3:29pm: A former Xerox executive breaks into mining and buys a gravel pit. More
Feb 3: After retiring from a career in software sales, Tim Juntgen happened upon an idea that got his creative engines going.
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Dec 26: Airline exec Steve Zerda gave up a stable career to become a racehorse owner -- a risky bet that might just pay off.
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Oct 17: Amy Bass and Evvy Diamond came to owning a stationery store from different paths. Their complementary skills make them a great team.
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Jul 15: Back in 2006, photography buff Roger Cicala spent $5,500 on a telephoto lens he intended to use only once, to snap wildlife on a trip to Montana.
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May 28: Tired of feeling like a professional killjoy, former banker Scott Moloney found a cool new business: making ice cream.
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Apr 30: When her job was eliminated in a corporate shuffle, foodie Jill Foucré turned up the heat on her passion, opening a cooking school and retail store.
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Apr 17: After a rocky start, Marcia Connelley and Terri Paradise are settling into their new life as spa owners.
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Feb 6: When he lost his job at a solar firm, Sam Palmer started ReFleece, an eco-friendly business that makes iPad cases out of recycled materials.
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Dec 5: A pink slip gave Selena Einwechter the push she needed to open the bed and breakfast she'd long been designing in her mind.
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Nov 28: What does sports law have to do with cage fighting? Not a lot - but for Bellator founder, Bjorn Rebney, one was his job, the other his passion.
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Nov 7: Former banking executive Douglas Dolton found a way to turn his passion for sports cars into a booming luxury used-car business.
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Oct 19: He once played drums for shock-rock outfit Alice Cooper. But now Neal Smith is a successful realtor in high-end properties.
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Oct 8: After being laid off from her sales job at L'Oréal, Robin Bylenga decided to open a bike shop geared toward women.
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Oct 4: Michelle Lam was a principal at Bain Capital Ventures until she decided to take a leap into lingerie.
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Sep 18: When celebrity fitness coach Jake Steinfeld sold a successful business, he got a new idea: turn lacrosse into a major league sport.
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Sep 5: Brad Barrett, inventor of GrillGrate, seized a sizzling business opportunity when he used a chemical material to make a unique grill tool.
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Aug 14: When Bruce Lisman decided he was done with a life in finance, he moved back to his home state of Vermont to root for its economy.
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Jul 24: After running someone else's art moving, shipping and storage company for a decade, Wendell Eckholm was ready to open his own startup shop.
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Jul 2: Forseeing a warming public interest in alternative energy, lawyer Jeanine Cotter was inspired to launch a solar contracting business.
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Jun 22: The retired basketball star is building a vast and diverse business empire in his native China.
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Jun 6: Starting an assessment-exam business was a serious career change for Richelle Lyons Burnett, who had worked only at big companies.
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May 14: When Deborah Kenny left behind a lucrative career to start a school for underprivileged youth in Harlem, her friends thought she was taking a huge risk. She was, and it paid off for the kids.
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May 11: Buying a business when you're no longer a kid comes with particular challenges. Learn how to overcome those obstacles from people who've done it right.
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May 11: Almost half of potential entrepreneurs, ages 44 to 70, expect to use their personal savings to launch their ventures.
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May 11: Mitigate the risks of starting a company after 50. Know the industry you're going into and be passionate about it.
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Apr 17: The meat business was in Terry Walsh's blood. Even so, he needed to learn a bit more before he could make the move from banking.
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Mar 8: A volunteer experience inspired Greg and Lisa Hartwell to start a senior home care business that helps elderly people live independently.
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Jan 5: Getting laid off in the same year gave Julie Ganong and Alan Mons a chance to see if there was a market for a whoopie pie business.
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Dec 1: Before shelving his 20-plus-year career in information technology to open his own bookstore, Bill Skees studied up on his dream job.
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Sep 22: A former software manager launches a mobile scanner business after being laid off from HP.
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Sep 1: This former nonprofit executive went into red ink and nearly erased her savings to get her tattoo-removal parlor off the ground.
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Aug 12: How Dan Weil transformed himself from CEO of a printing business to owner of New England's favorite ice cream hot dog.
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Aug 5: When her industry started going to the dogs, Lesley Bowers decided to open a pet accessories store.
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Jun 30: Former divorce attorney, Alexander Rhoads, left the legal profession to open AllSpice, a gourmet spice store.
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May 25: Quitting his supply-chain corporate job and starting his own software company, John Krech, 45, becomes an entrepreneur.
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Feb 7: When Pamela Mitchell got laid off in 2002, she realized it wasn't time for a new job - it was time for a whole new perspective.
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Dec 8: A fateful glass of Sancerre changed the game for Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan, who ditched a management gig to become a Master of Wine.
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Aug 5: An IT consultant follows her dream and starts her own fashion label.
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Jul 1: Tech company founder Salah Boukadoum fights poverty with Soap Hope, a for-profit venture with a philanthropic twist.
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Jul 1: Cynthia Miller left her job as a regional sales manager to try something new -- running a garden store and nursery.
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May 28: Steve Silberberg left his career as a computer programmer to start a backpacking tour company.
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Apr 29: After starting a successful alarm business, Gary Buslik decided to follow his heart -- back to Shakespeare.
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Apr 7: Joel Babbit left the advertising world to start his own environmental news website, Mother Nature Networks.
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Apr 7: Unfulfilled by her sales job, this New York mom decided to start her own catering business.
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Mar 22: What Bob McLeod did: regional sales VP for Lithonia Lighting. What he does now: VP of Everything for McLeod & More.
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Mar 1: Jim Elliott quit his job in advertising and founded a nonprofit teaching scuba to disabled children. Here's how he did it.
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Feb 19: A former McGraw-Hill executive jumps into a new career: running an artisanal fromagerie.
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