CLEVELAND -- Claudette Cole had the desire to make her dad laugh with a card when he was hospitalized in 1995. She said, "He had a love of Jamaican culture and Caribbean culture as a whole. And he just told a lot of jokes and I wanted to make him laugh even though he was so sick."

When she couldn't find just the right card, she made one. And that spawned a business idea. "It was in my head for a long long time and it made me restless because I knew I had to do it I just didn't know how to do it," Cole said.

So she decided one day to go to Jamaica where she took 700 photos. She turned those photos into cards as a way to share the spirit of home with people all over the world. Now, Kuya Cards are for sale thanks in part to encouragement from friends and family who kept after her for so many years.

Her son, Rahsaan, designed the Web site that shows all the vibrant cards and the verses. While he has a design background he'd never tackled a Web project before. But he had something all people starting a small business need: passion.

East Tech High School teacher Susan St. Aubyn had a passion and a flair for sauces. "It was literally hearing myself tell my students 'You've got to do what's your passion, do what you love and have to be willing to take a risk.'"

She also listened to her friends who couldn't stop talking about her BBQ and four pepper pineapple recipes. Sue listened to those friends, who believed in her enough to invest in her small startup company.

St. Aubyn's Pride sauces are now sold in more than 30 stores, including Heinen's in the Cleveland area. St. Aubyn tells people considering starting their own business to do their homework.

"It's a lot of learning as you go, and asking really good people you trust, asking them lots of questions."

So, follow your passion, listen to your friends when they say you're good at something; do your homework, be willing to take a risk . Sue also suggested asking a lot of questions of those who have experience, maybe shadowing someone in a similar situation. And believe in yourself.

Other thoughts for generating extra money: Think of seasonal services you can offer. With the approach of spring, if you love working outdoors - distribute flyers in your neighborhood offering spring cleanup or planting.

There are also opportunities to make money just by sharing your thoughts and opinions about products - either through completing on-line surveys or by participating in focus groups. Look for market research companies recruiting participants and have your name added to their database.

And look around your home. You probably have a lot of stuff you don't like or need, but others will buy it. Choose a couple dozen things, and create pages on e-bay to sell every single one!

Some people are good at "shop and sell." They look for sought after items not available everywhere, on sale, then re-sell them for a profit on eBay. I know a woman who helped pay for her kitchen renovation with hard to get designer jeans. She found them at a local outlet store, bought them all at a great price, and made a tidy profit reselling them on eBay.

Kuya Cards
St. Aubyn's Pride