Small Business Ideas

A fishing buddy of mine and I have thrown around business ideas for some time thinking that if we came up with the perfect idea that we could make a go of it in the valley we love. We came up with numerous ideas*. One of my favorites was to resurrect the milk delivery truck. We would deliver organic dairy to people's doorsteps daily in reusable pint containers. It didn't seem like a bad idea seeing how many gallons of milk my family goes through in a week. The milk and dairy products would be locally supplied, it would keep plastic jugs out of the landfill, and it would cut down on trips to the supermarket.

Another idea was an evening daycare business where parents could drop off their kid(s) at the last minute for a night at the movies or dinner. But seeing as how other people's kids tend to lower my tolerance threshold, for my child's sake, that idea was quickly nipped in the bud.

We toyed around with the 'novel' idea (sarcasm intended) of opening up a fly-shop together. Seeing as how we both have intimate knowledge of the workings of the business, we felt secure in our plans. My wife even said she could run the bakery next door. Would you like a fly with your bagel? Of course, this intimate knowledge also made us keenly aware of the drawbacks and limitations of another such business in the valley. Also, can there be any better way to ruin a favorite hobby then to try and make a business of it?

These rough plans were sketched out before the current economic downturn which could have been a deterrent, but I found the biggest obstacle was that every idea could never pass mustard against the initial question - Would I buy that? No. That's the problem with being buy local/American made/environmentally conscious and a tight wad. It limits the possibilities.

Memories of these business ideas came flooding back to me the other day when reading a passage from Robert Sullivan's "Cross Country...". Sullivan recounts an interview he read about the owner of The Beat Bookstore in Boulder, CO, a small bookstore specializing in beat poetry like that of Jack Kerouac.

"When the reporter from the Boulder newspaper asked Tom Peters how he had survived as a small-bookstore owner for over fifteen years, he responded by saying, "Low aspirations.""

Perhaps that is the key to our business success. Think small. Make just enough to scrape by. Love what you do. Hmm..., of course, it wouldn't hurt to be married to a couple rich wives willing to bankroll us. It would make life easier.

To my fishing friend: I look forward to meeting up again streamside this summer so we can float some bugs and draft new business ideas that will never see the light of day.

And to my wife: that part I mentioned above, get on that.

* I share these because I don't believe anyone would be dumb enough to put them into motion, but if you do you can make out a check and send a share of the profits to "Frank".

"Cross Country...", Again

Reading is a lot like writing for me, it happens in spurts depending on the subject and my mood. Some books can be read in a matter of days, others take months, no matter the number of pages. And now with a family, a job, travel, March Madness, and a new fishing season starting, it's a wonder any reading or writing gets done at all.

In Robert Sullivan's book "Cross Country..." (a book I have stretched out over four months), he recalls one of his transcontinental trips referring to it as his Worst Cross-Country Trip Ever, a trip he doesn't care to remember but can't seem to forget. This of course makes me think of a few unpleasant memories of my own. You know, the kind of embarrassing nuggets you keep locked away in the back of your mind but come screaming back in vivid color at inconvenient times triggered by who knows what, and you find yourself looking for a dark place so you can't be seen closing your eyes, plugging your ears, and screaming, "La-la-la!" at the top of your lungs until the moment has passed. Yikes! Why does the brain have to be so cruel?

"Cross Country..." with Robert Sullivan

I'm suffering from post-election, post-New Year's hangover, and I think reality is setting in. It's time for a good escape.

...started a book entitled "Cross Country: Fifteen Years and 90,000 Miles on the Roads and Interstates of Amer..." blah, blah, blah (long title) about a transcontinental trip from Portland to New York by author Robert Sullivan, his wife, and two kids. It was recommended by my brother-in-law (not a bad read, bro).

Less than a hundred pages in and following the return path of Lewis and Clark (much to the disinterest of his family), the author and family top Lolo Pass on Highway 12, take a dip in the hot springs, and decide to spend the night in Missoula. The next morning they park downtown to get some coffee and visit a few shops. They...

"stop at a great little bookstore just up from the Missoula train station and buy way too many books, stuffing our car in a fashion that would halt our progress entirely if we were crossing the country the way families first did, when the United States was expanding shortly after the return of Lewis and Clark." (p.78)

Hmm... I wonder what book store Sullivan is referring to? (wink)

Next stop: a round of golf at the black slag lined hazards of the Old Works in Anaconda.