​What I'm grateful for far exceeds all the negatives. Little things like watching her eyes steadily change from blue to hazel like a father. Her sister's eyes did the same.

​Today the touch of golden brown that first appeared a week ago is brighter while the blue fades to a grey tint except for the dark ring at the edge that still looks nearly navy.

There are other joys too. Seeing skills development. The day she learned to roll over. To sit up unassisted. I'm a huge fan of a kid sitting up by themselves. :-)

Her talking. As much talking as sounds that she thinks are words. Experiencing the act of communication. Hearing her big sister sing lullabies. 

My favorite is her smile. Opened mouth. Displaying still toothless gums that even in silence say, "I'm so very excited to see you." 


That combined with her obvious desire to jump into a hug delights me even when the day has been far too long. 

Our four-year-old will be attending full-day preschool next year (2016-17 school year). We received the admittance paperwork yesterday. And that's when the reality of inflation hit.

Damn. I don't know if that's depressing, horrifying, or a sign of the infinite growth of money. Either way, it was a shock.

Sigh.

Maybe another cup of coffee this morning will help...

Ever tried to start a business for free? I thought it would be easy with lots of info on the web. I was wrong. ​There's plenty of advice but it all starts with...

$100+ was too high an initial cost. Seriously, I didn't want to put even a penny down until I was earning. I needed to start using only what I had or could access for free.

Here's what I did to build a business for free.

Typical Advice: Aim for something that utilizes a skill and materials you already have (or can access for free).

For me that meant knitting (and, to a lesser extent, crochet). Why?

1. I know how to knit and crochet
2. I own knitting needles and a few crochet hooks
3. Websites to sell knit/crochet stuff already exist
4. I could join those websites for free

The real hardship with my business idea came in two areas: yarn and final product.

Yarn can get expensive fast. I overcame the yarn obstacle by initially creating patterns based on what was in my stash and yarn donations. In total honesty, it was a large yarn donation to my knitting group that allowed me to start.

​As for the final product, well, due to time constraints (two young kids, remember), I decided to create patterns only. I focused on hats too. Hats are fast to knit up. Plus it was October when I started and that's the beginning of hat season in central Illinois.

The beauty of a pattern as the final product really appealed to me.

• No physical storage space needed.
• Only an upfront investment of time.
• Most appealing, an electronic pattern could sell in unlimited quantity.

I opted not to go with Etsy or BigCartel. Those sites are known for wearable finished products.

Instead I used existing memberships at Ravelry and Craftsy as my selling locations. My personal computer supplied the software to write out the patterns. My iPhone served as my camera.

Here are some links to pages that will help you brainstorm possible options.

No Money to Start a Business? Try These 5 Options
Business Idea Center 
Low Cost Business Ideas
1001 Business Ideas
​50 Small Businesses You Can Start on Your Own

Seriously, I would love to hear from you. Drop me a note in the comments if you have questions about starting and I'll do my best to help. If you've started a business, please share your story. Thanks for reading this post. I appreciate your time.