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Starting a Small Business in the Second Half of Life

January 15, 2025 by info@3QuartersToday.com

If you have visited my blog before you may have wondered where I’ve been the past three years. In summary, the second half of life began in a way I did NOT expect. I moved back into my rental house, renovated and remodeled to reflect MY colors and MY Style, (more on that later) and unexpectedly started an accidental business.

I Didn’t Set Out to Start a Small Business

In the fall of 2020, my home dynamics changed. I was single again in my mid-50s. But a simple quart of homemade Chai concentrate changed everything. Tea n’ More, a home small business was born.

Oh, a particularly bad day, I needed a hug in a mug. A friend sent me a gift certificate for a Dunkin Donuts Chai latte. I drove up to the drive-thru expecting a warm smooth chai, it was so bad I handed it back. Which I never do. But I still needed a hug-in-a-mug.

Make Homemade Chai = tea lattes for the win!

I went searching for a homemade chai tea recipe. Yeah, I know, Chai means “tea” so saying Chai tea is saying tea tea. I found a few chai recipes, tested them, did some modifications, and eventually came out with my own unique My Chai concentrate and the journey in starting a small business began.

Who would know that chai would be the beginning of starting a small business with

If I had to Give Advice on Starting a Small Business

I’m not an expert in small business development, but I did learn a lot when I worked at Oxbow Animal Health during their start-up phase between 2008 and 2010. So I did learn a few things.

My advice on starting a small business are the following.

  • Listen to your customers
  • Find a product they need and want.
  • Be prepared to shift directions
  • Listen to your customers
    • Yes, I said it again, this is product research
  • Don’t go into debt
  • Be patient. Slow and steady wins the race.
  • Research various suppliers to find the best price
  • Don’t underprice your products
  • Remember, listen to your customers
    • Again, a third time. This is market research.
  • Ask questions, and LISTEN to your customers.

Listening to your customers is one of the most important pieces of advice I can give you when starting a small business. This is the number one business tip that helped me grow over the past three years. For example, my customers asked the following.

  • Are you going to add iced teas during the spring and summer?
    • In my head I said to myself “I don’t like ice tea”. But I found myself saying, “SURE”
  • Is there a Chai Kit I can buy to make your concentrate
    • You see for the first 6 months, I just sold the liquid concentrate locally
  • Can you offer single bags for hot tea?
    • I had created some samples, but needed a better method of packaging.
  • It would be nice to have sample packs. Is there any way you make them?
    • My single tea bag samples then served a double-function for customer samples and tea party
  • Do you have a website? You know you need one right?
    • I reluctantly created a website https://www.chaiteaandmore.com/

How to Support Small Businesses

    Supporting a small business is easy and it doesn’t have to be momentarily. You can visit their website

    • Visit their website: gives link juice and Google authority and potentially more traffic
    • Engage on all their social media platforms: It’s not as easy as when I first started in the 1990s
    • Comment and Share Facebook Posts: it’s so hard to get views now
    • Engage on Instagram Account: we all know algorithms are dependent on likes, comments and shares
    • Leave a review on Google: Even better, post a photo! Again Google search authority
    • Talk to your friends the old-fashioned way
    • Encourage your friend with the small business: You have NO IDEA how much this means

    Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: chai latte, small business, small business tips, tea

    Taking the Leap, I Have a Logo

    October 25, 2012 by info@3QuartersToday.com

    3 Quarters Images, is now an offshoot of my photography and editing passion. I’m taking the leap and going to launch a side business as a secondary stream of income. This is in addition to being surrounded by photographs where I work at Hamilton Color Lab in Omaha.

    3 Quarters Images logo

    Although I love taking photos, I enjoy the post production side even more.  I will be concentrating on helping people make the most of the images they take themselves through digital darkroom techniques. This could be using Lightroom 4, Photoshop, Portrait Professional, or other various editing and enhancing tools.

    Some of my services will include scanning, restoration, design services for senior announcements, collages, anniversary gifts and wall groupings. Prints, canvases and prints will, of course, be provided from Hamilton Color Lab.

    Senior Photo Collage
    Senior Photo Collage

    The official launch of 3 Quarters Images will be at the Elmwood Nebraska craft show, Saturday November 24th at the Josoff Social Hall. I will have examples restoration work, greeting cards for sale, and will be taking submissions for projects.

    My dream? To create and generate a stream of income I can continue while I am retired and traveling  the United States. Oh to sit on a deck, overlooking a beach and work at something I love. Yup, that’s my dream.

    Stay tuned for more and if you have an idea, or want to learn more please feel free to ask.

    Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, business, design, Digital darkroom, Nebraska, photo editing, Photography, Photoshop, retirement, small business

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