Your own company

If you had the means to start your own company, what would you do?

1. Renee41 said the following on February 9, 2010 at 5:34 am

   Actually, I started my own practice almost four years ago. The funny thing is that I didn’t have the means at the time but God was pushing me in that direction and it is one of the best things I have ever done. God opened the door for me in amazing ways.
2. onlysixcamels said the following on February 9, 2010 at 7:06 am

   Thats awesome… what kind of practice do you have?

   Hmmm….. probably something wild… like a vintage reproductions shop, where you can buy all sorts of modern made clothes and housing items made in the style of different eras. I’d love that
3. AndreaElena said the following on February 9, 2010 at 7:15 am

   onlysixcamels: I’d shop there!

   I’ve had two ideas:
   * A ministry that combines speaking, acting, and singing — I once went to a women’s ministry banquet at which a woman portrayed Lydia, the seller of purple cloth, in Bible times costume; then changed into regular clothes and spoke; and then sang some solos. She wove all of her content into a cohesive whole. I wish I could remember the theme of it! It struck me then that I would love to do something like that. (Not sure that’s really starting your own business… but it’s kinda close, right?)

   * A coffee shop, café, mini bakery, bookstore, performance space, gift shop — but.. um… isn’t that Borders?
4. JRH12 said the following on February 9, 2010 at 7:48 am

   I love books so I would open a book store, but I also love fishing so I would consider opening a sporting goods store with a focus on fishing and hunting supplies.
5. SlimKatie said the following on February 9, 2010 at 9:49 am

   I would invest in a restaurant that my sister wants to open. (She’s a phenomenal cook!) We found a beautiful historic building in my parents’ hometown that needs renovating but could be so very, very awesome! Our whole family wants to buy it and set up shop there.
6. Renee41 said the following on February 9, 2010 at 11:11 am

   To answer onlysixcamels, I am sorry to disappoint, but it is merely a law practice – nothing exotic or wild, but now your ideas sound great.

   Doing hard things requires stepping out in faith, but it is sooo worth it!
7. Sarabella said the following on February 9, 2010 at 11:25 am

   its been a dream of mine to own a radio station…if i could go all out i’d have a recording studio, bookstore and icecream parlor attatched; a kind of place where music (good music) meets people in a fun, comfortable atmosphere.
8. Kristen said the following on February 9, 2010 at 12:04 pm

   I’d love to start a mental health practice specializing in older adults with dementia and providing support services for the families as well.
9. jobie said the following on February 9, 2010 at 1:42 pm

   I have two ideas:

   1. A coffee bar. I find that it’s common for my friends and I to want to go somewhere to get “adult beverages” but we do NOT want to go to a bar/dance club or restaraunt. We like the “non-threatening” and intellectual feel of the bookstore/coffee shop environment, but in our town these places do not offer alcohol. We’re not alcoholics, we just enjoy a drink now and then socially. So, I’ve thought about opening a business that mixes the coffee shop/bookstore environment with alcohol.

   2. A consulting business for companies that want to go global. My company would be hired to do all of the “leg work” of getting your company in to whatever country you were wanting to tap in to. We would search out all of the HR implications, the marketing issues, translate documents, interpret, write business proposals, PR implications, etc., as well as help your business successfully step in to the country.
10. HeyMel said the following on February 9, 2010 at 2:42 pm

    In the realm of practical reality, I have zero interest in owning my own business. I have several friends who do, and honestly, they work more than any three normal people combined. So from that perspective, I’m pretty happy with my clock-in-clock-out-off-on-weekends gig.

    In the realm of total fantasy… I’d love to make educational travel videos. The only videos I can find for my classes are heinously boring, and every time I show one I think, “Man, I could have done that like a million times better!”
11. jmhead said the following on February 9, 2010 at 3:15 pm

    While I do freelance as my own business currently, but I would like to grow into an actual larger software company at some point.

