As a police officer and a lab technologist, we were making a "good" income, but we were tired of giving half of our paychecks away in taxes and watching our bank accounts shrink as our two children got older and more expensive. A financial advisor told us to start a home-based business, which would allow us to generate some extra income and put ourselves in a better tax position, by developing tax benefits, not available to two professionals on salaries.

Our belief in ourselves and our ability to make the business work was very low in the beginning. Neither one of us were comfortable around other people, and the thought of having to meet and work with other people scared us half to death. However, our sponsors Craig and Nancy Boan helped us so much in the beginning, and we developed the confidence that we really could succeed.

The business is not a get rich quick deal. It takes time and effort but the rewards both financial and otherwise far exceed anything else any other venture has to offer.