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Joanna Track's closet used to contain exactly one set of "going-out" clothes. "I had literally one stylish outfit, and any time I had to go to an event, that's what I put on," she says in Rogers & Me. It was 2004, and the self-professed shopaholic had just launched Sweetspot.ca, a Toronto-based website that roots out all things cool and spreads the word to savvy shoppers through daily e-mail newsletters. But even though Track spent her days trend-spotting the sexiest threads, sassiest beauty products and edgiest spas and restaurants, her financial straits made these searches largely a spectator sport. "Here I was, supposedly on top of everything that was cool, and I couldn't buy any of the stuff or go to any of the places," she says.

Then came the phone call. In early 2006, Louise Clements, vice-president of digital properties for Rogers Media, approached Track about opportunities between Sweetspot and Rogers's digital publications. The conversation soon turned to the prospect of Rogers taking a stake in Sweetspot.

It's a good day for any small business when a corporate giant takes notice and wants to buy in—but it can also be a very scary proposition: How do you maintain control over what you've created, often at great personal cost, while keeping the investor satisfied?

Joanna Track was online earlier to discuss how she navigated the difficult task of sealing the deal while standing up firmly for her and her company's best interests.

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Rasha Mourtada, globeandmail.com: Welcome, Joanna, and thanks for being with us today. You sold a stake of your company, Sweetspot.ca, to Rogers back in 2006. What's your advice to other entrepreneurs on taking on a large corporate investor? Why do it? And what should they be wary of?

Joanna Track: Hi Rasha, it's a pleasure to be involved in this discussion. I would advise anyone who is considering taking on a large corporate investor to do their homework! Learn about the company, the people, other deals they've recently been involved with. Speak to people on the other side of those deals to get their perspective on how it is to work with them. Also, be very upfront from the start. If you want to work from home, tell them. If you expect them to have a certain involvement, tell them. It is better to get it all out in the open before you sign on the dotted line.

Why do it? I think people do it for various reasons....money, security, support. I think they are all valid. For me, the capital infusion was important, but more importantly, I wanted to take Sweetspot to the next level and get broader awareness across the company. While I'm confident I could have achieved this on my own in the long run, it was much faster and more effective with Rogers' fuelling that engine. It also allowed me to focus on other areas of the business.

I think any small business owner should be wary if the offer is too good to be true, or if there is any ambiguity in how the deal will work in either the short and/or long term. If what they are offering you significantly surpasses what you're expecting, you need to take a close look to ensure there is no "catch." And you don't want any ambiguity with respect to goals and expectations in the near and far term...you need to know where you stand now and in the future.

Albin Forone, Toronto: Sometimes BigCo is interested in the business, with its own trademarks, customer base, etc., but sometimes it's really interested in the person or people behind it. Not long ago, I decided to sell what you could call my 'subject matter expertise' on a contract basis to BigCo, rather than join the corporate salarymen. No regrets. I'd be interested in how you might have dealt with the personal 'job offer' rather than a business-to-business buyout proposition.

Joanna Track: Having "subject matter expertise" is as valuable an asset as your company. In many instances, it is your company! If I had been approached with this type of offer, I would have been interested so I would have investigated how I could be compensated for my time and expertise in a way that made it worth my while. But I would also be careful that I wouldn't have to give away too many of my own secrets. It is one thing to provide advice and act as a consultant, but it can be challenging if you are still operating your own business as you don't want to give away any of your competitive secrets. For example, I am invited to speak at many panels and lectures about Sweetspot and my success, and I always try to keep it to the general lessons I've learned. This has proven to be valuable to the audience, without jeopardizing my intellectual property.

Michelle Zorn, Toronto: Hi Joanna, I love your site! I have been a devoted subscriber since 2004 and a subscriber to Sweetmama.ca since 2006. Did you start Sweetspot.ca with the intention of partnering with another company or did you envision Sweetspot.ca going in another direction?

Joanna Track: Hi Michelle, thanks for your continued support! When I launched Sweetspot I had hoped that one day an investor would come along to either invest or acquire the company, but I thought it would be more in the 5 year time frame. I figured that by then it would most likely be an acquisition. The proposal that was made to me by Rogers worked out so well for many reasons, but especially because it was early in the company's life, so it has allowed me the opportunity to partake in it's growth and success, while still providing a potential exit strategy in the longer term.

