Business

Lisa and I have been talking over the past several weeks about businesses, creating our own, and basically trying to figure out the best way to approach it. She attended a business workshop a couple of weeks ago, where the presenters went into great detail about the various type of business licenses, how much they cost, and what you can do with them. This information, coupled with my own research on the subject earlier in the year, will prove beneficial when we finally decide to start.

Like I wrote on my digitalgypsy vfx blog, several ideas of mine proved fruitless after I found similar, yet better products online. My next item that I'm currently developing will be for the food preparation industry; it is a kitchenware item that will prove useful when preparing food. There are a bunch of steps that I will have to go up in addition to the business creation side. These include finding a manufacturer, distributor, and reps to sell my product to the market. On this end, I think attending kitchen trade shows and the like will prove beneficial. There are quite a number of resources online which I've been frequenting over the past year. They include entrepreneur.com, efunda.com, the Uniform Code Council, and score.org.

Why am I doing this? I'm sure I've mentioned in the past, but I feel that being in the visual effects industry is not my final calling. I don't even know if I can take another 30 years of this? While I am having fun and enjoying the work, I don't necessarily feel fulfilled or challenged any more. Not to mention, trying to get a raise is like squeezing blood out of a stone, which is part of the problem. Being recognized for your work in with monetary reimbursement. At least with my own business I can take that as far as I want to, and the survival of that business resides within me, not with an employer.

I will keep you all informed of the steps we've taken and the changes we make for our future benefit.