When I was running my internet company, I was the target of some vicious gossip. Some women--who did not even know me--began saying things about me in online and offline forums that were not true. When I tried to confront them, I was attacked and ridiculed. When I stepped back in hopes that it would die down, the rumblings grew out of control. I didn't know what to do, and I was an emotional wreck.

Tanya Hart, 46, of Taste of Vino, a wine shop and wine bar in Illinois, faced similar attacks when she opened her business in a dry neighborhood. While the town board voted to allow her store to open, the issue split the community. When she later applied for a wine bar license, the controversy stirred again.

"When we went for permission for a street festival, I was vilified for asking the village to support the event financially. Many felt because we are a 'for-profit business' that we had no right to ask for financial support," says Hart. From her perspective, her company created a major event that brought awareness to the community and supported economic development.

The vocal attacks against Hart and her business moved to a local blog. Hart says the things said about her and her business were hurtful.

"I didn't respond to any of the attacks or even to those who stood up for us," Hart recalls. "[Eventually] I wrote a short article clarifying our intent, thanking people for their continued support and outlining our goals. I mentioned nothing of the issues being discussed [on the website]."

Hart says she found her best course of action was to "take the high road," ignore the rumors and continue on her path. She believes that the dissent actually helped her business because it motivated her supporters as well, turning her street festival into a major success and her company into a million-dollar business.

"Keep in mind," Hart says, "most people who believe in you rarely express it (out loud). They show it by supporting your business and making it successful. Those who are against you will usually speak the loudest, [trying] to be heard over the success."

Internal Rumor-mongering
What do you do when the rumors come from within your company? While Adele Cehrs, the thirtysomething founder and president of Epic Media Relations LLC in Virginia, was working at another agency, one of her subordinates began badmouthing her on a blog. What the employee didn't know was that another staff member read the blog regularly and made Cehrs aware of the postings that called her "stupid" and "incompetent."

Cehrs went to her supervisor to talk over the situation, then opted to confront the employee.

"I showed her the blog text, told her I was very disappointed in her actions and said she needed to immediately remove the text. Additionally, I wrote her a reprimand that she had to sign that detailed the incident," Cehrs says.

Cehrs admits resenting the employee after the incident, but finally trying to move past it soon after deciding to open up her own firm.

"I have a policy against gossiping," Cehrs says about her company, which projects up to $1 million in revenue for 2008. "However, I think this is hard to enforce if the upper-level management does not abide by the same principles."

Cehr says that as soon as you sense rumblings at your company, you should go to the source and confront him or her in a professional manner. She also says, however, that sometimes company gossip can point out what's "ailing your team." It should be stopped, though, before it creates a larger issue.

Hart's advice is to take the time to thank the people who support you.

"Focus always on the positive and not the negative," Hart says. "You have to move past [the gossip] and stay focused on the good."