Starting a Small Business - People Need What You Do Well

The day I passed the bar exam in California, I was treated to a new camera. I had always wanted one for a long time and passed the bar seemed a good excuse to spend money. Photography had always been a hobby and people told me I had a great eye.

For years, photography was mostly a hobby. Occasionally, people would ask if he could buy a photo, the first time I thought it was a joke. But when I handed over the money in exchange for my work, he laughed. Over the years, I started selling pieces. It has never been my main source of income, but it certainly was a nice sideline.

When I sat as a judge pro tempore in Ventura County, California, we had a silent auction fundraiser at the courthouse. I won a seat for a family portrait. To my surprise there was a flurry of race. While the money was for charity, the money handed over to my photography was still considerable. Courthouse employees had seen my picture on every wall of my office, an office that for luck of the draw was more of the great rooms of the President.

Several years later I escaped from my legal career. And while other professional commitments then, photography has remained a part of my life. I continued to sell my work, never think of photography as a business "real". And then came the diagnosis of a potentially fatal disease. No more work, living on disability, but still able to sit at my computer and do something.

My doctor had seen my picture, the work I had done more than 20 years. He suggested that I put my work online and try to sell it. His idea does not seem possible at first, but when a friend has the same suggestion, I thought I'd give it a try. Because photography has always been easy for me, it never occurred to me that anyone would really value what I could do.

I opened an online store, putting my picture on clothes, accessories and gifts. To my delight, other online merchants, they were lavish with their praise. All of a sudden I was flooded with so many testimonies of these merchants I've actually added a testimonial page on my website.

But starting a new business is not limited to someone with a talent for photography or art. There are a lot of people, including one of my sons, who are wizards with computers. And there are people willing to pay for their services. If you have experience with programming, there are people out there that you need. If your talents lie in organizing huge piles of garbage in a well-run office or home, there are people out there who would pay to organize their huge piles of garbage.

Whatever your talent, someone will pay for it. Spend any time at all on the internet and you will find people seeking services and products. They need tutors for their children, the designers of the web site for their new businesses, wardrobe consultants to help them upgrade their image.

And if computers scare you, take a walk through the Yellow Pages. You will find companies that offer products and services never knew existed. When I was practicing law, there was an office on my plan for a company that has taught her to speak to lawyers. The owner told me that her specialty was working with lawyers to improve their skills in the classroom. And from all appearances, he was doing quite well.

Everyone has talent. There are things we can do that others can not. And what others can not do, are willing to pay for them to do. And this is the beginning of a small business .......