As solopreneurs and entrepreneurs, we often have ideas pop up for all kinds of businesses even ideas for businesses we know nothing about. So was the case for our guest on episode 157. Jason Weisenthal is the CEO and head of Wall Monkeys, a wall decal company that produces images you can stick to any surface, with no damage and no marks left when you remove it.

In this edition, we talk about how Jason created Wall Monkeys even though he had never worked in the print industry, where his solopreneur roots lie and where he sees his company going in the future...plus so much more!

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Jason's solopreneur streak runs back a few generations. His grandfather ran a shoe store which was passed on to Jason's father. Growing up, his dad enlisted Jason in the business. He learned the good, the bad and the ugly from watching his father, working in the store and then later from business classes in college.

After completing his degree, Jason continued working with his father. The shoe store had grown and had two locations, one of which wasn't doing as well as the other. Jason took that store over, bought it from his father and made it an incredibly successful shop. He did so by honing in on a niche: kids shoes, especially shoes for teens. It became the destination for the coolest shoes in his town; Jason had his ear to the ground and was immersed in that target market so he knew what his customers wanted.

He supplied the teens with their shoe needs but also gave them remarkable customer service. The necessity of customer service was something he had learned from his father, a man who took pride in knowing customer's names, their children's names, etc. Jason's dad could make anyone feel at home and cared for within minutes of meeting them and that translated into loyal customers for his store.

You'll also discover things like:

* His shoe business made for an easy transition into e-commerce: yes or no?

* What's a 5 bagger and is it a good thing?

* Where did his business name come from?

* What business is his 13-year old son running and how did he start it?

* Why it's never going to be the right time...and you should go for it anyway.

* And lots more!

With the shop practically running itself, Jason's mind was always thinking of creative pursuits. He looked into franchising a business to business printing company, but it didn't feel right to him. He didn't like the guys he'd be buying the franchise from and would be in business with, but he did like the printers a lot.

So on the flight home, he had an idea: there was a company that was creating life-sized wall decals of professional athletes for fans to stick on their walls. Kids loved these, the company was knocking it out of the park. And Jason thought: what if I could do the same but for stock images? He tossed around the concept and the strategy with his wife when he got home. They decided to run with it.

Jason bought two printers, a back up in case the other one stopped working, and set about getting the rights from stock image companies like Corbis, Getty, National Geographic, etc. He caught his first real break when Fotolia said yes - he was stoked and knew they were on the right path.

About that same time, the stock market plummeted. People were losing jobs left and right, North Jersey where he was located was no exception. And then another crippling loss hit Jason's company: his right-hand man died unexpectedly. It was devastating for the business and soon after, Jason had to close its doors.

Always being an optimist, Jason knew something big was around the corner for him. He poured all his time and energy into making Wall Monkeys a success. Within just a few weeks of opening the business, he got a call from Darren Rovell (then of CNBC, now on ESPN and ABC Sports) asking him if he'd like to have his company featured on their Christmas editio...