Dear Mommyof2- As someone that is thinking of starting her own business, I’m telling you not to get discouraged by negative comments – take them into consideration and adjust your decisions accordingly. Any time you ask family and friends, some pros and cons will pop up. Millions of people have successful small businesses – you have to come up with the right combination of what people want and how much they are willing to pay for it.

Personally, I think that your idea is a good one, but also, as suggested, selling chocolates and other items geared toward men intent on pleasing their wife or girlfriend…(ok, I can see it coming now…no pun intended…I don’t mean…well, oh just drop it…)would be a good idea. My thought is that your clientele would most likely be male.

The other question would be your demographics – would the store be located in a "ritzy" neighborhood, or near offices where you would most likely get alot of white collar traffic, or in a tourist area? Those locations would likely benefit. You would have to be in an area where it people are willing to pay more of a premium, and not just stop off at the local Discount Liquors and Shop Rite for bouquet of roses.

Just my two cents…..I wish you much luck and success in whatever you choose to do. Sue

ps. go to http://www.entrepreneur.com/ – they have some useful information