Joanne faced a difficult task...
Joanne faced a difficult task. Several years earlier, Joanne had convinced her father and
two brothers to lend her money for a project she was working on. Joanne, who lived and
worked on the east coast, took the money from her family, who lived and worked in the
Pacific northwest, and set to work. At first things went well; her idea took shape and
buyers were in place. Then the particular niche she was aiming to fill suddenly clogged
up with competitors' products, many backed by large companies with deep pockets. As
suddenly as it started, it was over.
