Lens Idea: Small Business Ownership Issues

Today I met a senior, a man who has a profitable art business he's been working at for over thirty years. He buys canvasses from Mexico, spending $5000 at a time, then transfers pictures to them in a way that makes them look like paintings… very beautiful, detailed paintings!

He has a route on the USA west coast going to restaurants to hang his pictures, and they're priced low so people buy them frequently. The only problem is that this year, because of the recession, many restaurants are closing so his income has gone down.

I love the creativity of small business people. It is great to know that people are making money with art. Art contributes to the well-being and sanity of people, treating their souls to the solace of beauty.

When I started a small business for the first time in 2003, I also sold an art - the art of webdesign. You might think of that as a high-tech skill, but I always felt it was an art form, to create a beautiful and attractive website for a client's business.

After I closed the business in 2007 I wanted to continue using my webdesign site for something useful, and decided to blog about how to start a webdesign business. I also made a lens to go with it on starting a webdesign business. I've been surprised at how well that lens has done!

People want small business ideas and inspirations. There's so much uncertainty going into a business, prospective entrepreneurs scan the web looking for help and advice. I very much recommend making a lens about how to build a small business, especially if you know something about a specific type of business people need information on.