Adila Cokar, Toronto: I think one of the hardest parts for small businesses is to get noticed by the right person. I was just wondering how Rogers came to know about you. Did you initiate the conversation?

Joanna Track: No, I did not initiate the conversation. In this case, I was lucky to know someone who knew someone who mentioned it to someone at Rogers. But I agree that it is hard to get noticed. I did make an investment (quite early in the business) to hire a PR person. This was extremely valuable as they were able to use their network and contacts to help us generate more awareness. And while I was connected to Rogers through a friend, the people at Rogers had already heard about me, and Sweetspot, through some of the earlier press we had garnered.

Carolyn Lawrence, Toronto: Hi Joanna, congratulations on your progress! I'm interested to know if you considered partnering with a large organization prior to their call, and, either way, what you believe your leadership and company provided that attracted them to the partnership? Thank you!

Joanna Track: Thanks Carolyn. I hadn't specifically considered Rogers, although I had always thought that if I were to sell I would want it to be to an established, media company. I never wanted to be one of many companies swallowed up into some sort of holding company...I always wanted it to be an organization that would really help the brand flourish, which Rogers has.

I think the thing that Sweetspot has that attracted them, was a unique business model, with good profit potential. But as they told me, they were buying into me, even more than the company. I think I showed them that I had a good balance of creative ideas, and strong, effective business skills. I think at times there are entrepreneurs out there with fantastically creative business ideas, but have a challenge managing the day-to-day business operations. I was able to show Rogers I was good at both.

Mo C, Toronto: Hi Joanna, This question is more broadly about your experiences as an entrepreneur. Compared with your idea about what it was going to take to succeed when you first started sweetspot.ca, what did you encounter throughout your experiences that you least expected? Or that you were least prepared for?

The thing I least expected was how quickly it would take off! And although that is definitely a good problem, I wasn't prepared financially to leave my job and take this on full time. So for about 9 months it was extremely challenging to keep up some form of income (by working in advertising) and still meeting the demands that Sweetspot was generating. In the end, I took the big risk of leaving my job and living off my savings (and credit cards). For me it paid off, but it is definitely a risky move. For others, I would advise to do some financial planning before so that you know how long you can really go without getting a paycheque and then decide if you are willing to take that chance.

Gillian Moody, Toronto: Hi, Thanks so much for doing this! You sound well-researched. I was wondering about the timeframe, from the time you decided to sell to the time that it was sold. Was Rogers your main target? Were there additional kinds of buyers you had in mind? (I mean, in addition to media.) Have you repeated the process with additional blogs and/or products? Thanks again.

Joanna Track: Hi Gillian. As the Globe article mentioned, I had been approached by a few other media companies prior to Rogers but for one reason or another, they weren't the right deal for me. But from the time Rogers first approached me until the deal was signed was about a 4 month period, which I have heard is very fast for a deal to close! I didn't really have any other buyers in mind. I haven't repeated the process to date, but I know that Rogers' strategy is to continue to look at businesses that may follow the same model as mine.

Jill Lewis, New York: First of all, congrats on your site- we love it! What challenges do you face nurturing the needs of a tightly-knit staff with the interests of a big corp like Rogers?

Joanna Track: Thanks Jill, I'm thrilled to see we have support south of the border too! We have worked very hard at Sweetspot to maintain an entrepreneurial culture, even with the involvement of Rogers. To many people's surprise, we operate in a separate office which allows us to create an environment that feels more niche than corporate. All of our companies policies and procedures are also set up completely independently from Rogers so they are tailored to the needs of our staff. We have grown from 1, to 2, to currently 15 employees, in about 3.5 years, so one of the biggest challenges has been the growing pains...learning to adapt to having more people around and getting others involved in decision making and execution. But we work hard to communicate with each other openly and often which has smoothed the transition.

Rasha Mourtada, globeandmail.com: Thanks, Joanna, for taking the time to answer reader questions. Any last thoughts you'd like to leave readers with?

Joanna Track: Thanks, Rasha. It's been a pleasure. I would just like to thank all your readers for their terrific support. And for anyone trying to achieve their entrepreneurial dreams...go for it!