[mr_pants]

I've started 2 business. The first was renting inflatables for kid's birthday parties. It was a small, part-time business that I started to get experience marketing, dealing with customers, etc. It was fun and quite a work-out (they weigh from 300 to 500 lbs). I sold to a competitor when I moved and essentially broke even. My wife tells me every few weeks we should have kept one (we have lots of kids in our extended family and usually rent one for birthday parties).

My wife and I bought a business that does ultrasounds of expectant mothers (she's an ultrasound tech). It will be 2 years in Jan. Business is still growing, though not as fast as I had hoped. My wife mainly runs it and has learned quite a bit about business. Not yet profitable, but we're hopeful, we're working on getting a lower-cost lease and more clients each week.