Inspiring Small Business Stories:

The best thing about starting a small business, is that, you need to have only one ingredient for success : conviction. This is the conclusion of my research on successful small business owners . Read on to gain some more insights and motivation.

Shawn Nelson used to be a couch potato. Shawn was 18, and watching TV when he decided, he needed something more comfortable and soft than his couch to relax upon. The new need sent him to his garage, where he started shaping 14 inches of vinyl into a baseball shape. He started stuffing the baseball-shaped vinyl with all kinds of soft things that he could find. It took Shawn three weeks to build the object of his desire. This is the history of LoveSac.

It did not take much time for neighbors, friends and other visitors to appreciate the beauty and comfort of the new object. Shawn saw himself getting flushed with orders. He started making the LoveSacs in his parents basement. His friends provided him with free help. It all started as fun. Shawn began selling his LoveSacs at trade shows and events. But it was a phone call that directed the future course of LoveSac. It was a phone call from Too Inc. that wanted 12,000 LoveSacs for its Too Limited Stores.

Shawn took a loan of $ 50,000 on his credit card and started his factory. He worked day and night, for several weeks to fulfill the order. At the end of it, his hands were cracking and bleeding. The next step was to open a mall store. It was a huge success, and LoveSac soon started franchising. It has 55 stores, and a sales figure of $ 30 million.

Tim Pethick, while, living overseas in US & UK, developed a taste for fresh fruit juice, without any added preservatives:

• In 1999, when he went back to Australia, he found there was nothing to suit his newly developed taste palate. He began an intensive search for the fruit juice, but met with no success.

• Thus, germinated the seed of a new idea. Utterly frustrated and disappointed, he decided to make the fruit juice himself. In 2003, Tim Pethick launched Nudie products. Tim continued educating himself about everything related to fruit juices: from manufacturing to packaging.

• Tim did no market research for his new product. He had developed such a liking for it, that he had no doubt, it would sell.

• He prepared a business plan, much after, he was successfully running his business. However, he needed a business plan to obtain a bank loan to finance vehicles required for the delivery of the fruit juice.

• The Nudie brand continues to expand to new international markets. The sales figures were a whooping $ 12 million in 2004, despite a factory fire.

• Two brothers, Darrin and Jeff in 1998, started Clubfurniture.com, an online retail furniture business, in 1998. The duo was convinced of the power of Internet to help them sell high-quality, handcrafted ,upholstered furniture and accessories.

• The two had worked at manufacturing companies, and had observed lacunas in the supply-distribution chain. They realized that the Internet presented the perfect solution.

• They signed contracts with 100 local manufacturers and artisans. The contract obliged the manufacturers to sell their products solely through clubfurniture.com. However, the Kings had to invest in the initial product development and marketing. They came out with a high quality catalogue. They send samples and swatches to their customers.

• The brothers believe in a slow and steady growth pattern. They have 8 employees, and their sales figure for 2005 was projected at $ 5 million.

• Content is the king on Internet, so it is said. It is the written word that makes all the difference in this virtual world. Whether it is an article about a specific subject or an e-commerce site or the chat room, it is all about what one reads. Eileen Coale was always interested in writing. In all her jobs and tasks, she gravitated towards writing-related tasks. She began her career as a translator, and has ended up being a successful, well known freelance copywriter.

However, this journey began as a result of financial crunch. Eileen was a stay-at-home mother of four kids. Hers was a one-income family, the income generated by her husband. Eileen found herself stretching her pennies, and becoming better at money management. Her newly developed skill landed her with an article on Money Management in a newspaper column. This is how Eileens writing journey began. Soon, she found herself writing a regular newspaper column and freelance articles for magazines.

• Eileen soon found out that writing for businesses had better paying prospects. In the beginning, she lacked the confidence to pursue her dreams. Luckily, Eileen had two women entrepreneurial friends, who provided her with the necessary push.

• Eileen kept honing her writing skills, learning about marketing concepts and techniques. She is completely self-taught. She began targeting the right kind of clients. In the beginning, her typical client was a small business owner, who needed to be educated about marketing concepts.

• Coale Communications has contracts with a number of ad agencies, apart from working for small business owners, with big budgets. The website is the chief marketing tool. The business has been primarily developed and expanded by networking.

At present, Eileen writes copy for brochures, direct mail, advertorials, and press releases. But, primarily her work is for Internet marketing : e-newsletters, e-zine, web copy and web content. Eileen has employed her husband as computer tech support and pays him a retainer. She is planning upon employing her four children in her business. From buying for her children from yard sales, Eileen has moved on to shopping from malls.