(FORTUNE Small Business) – "Dear FSB: One of my best employees, who was an Army Reservist, shipped out to Iraq about a year and a half ago. We are a small shop (eight people, including me), and I had to hire someone to replace him. Now he is home, and he wants his old job back, even though because of a spinal injury he isn't physically able to do the work he did before: installing boilers. How do I handle this? —DAVE LOUNSBURY, Narrowsburg Mechanical, Narrowsburg, N.Y. narrowsburghvac@yahoo.com

DEAR DAVE: Every once in a while (and not just every April 15), Uncle Sam expects us to step up and do something for our country. This may be one of those times. According to the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (dol.gov/vets), an employer, no matter how small, must rehire returning veterans, either into the jobs they had before or—thanks to the statute's so-called escalator provision—into more senior positions they would have attained had they not been called to active duty. If your former employee were still physically able to do his old job, you'd have to give it to him and let the new worker go. "It's a harsh result" for the replacement hire, notes Matthew Gilligan, a partner in law firm Alston & Bird in Atlanta (alston.com). "But, because the law requires it, you or your firm would incur no liability."

Because this injured veteran can no longer perform his old job, it gets a little trickier. The law obliges you to find a job he can handle and give him that one—again, even if it means you have to reassign or sack whoever is doing it now. What if there is no such job? Do your best to create one. (Office manager? Bookkeeper? Telephone sales?) If it turns out that you have nothing this veteran can do and you can't invent a position for him, then the law allows you to decline to take him back. But that, too, would be a harsh outcome, and he may end up appealing. "Big employers generally have many more places to put people of varying abilities than small ones do," observes Gilligan. "So the burden of this legislation falls most heavily on small companies like yours."

Dear FSB: I own a personnel firm that recruits engineering and technical professionals, mostly for government contractors. I spend most of my time counseling both corporate clients looking to hire people and candidates who need help with résumés, job interviewing skills, etc., and I find myself repeating the same advice over and over. So I'm thinking of starting a blog and posting some of this stuff where everyone can read it. Should I set up a blog as part of my current website, or separately? MICHAEL PRENCIPE HR STAFFING SOLUTIONS SPRINGFIELD, VA. VMP@HRSSINC.COM

DEAR MICHAEL: It makes sense to combine your blog and your website because there is software available, including a free open-source tool called WordPress, that can handle both. "It's convenient and cheap, and you get a very professional look and feel without having to hire a web designer," says Andy Wibbels, a Chicago consultant (GoBlogWild.com) whose book you might want to check out: Blogwild! A Guide for Small Business Blogging (Portfolio, $19.95).

Using a blog to avoid endlessly repeating yourself is wise, according to Wibbels. "Blog entries are archived, so people can look up past topics that you've addressed," he says. "One of the best uses of a blog is to explain things you'd like people to know before they sit down to talk with you." As a bonus, don't be surprised if your website draws a lot more traffic once you've added a blog to it. One of Wibbels's clients, a tiny outfit, Teach Me Teamwork (teachmeteamwork.com), which makes teamwork software, started blogging and "jumped from No. 75 on Google's search page [for teamwork coach] to No. 1." Sweet.

Dear FSB: I've been in the hospitality trade (two inns, one restaurant) for 38 years, and I think I'm ready to sell my company and retire. I've had a couple of nibbles, but the offers seem low. Could I get a better price by going through a business broker? NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST PLEASANTON, CALIF.

DEAR PLEASANTON: Business brokers, who aren't exactly unbiased, will tell you that the average price on a brokered deal is 20% higher than your company would fetch if you sold it yourself. Even if that figure is a bit puffy, brokers' fees average 10% to 15% of the sale price, so using a middleman may well pay for itself. To find a broker near you, go to ibba.org, the International Business Brokers Association site.

Many of the biggest brokers, such as Sunbelt Business Advisors in Charleston, S.C., charge nothing until your business sells. As for whether the prices you've been offered are on the low side, Sunbelt CEO Ed Pendarvis (sunbeltnetwork.com) says that—depending on cash flow, location, and industry strength, among other factors—most small businesses are now selling for two to four times annual earnings.

Dear FSB: Are there any good books that someone considering entrepreneurship should read? —WAYNE KAMINSKI, Lebanon, N.J. Windsurf61@yahoo.com

DEAR WAYNE: Hoo boy. Amazon lists 76,041 books under the heading "small business" and 87,493 with the word "entrepreneur" in the title. But one place to start is with Beating the Odds in Small Business by Tom Culley (Fireside, $24.95). Culley is a former McKinsey consultant who has been involved in dozens of startups , and his book is wonderfully clear-eyed, realistic, and smart. Readers, what say you? Write and tell us—and Wayne—about your favorite book on starting up.

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