When we started out, I told my partners " when you own your own business, you only have to work 1/2 a day, just pick what 12 hours you want to work!!" We started with the same molds everybody else used and then after a few stores started carring our product, we designed our own bait. Bob Jones made our custom molds for us and it was off and running to tournaments, boat shows, tackle showes, and shops for seminars.Working 7 days a week plus our full time jobs, travel, meals, and hotels with no money comming in will put a strain on your body and mind. We went from 0 to 127 stores in a little over 4 years.It takes a lot of work but in my opinion, it is well worth it. We still don't make a "Killing" but we have fun and are close to retiring from our full time jobs.As long as you are willing to put in the work, you will be sucessfull and possibly get a good buy out from one of the big boys. Good Luck.