A discussion about the process, steps and options of starting a new business

So, I bet you thought I took my $100 and absconded to Mexico.  No, no vacations on the horizon for me yet!

I'm sure if you are reading here you already know this, but there just aren't enough hours in the day!  There has to be a way to squeeze a few more in there.

I've been finding it surprisingly easy to convince some of the Mexican restaurants in the area to display some advertising for me.  How effective that will be remains to be seen.

My cactus plants are still flying off the shelves, which brings up kind of an ethical question.  One of the other store owners here has been really nice, helping me with suggestions, etc.  Now he's telling me that I should just find a plant wholesaler and become a flower store, "because plants sell really well here and you could start turning a profit".  Or little dog figurines (he gave me a wholesale catalog for those), "because everyone loves dogs".

Aside from the facts that my lease doesn't say anything about my selling plants, there are other stores in here already selling plants, and I don't have a plant license, (you'd think all that would be enough, right?), that isn't why I opened this business.

I opened it because I love the history and the art of the crafts that I'm selling.  I'm willing to test the sales appeal of some different items, and even tweak my theme a bit, as long as it all still fits into my basic concept.  However, as I told Mike when he made that suggestion, if I'm going to put something completely different on my shelves just to make a buck, I might as well just give up and get a job.  I didn't open a Walmart.  If I'm going to work every breathing minute of the day, I want to be doing something I believe in.

I'd like to hear your opinions.  I know Mike is trying to be helpful to a "newbie" in the field of retailing, but do you think his advice is sound?  Of course I opened my business with the idea of making a profit someday, but should that be "the be-all and end-all"?