    Given the funding from initial successful ventures, or freed up time, I would like to branch out in addition into research and development, areas such as personal information technology, space tech and bio-tech fields, perhaps multi-disciplinary as funding and profitability allowed.
12. rannev said the following on February 9, 2010 at 5:43 pm

    I’ve never really considered it until now, but I’ve entertained the idea of starting a Christian literary magazine.
13. Songofpeace said the following on February 9, 2010 at 6:12 pm

    Funny you should ask – I will be starting my own naturopathic medical practice this year, after graduation. I never realized how much work goes into that, but it is exciting! I have been working toward it for years.
14. Joanna said the following on February 9, 2010 at 7:08 pm

    1) Had a crazy idea once to start a pub/hardware store. I know, alcohol and power tools isn’t the greatest combination, but I thought it would be a fun place to hang out where you could learn to DIY. But that was just a silly idea.

    2) My real desire is to have an independent consulting practice someday where I can help churches and ministries be more effective.
15. AZPhotoBug said the following on February 9, 2010 at 7:08 pm

    I love this question! : )!! I’m currently in the works of gathering needed paperwork and equipment needed to start my own side photography business!

    I have been shooting as a hobby on and off for the last 10 years or so, but only recently started getting crazy excited about it (thanks to the introduction of DSLR cameras).

    People left and right have been telling me that I need to be charging people for my work–that it’s good enough to charge people for–but I didn’t believe that myself until last year.

    I’ve always been incredibly critical of my work and it took me a long time (I still wrestle with it sometimes) to come to grips with charging people for my work because of how personal photography is.

    It is like art–and a personal extension of what is flowing out of my heart and onto my canvas (or in this case, my photos).

    But I’ve also got a strong entrepreneurial side to me and I love all of the organization that goes into making a business grow and succeed! : )! I’ve had a lot of interest and a lot of requests for photo shoots, so….once I get my paperwork in and things together, I’m set! : )!!

    ——–

    *Only Six Camels: I’d totally shop there too.

    *Andrea Elena: So awesome! I had a similar idea for a ministry years ago.

    *HeyMel: So true! Owning your own business takes a lot of work, time and sacrifice! For sure!
16. ashmic said the following on February 9, 2010 at 9:19 pm

    If I had the means to start my own company I would like to create a Christian t-shirt line. One that is trendy in style and yet focuses on sharing the truth with the world. I think it would be a lot of fun!
17. SkiingEmu said the following on February 9, 2010 at 11:24 pm

    A buffalo farm
18. dani1210 said the following on February 10, 2010 at 4:28 am

    I have two ideas:
    1) A Christian private practice where I would provide counseling services to children, adults, families and couples.

    2) A non-profit organization focused on helping homeless families. A shelter where parents could learn job skills, children would get tutoring and then some sort of transition plan to successfully integrate them back into the community with all of the skills needed to be successful.
19. anwelei said the following on February 10, 2010 at 6:53 am

    I’d resurrect my favorite co-op hippie grocery store, Gentle Strength.
20. AndreaElena said the following on February 10, 2010 at 8:06 am

    rannev: That’s awesome! We totally need one!! I buy POETRY magazine/journal quite frequently. I like their formatting, fonts, and content. It would be terrific to have a Christian version of that.
21. yieldingtoprayer said the following on February 10, 2010 at 8:10 pm

    I want to have a co-op grocery,too! I would like to sell fruits and vegetables in the farmer’s markets and maybe sell some vegan cookies!
22. Britts said the following on February 10, 2010 at 8:22 pm

    I would start a leadership consulting business that works with churches, civic organizations and small businesses to both train their current leaders to be more effective, and create viable, solid training programs to create a leadership development program within their organizations in order to encourage growth, launch out strong leaders, etc. Yeah, I’ve thought about this a bit. Someday I hope to make it happen.
23. SilverFire said the following on February 11, 2010 at 3:59 pm

    A music label, a literary mag, or an IF game design company. None of these would be about making money, but all about about engaging the culture around us for the cause of Christ. The music label would feature “symphonies etched in steel” — that is, the heaviest, most artistic, and timeless music possible. If that meant a band creating 10 Eps in a row to discuss 10 names of God, so be it. The literary mag would also be wholly artistic, challenging, and expressive of deep truths without all the Christianese. And the IF company would focus on the power of telling the one lasting Story (seen in all other minor stories) in various ways and means.
24. martinwinter said the following on February 11, 2010 at 4:50 pm

    I am planning to actually start my own small company in the not-so-distant future, developing software for Mac/iPhone/iPad. Even though it will mean a lot of work, I do hope to have a more flexible schedule than 9/5, which will hopefully benefit my eventual family