re: For those of you that own a small business, how did you get started?

Started by doing something in my field that wasn't a conflict of interest to my full time job during my spare time. Did everything on my own at first, including payroll, labor, admin, etc. Boss at full time job took an interest and we ended up partnering on both gigs. Don't waste time trademarking shite like others did, just start doing whatever it is that is going to make money for the business (legally of course.)