The Dixie D Short Line "Lux Lucet In Tenebris Nihil Igitur Mors Est Ad Nos 2001"
QUOTE: Originally posted by Allan Miller I will take a more pragmatic approach, and say that if you have the financial resources to continue your customary lifestyle and operate your sideline business without that business adversely impacting your overall income, then go ahead and give it a try, if you care to. But getting into the business side of the hobby can be a very risky thing, regardless of what scale you are involved with and no matter what the product or price. Doing something you love and being willing to work hard at it can sometimes pay off, but just as often--or perhaps more often--it leads to disappointment or, worse than that, financial hardship. A handful of folks urging you on in an on-line forum is one thing, but none of them are confirmed customers yet and it's always easy for folks to say "Sure, go for it" without taking into account the consequences that are possibly going to affect the party they are addressing. I would just urge caution, and getting involved in a properly planned and realistic way. I would never discourage an entreprenural spirit, but it has to be tempered with realism in a small niche within an already small hobby (model railroading). And it's not a hobby that is exactly growing by leaps and bounds these days, for a variety of reasons.
Tom Trigg
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