Talents Equals Small Business Ideas

Starting a Small Business - People Need What You Do Well!

By Carol Knopf

Everyone has a talent. Maybe you’re terrific at fixing computers, taking a pile of junk and organizing it into a workable office; photographing children, writing songs. Whatever you can do, someone else can’t manage. And that’s your market. Take whatever talents you have and offer it to people who need those skills. By matching your skills and shoppers needs, you can start a business guaranteed to succeed.

The day I passed the California Bar Exam, I treated myself to a new camera. I’d been wanting one for a long time and passing 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. From time to time, people would ask if they could buy a photo; the first time I thought it was a joke. But when he handed me money in exchange for my work, he wasn’t laughing. Over the years, I began selling more and more pieces. It was never my main source of income but it certainly was a nice sideline.

When I sat as a pro team judge in Ventura County, California, we had a silent auction fundraiser at the courthouse. I donated a sitting for a family portrait. To my surprise there was a flurry of bidding. While the money was going to charity, the money handed over for my photography was still size able. Courthouse employees had seen my photography all over the walls of my office, an office that by luck of the draw turned out to be larger than the chambers of the presiding judge.

Several years later I escaped from my legal career. And while other professional endeavors followed, photography remained a part of my life. I kept selling my work, never thinking of photography as a “real” business. And then came the diagnosis of a life-threatening illness. No more work, living on disability, yet still able to sit at my computer and do something.

My doctor had seen my photography, work I had done over 20 years. She suggested that I put my work online and try to sell it. Her idea didn’t seem feasible at first, but when a friend made the same suggestion, I thought I’d give it a try. Because photography has always been easy for me, it didn’t really occur to me that anyone else would really value what I could do.

I opened an online store, putting my photography on clothes, accessories and gifts. To my great delight, other online merchants were lavish with their praise. All of a sudden I was inundated with so many testimonials from these merchants I actually added a testimonial page to my website.

But starting a new business isn’t limited to someone with a talent for photography or art. There are lots of people, one of my sons included, who are whizzes with computers. And there are people willing to pay for their services. If you have expertise with programming, there are people out there who need you. If your talents lie in organizing massive piles of junk into a well-run office or household, there are people out there who would love to pay you to organize their massive piles of junk.

Whatever your talent, there is someone will to pay for it. Spend any time at all on the Internet and you’ll find people seeking services and products. They need tutors for their kids, website designers for their own new businesses, wardrobe consultants to help them update their image.

And if computers scare you, take a walk through the Yellow Pages. You’ll find companies offering services and products you never knew existed. When I was practicing law, there was an office on my floor for a company that taught speaking to lawyers. The owner explained to me that her specialty was working with attorneys to improve their courtroom skills. And from all appearances, she was doing quite well.

Each of us has talent. There are things we can do that others cannot. And what others cannot do, they are willing to pay us to do for them. And that is the start of your small business.

In 2003, Carol was diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases: pulmonary fibrosis and psoriatic arthritis. A year later, Carol’s lung capacity fell below 50%, resulting in her having to go on permanent disability. She opened, Carol’s Wearable Art, an online store, in an attempt to cover medical costs not covered by Medicare or insurance. To contact Carol, please use her store email: carolswearableart@yahoo.com

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