No one knows how many people there are in the bead business. The 1911 Census of India indicated that about 0.5% of the population were beadmakers and peddlers. Today that would be a 500,000. Some years ago Larry Weiss of Helby told me that 1400-1500 stores bought from him. Some, like Hands of the Hills, hire more than 20 people. At least one out of ten beadworkers sell their creations. And how many people work for the "big boys"? Add authors, publishers, beadmakers, consultants and so on. I hope IRS people chuckle when they see my occupation -- "bead researcher."

Whatever the number, small businesspeople often find it hard to get help. A majority of small businesses fail in the first two years. An article in Computerworld demonstrated that small businesses got almost no help on the Y2K problem from their suppliers.