Steadfast Soldiers

My dad has always been interested in history. He still says that he wants to be an archeologist when he grows up. He loves museums and historical sites and books about history, both fictional and not. He knows a good deal about a good deal of historical locations and figures and battles and what not.

Several years ago he decided to start a company selling Historical Miniatures (Little Tin Soldiers). At the time I really didn't quite understand it. Was there really a huge market for small collectible metal figures representing historical scenes? Well, apparently there is, and for years now he has been selling these figures as a side job, out of his house. 

There was a brief stint in which he had a brick and mortar shop. It was cool. The ambiance was really nice. There were all sorts of displays, not just of the figures, but of the figures set-up, reenacting the scenes to which they belong. There was a reading corner, because he also sold historical books in the shop, and a kids' play area, because he sold kids toy figures representing medieval knights and others. He also had a variety of flags on display and for sale. He even had a life-size statue of a medieval archer next to the front door. It was an expansion of the online shop that he had been operating, and it was really neat.

However, while people really liked to come in and look around, not many people actually purchased items from the brick and mortar shop. The bulk of all sales still came through the online store. So, unfortunately, after not too long, he had to close the brick and mortar and return to online only, which also meant a return to the core of the business, high quality, expertly painted, historical miniature collectible figures. He did have a brief time when he designed his own line of figures, but for the most part he sells established brands: First Legion, BlackHawk, Collector's Showcase, William Britain and others.

A couple of years ago I started helping him in this business. I take care of a lot of the packing/shipping/ordering and communication for the business, and it's been fun.

It's also inspired me to want to start a business or businesses of my own. Doing something that you enjoy, that you find value in, and that you believe will bring value to other's lives, even if it never makes you rich and powerful, is awesome. I currently have a big list of ideas, and we'll see what comes of any of them. For now, however, I like being able to be a part of something that my dad made and enjoys.

So do me a favor. Go check out Steadfast Soldiers. You may be one of the people who really like Historical Miniatures and want to pick up a few, or maybe you know someone who does, share the info. You can also check out the Facebook and Instagram page to just scroll through some of the figures, even if you never want to own one, a lot of them are pretty cool.

Finally, answer me this. What do you love? What do you involve yourself in, that is not your day to day job, that you truly enjoy, that brings value to your life or to the lives of others, that comes from a place of passion? If you can't identify anything, get to work. Make a list of things you could do, and then start doing them!