Making a business out of one's passion

Making a business out of one's passion

Pursuing one's passion for a living may involve taking a circuitous,
costly and time-consuming route, but for some entrepreneurs, it is
worth the journey. For Dorothy A. Marcic, a business professor at
Vanderbilt University, the turning point came when she returned to the
United States in 1996 after four years in Prague, Czech Republic, and
decided to take voice lessons, something she had long wanted to do.
Today, Marcic, 57, no longer teaches and has opened her own production
company for "Respect," a musical she wrote about how women are
portrayed in popular culture. "It took a lot more time, a lot more
money" than she originally thought it would, she said, "and it was
a real risk." "You always don't know what you're getting
into," she said. Nonetheless, she is preparing to produce another
musical she wrote.

People can turn their passions into a business at any age, and do.
Matthew Lautar, 32, of College Park, Md., knew he wanted to be a tattoo
artist from age 17, and he is in the process of becoming his own boss.

A well-padded bank account or, at least, a pension can cushion the
financial uncertainty that comes with pursuing one's dreams-so many
defer them to their later years. Then again, sometimes a true
professional love arrives later in life, as in Marcic's case. The
musical was first a one-woman show that she performed around the United
States for several years. She kept her day job in the beginning,
gradually going to part-time work before she quit. She loved the show,
but she was losing money, she said. "I didn't really know what I
was doing," she said. "My bank account went down every month for
five years." To recoup some of her losses, which she estimates at
well over $100,000, she even thought about going back to teaching for a
regular paycheck, but she said, "I wanted to be a playwright." She
wrote a script for a four-woman musical, including herself in one of
the roles, and put up $20,000 to attract a producer. Finally, in July
of 2004, "Respect" went commercial with productions in Boston,
Cleveland and Orlando.

Matthew Lautar's route to his dream was a lot more direct. After
drifting out of high school, he became fascinated by tattoo artistry.
At 17, intrigued with what he called making "fine art on skin," he
became an apprentice to a tattooist in Baltimore. "I wanted a career
where I do something stimulating," he said, "and where I could be
my own boss."

Working at Great Southern Tattoo, in College Park, Maryland, he has put
a down payment on the business and is buying it on monthly
installments. He said with more women coming in for tattoos, the
practice has grown past its "thugs, criminals and bikers" image.

While there are plenty who request the standbys of hearts, butterflies
and crosses, he said many people ask him to draw individual designs.
"This is forever art," he said, "And if I don't do my job
right, I'm going to have a customer who's dissatisfied for the rest
of his life." From:
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_f...tent_id=149656

Tyler Perry had a similar experience as Marcic's.

Perry saved $12,000, moved to Atlanta in 1992, and tried to stage a
play. It was not a success and over the next six years, he struggled
living in Atlanta and he was homeless, but he persevered until the play
finally had a successful run in 1998, first at the House of Blues and
later at the Fox Theatre. From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Perry

See also: http://www.tylerperry.com/

As an undergrad, I worked at a book store. The book store had as its
start a table at a flea market. The owner purchased this kiosk-type set
up, built its customer base and moved into a retail storefront. The
owner maintained that location for several years and then moved to
their own building versus a storefront. Satisfied customers, regular
hours, and a great selection of products has seen the table at a flea
market grow into two different locations with a third location at one
point in time.

The local tattoo shop had been rented by the main artist who operated
the business. Afaik, they had purchased the building within the last
few years.

And my first tattoo, a tiny black lizard on my left shoulder blade was
done by a man who had a tattoo shop on Queen Street in Lancaster.
Skip's Tattoos was the name. The owner told me he got his start doing
tattoo parties. He'd set up and just tattoo people at picnics and such.


The girl who pierced my nipple for the first time did her
apprenticeship at a place called Pop Deluxe in Lancaster, iirc. PD was
a shop that sold vintage clothes and had a chair in the middle of it
all where the young lady would poke people with needles. ;o) She later
worked as a piercer at a tattoo shop in Lancaster and since then I was
told she opened up her own shop as a piercer.

All what I'd call humble beginnings by those people who decided to make
a business out of their passion.

--
Curt
http://curtjames.com/