Thanks a million for the awesome thread. I've been smithing for over 5 years as a hobbyist. I have been a roofer for 25 years. At 40yrs old I'm done roofing, or at least trying to be. I'm sure I'll always do small roofing repairs on the side for extra $$. Currently I'm taking a "start a small business" class. It's a 6 week class. I'm also taking a beginning, intermediate and advanced blacksmithing class to refine my skill set and learn stuff that I don't know from a veteran smith. These classes are 12 weeks. All 3 hours per class. Anyway, enough about where I'm at. This is where I'm going with this. I am in the start up phase of opening up a Blacksmith shop for the public to view and purchase items here in Longmont, CO. There are several shops in the region but none for the public to be able to view. I've done some research and know this isn't something a guy can do alone due to public interest and conversation. That's something I'll have to figure out. I'm NOT going to just find a building and go for it. I have alot of legal stuff and insurance stuff to get in line before hand. My plan is to start out as a semi- pro/ hobbyist first in my private shop. I plan to start targeting customers, finding my niche and figuring out my production expenses. Not to mention several other things that are required. It's going to be a minute before things really get rolling. But I got to start somewhere. So right now I'm doing research and networking to get as much advice as possible from other smiths that have been successful in taking our craft to the next level. Any help, advice or criticism is welcome. Thanks a ton in advance, Chris Freeman, Mad Hammer Forge