Set your standards high, and aim to make a better product than anyone else makes, and you'll have a business to be proud of. There's an abundance of good role models at XMarks for just that.

And just because it isn't a full-time job doesn't make it any less professional. When my husband used to do a lot of volunteer work as an EMT, he would cringe when someone said are you a professional or a volunteer? He rightfully made the distinction between paid and not paid, rather than professional and volunteer by calling the non-volunteer EMTs "paid professionals."

And, on the flip side of it, having a business that is not full-time doesn't give someone the license to provide shoddy goods or services. Not that you would, but some don't take their part-time businesses seriously, and it shows.