During the 1960s through the 1990s Shell Oil ran a series of television commercials called the Shell Answer Man. Throughout the years these popular spots ran, three actors played the role: Don Morrow, Vince O'Brien and Richard Anderson. The ads provided all kinds of advice about proper car maintenance.

I'm dating myself with this kind of trivia -- but I loved the Shell Answer Man. Why? Because it was kind of a serious version of the Click and Clack radio show (aka “Car Talk,” the popular NPR program). As a few sites now note with nostalgia, the Shell Answer Man provided helpful tips about all kinds of car questions: from proper tire maintenance to how to save fuel  – even how to get the most out of heating oil.

Fast forward to 2010: It looks like I’ll be taking a similar turn on OPEN Forum; I've been asked to take readers’ questions about small businesses and answer them in an ongoing column.

I can't claim to know everything about small business and entrepreneurship. My areas of expertise are marketing, sales, venture capital and product management, so I'll be focusing on these areas. Of course, we couldn't call it the "Open Forum Answer Man," so we named it "Ask the Wise Guy." 

You can send in your questions about small business and entrepreneurship to this email address: askthewiseguy@federatedmedia.net.