(FORTUNE Small Business) – DEAR ELLYN: I own a travel agency that has more than 150 employees. Our past success is being threatened by competition from online services. Because of this, or possibly something else, many of my employees seem to have developed negative attitudes, sometimes with clients. I can't possibly get my business back on track without happy and productive employees. Is there anything I can do? -- Needs Attitude Adjustment

DEAR ATTITUDE: You've hit a communication wall. Your company has gotten too big for you to know every employee and all their concerns without a formal communication mechanism. With no clue about what's bugging them, you can't make them happy. And "if you're not trying to build employee satisfaction, you're just missing a business opportunity," says Ed Gubman, a former Hewitt Associates exec and the author of The Talent Solution (McGraw Hill, $24.95).

Here's an inexpensive suggestion from Winning Workplaces (www.winningworkplaces.org), a not-for-profit consulting group in Evanston, Ill. Establish employee forums or conduct an employee survey. An employee forum is a group of employee delegates, elected by workers, who meet regularly with company managers. The goal is to uncover and resolve grievances and requests, as well as to funnel suggestions for improvement from employees. If the delegate can't fix the problem herself through normal channels, she brings it to a monthly meeting where a solution is agreed upon and assigned to someone for follow-up. Rather than depend upon a management chain for communication, a forum assures employees that their concerns will be heard at the highest level and acted upon.

I'd like to open a bar and am wondering how you go about it. I am 30 years old and have worked in the financial industry for many years, and I am also a club promoter. How do I obtain the different forms of licenses required to open a bar? -- Happy Hour

DEAR HAPPY: The state you live in will have a crucial impact on your budget. For example, in New York the state liquor board issues licenses that cost a few thousand dollars. If you want to buy a liquor license in Florida's Monroe County, however, you'll need to locate a license owner who's willing to sell it to you. The cost? About $400,000, according to Jon Mejia, national sales manager of the American Liquor License Exchange, a company in Santa Monica, Calif., that helps individuals and companies acquire liquor licenses. No matter where you live, you must gain approval from the state liquor board and file a plan with a local municipality. Your chances of winning approval are good if you have management experience with a bar or restaurant, you're a U.S. citizen, and you have no record of crimes or arrests. But you'll also need to pass muster with the community where your bar will be located. If all goes smoothly, liquor licenses usually take between 60 and 90 days to transfer. Salut!

I'm thinking about growing my customer base by appealing to Hispanics and Asians in my region. Where can I find out more about their income and buying habits? -- Branching Out

DEAR BRANCHING: Smart thinking. While minorities constituted 29.1% of the country's population in 2000, that figure will grow to 40% by 2020. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better trove of ethnic facts, figures, and profiles than the U.S. Census Bureau's at www.census.gov/pubinfo/www/hotlinks.html. And to reach communities near you, tap the ad and marketing departments of local ethnic newspapers.

Got questions? Ellyn has answers. Send your e-mails to ellyn_spragins@timeinc.com or write to her at FSB, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10020.