis Nilan & Johnson in Minneapolis, explains.

Trying to prevent adhesions after endometriosis surgery? Contact Inlet Medical Inc. and someone at the company can probably help. Need to figure out how to treat uterine prolapse or retroversion? The medical device company specializes in minimally invasive laparoscopic products.

But if you?re looking for advice on the best way to pay employees or handle your Cobra insurance, you?ll probably have to go elsewhere.

Though he grew up on a farm, Donny Smith was fortunate enough to be exposed to leading-edge technology at a young age.

He got his first teletype terminal, a screenless predecessor to the personal computer, as a high-schooler in the 1970s. On it, he accessed the DARPAnet, an early government-created network from which the Internet evolved.

?As crude as it was, it was state-of-the-art back then,? says Smith.

Now, as CEO of Owatonna-based Jaguar Communications, he wants to make sure other rural kids have that same early flirtation with new technology. But most are merely playing catch-up to their urban peers, who?ve been surfing the Web and dabbling in digital for years, he says.