Love from Oprah

Oprah Winfrey can recommend something—be it a book or a presidential candidate—and everyone takes notice. But for those lucky few companies that get the Oprah seal of approval, how can you prepare for the onslaught of orders, interest and sales (hopefully)? This post on Wall Street Journal's Independent Street blog talks to Jamey Bennett, whose LightWedge LED reading light was mentioned on The Oprah Winfrey Show in June.

The post focuses on how Bennett prepared for a repeat airing in December, several months after the original show aired. Bennett was so unprepared the first time around that he is taking special steps to be ready for Part Two.

This is an interesting angle on the overplayed ''Oprah can make anything successful'' news, and one that retailers and designers could learn from. So, I'll as the same questions as WSJ's Wendy Bounds: Have you ever had an unexpected burst of publicity? How did you cope with the buzz? What can small companies do to prepare themselves?

~Kimberly Maul