It's bound to happen. You receive an official-looking letter and it's from your federal, state or local government. The language is plain and clear. Your name has come up. You are alerted. You will receive a notice to report for jury duty on a certain date. Either you do so, or you indicate on the notice the date that you can appear.

If you are a full time salaried person, this may not be a hardship, to take off a week, sometimes two weeks and more from your job. The local government usually reimburses you $30-$40 a day and many employers will fill in the difference.

But what of the independent businessperson who depends on every waking hour as a chance to succeed in his or her business? Serving on a jury for any length of time becomes a hardship. Survival usually comes ahead of civic duty. The more days you are away from your work, the less your income.

One answer is to take your case to the court clerk and plead hardship. You try to convince the court that because you are a one-person business, it would be difficult for you to take time away from your work. Generally, they will understand and excuse you until a later time, or at least mitigate your involvement by assigning you to a trial that they anticipate will be short.

Odds are you will be asked to be available at a later time of year. My advice is to choose December. During the holiday season you will spend less time tied up in court, because courts conduct business at a lower pace during the holiday season. It's a time span when judges and attorneys from both sides of the case will postpone or delay court activities.

When you do serve, you never know how long it will be. Back in 1988, I was picked for a trial of a defendant who was charged with a double homicide. I wound up serving six weeks. But I worked for a large company, and I did receive my full salary.