Small Business: The Passion Of Creators

By: Terrence Walker

I was once asked, "What did you love as a child?" It made me think back to what made me really happy as a kid. "What did you pretend when you played make believe? What games were your favorites? Were you a creator?"

I don't know where I got the idea, but I was all about small business when I was a child. I used to draw comics and sell them to other kids in the school yard for a few bucks. I was drawing all the time, in class, at home, anywhere a pen and pad could be found. People were genuinely interested in what I created, so why not make a few bucks off it if I could? Well, my parents really frowned on that idea.

My parents grew up during the industrial era. In that day, you could enter into a good company at a young age, work your way up and eventually become very prosperous or even rich inside that company. Some even gained a stake in the corporation itself. Before the industrial era, small business made up the bulk of the American economy, but at the turn of the century, people flocked to jobs in factories and huge corporations overtook the economic scene. This was not without its consequences.

We all know that day is over now. Job security is but a myth. Companies really caring about and taking care of employees is a rarity. These days if you want to make your way in the world, the idea of small business is worthy of serious consideration. Today we live in what is called the information age and he who controls the information becomes an island unto himself.

I never really lost my taste for enterprise. In the year 2000, not unlike on the schoolyard, I created an animated short film called Understanding Chaos, self published it on DVD and sold it directly from my own website with good results. No venture capital was involved, no investors needed and no major studios played any part in the operation. Just me, just like with a pen and a spiral notebook. This time, though, it was through the magic of the latest computer technology, off-the-shelf software, firewire and DV.

So if you look back into your childhood, what do you see yourself doing? Are the seeds of your future business to be found there? This is one possible road to your true passion, the thing you would do for hours on end even if there was no pay involved. I was drawing all the time and I loved to draw with people and help them draw. I see my passion from my own past. Does your past show you the right track?