Clad in jeans and his signature Life is Good T-shirt, entrepreneur Bert Jacobs (pictured left) comes out to greet us from behind the giant oak desk set in his corner office of the Boston headquarters of the Life is Good company.

Located on chichi Newbury Street, the co-founder of the $100 million T-shirt company is anything but pretentious. His infectious smile and down-to-earth demeanor reflect the brand that he and his brother, John, have built since they started selling T’s from the back of their VW van in 1987.

“I think that sometimes people look at us and think that we’re in la-la land,” he says. “Like we’re sitting here eating ice cream and throwing Frisbees around on the beach. But we’re not. At least, not always. We’re competitive people who live in the real world. We wake up and fight like anybody else. But we have a deep-seated belief that it’s powerful to be optimistic. And for us, the business is definitely a fulfillment of that philosophy.”

What a pleasure it was to get a dose of his optimism and to share it with our readers as we celebrate the month of love. Scroll down for Bert’s advice. And be sure to read our February Tips for Entrepreneurs column for more ideas on how to fall in love with yourself to better serve your business.

Also in this issue, we celebrate Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, with 14 columns filled with ideas on how to love your business.

And, we leave you with this parting thought from this month’s Quotes column, which gives a nod to 14 of our favorite love songs. Do you know who sang this? “I went sky diving / I went Rocky Mountain climbing / I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu / And I loved deeper / And I spoke sweeter / And I gave forgiveness I’ve been denying / And he said someday I hope you get the chance / To live like you were dying.” Check it out.

Here’s to your incredible, indelible, Inkandescent success! — Hope Katz Gibbs, Inkandescent Public Relations