About Small Businesses

This past Friday I went to a get together at a friend’s house. It was everything a good grown up party should have been. The food was hot dogs with themes from around the world (my bf and I were Thailand which was cilantro, shredded carrots and peanut sauce, so you get the idea). While it was mainly work people I got to expand my network and got into a conversation with another small business owner.

His business produces wind chimes for your car and while our products are miles away from each other we had a grand old time talking shop. Now not only were our products miles apart, but he is in a partnership, I’m a sole proprietor, he produces in China, I’m all about using products and mills in the US (its even better when I get to meet the sheep), he is marketing to a very small niche, and I’m marketing to knitter’s in general (granted its sock yarn but you’ll be seeing fingerless mitten patterns, baby sweaters, hats and other things).

His goal is to do a mail order business and since he is a partnership and produces in China he had a large start up cost and his taxes are going to be so easy, so I could not ask him for too much advice. But we discussed what it takes to make a small business succeed.

Now rather then going into this huge long thing about what you need to do it I’m going to cut to the chase. It’s the person or people running the business. They have to be driven, ready for the hard times and the good times, and they have to plan ahead.

People that are not planners need to look at a partner that can plan, and do anything they can’t. Usually there is a planner and a person that comes up with ideas. It’s a very yin and yang thing. I’m kind of a control freak so being a sole proprietor is my way of making sure I did not kill a partner, but I have great friends that always offer ideas and are willing to get messy in the dye in exchange for yarn.

I actually have a friend coming over in a couple weeks to dye the first official batch! So stay tuned!