Getting things in order? Preparing for customers, or even worse, preparing for lack of customers?

I know there are several business owners on here ... how did you deal with the stress? The fear of the unknown?

Most importantly for us, dh has a full time job that pays our housing cost, basic bills and benefits. The business is our second job, so when it is slow (and it has been slower this summer due to economy) we can still afford our basic needs. The business allows us pay off debt, save money and have some disposable income.

This is dh's second small business and he learned a lot from his first one, about spending, taxes, marketing, etc. So, some success is based on trial and error, at least in our experience.

The stress can be tough, especially in slow times, but we just remind ourselves that we're not going under because of it. Life just gets very simple in the off season (and we try to build a small savings every year to help us through that time, especially since it's always around the holidays)

You start with prayer, patience and lots of good friends.

When I started my business in the late 70's, it was out of necessity. Being a single mom with three kids, two with special needs and care. So I started out with something that I knew about and could do at home. Cooking.

I research my state and local laws and got all of my licenses and permits that I needed. Then I got a small loan and started my catering business. Then when that grew, I borrowed more money and open my restaurant.

You have to have patience and a lot of will power to get you through the rough patches. And there will be rough patches.

You also have to be flexible if you can. If something in your business doesn't work, you have to be open to ideals of what will work.

Research is a key to any good business not failing. Research and see what kind of business your area needs. If for example, there are 30 womens clothing stores in your area and one kids clothing store, than your area probably needs a kid clothing store instead of a women's clothing store.

A friend of mine open a "wife for hire" business. She picks up cleaning, does shopping, and even cooks for dinner parties for people. She has about 20 regular customers, most of them lawyers and Dr's, who don't have time to do the things their self. Her customers are men and women.

She saw the need, when she worked full time for a lawyer and he was always asking her if she could do these things. She realized that if one person didn't have time, there was probably more people who didn't have the time.

So her business was born!