(MONEY Magazine) – FOR TV'S TOP HOLLYWOOD AGENT

Entourage's Ari needs a better plan for his new business

When we last saw agent-to-the-stars Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), he had just started his own firm but had already made a series of missteps. First he alienated an old-school producer; then he ratted out a studio higher-up who gave him a confidential lead. And finally, he gave his biggest client, Vince (Adrian Grenier), a generic agency sell that sent him out the door to hunt for new representation. Before the show returns to HBO on April 8, it would pay for the character to rethink his m.o., says Bill Driscoll, a financial planner in Plymouth, Mass.

• Differentiate yourself. Your new venture is smaller and more flexible than the established giants. Use that to offer clients something different—and better—starting with a personalized pitch instead of cookie-cutter treatment.

• Coddle your network. You need every connection you can get, so don't step on the little guys. Or the big ones. If you accidentally chase away your cash cow, as Ari did, there's only one solution, according to Driscoll: "Go back on your hands and knees and apologize."

• Balance out revenue streams. A small business needs small-time but regular clients just as much as it requires those that bring in tons of cash occasionally. So keep Vince, but don't forget about Johnny Drama.

...Weird investment of the month: pollution. XShares Advisors has just launched a series of ETFs focused on carbon dioxide emissions credits...