From Part Time to Full TimeYour part-time business is just itching to take up 100 percent of your time. Is the time right?

乔恩·卡门做了安全的事。他一天的工作in thehigh-tech industry and started his online guitar string discountstore in his spare time. He built his Web site and filled orders onevenings and weekends. Then, what was just a fun hobby for twoyears turned into his sole support when Carmen, 33, was laid offfrom his day job in May 2001. Suddenly he was faced with a toughquestion: look for another job, or dare to take thisentrepreneurial gig full time?

Fortunately for guitar players roaming the Web, Carmen chose thelatter. But even with two years of business-building behind him, hefaced some serious challenges in taking his part-time hobby downthe full-time road. "[When it was part time,] I cared aboutit, but I wasn't trying to achieve something-it was justsomething fun," says Carmen, founder ofString This! Inc."[I thought,] 'It would be fun if it turned intosomething, but if it doesn't I've got a full-time job.'But when [the business] was what I was living off of.itbecame a lot more stressful."