HOW SMALL SHOPS TAKE BIG RISKS

It's not easy for mom-and-pops to try something new, because they rarely have a safety net to fail.But there are ways to innovate cautiously-as one small business on our list, All My Heart tattoo studio, has found.

- FRANCES DODDS

Imagine what a tattoo shop looks like. All My Heart does not look like that.

The Charlotte, North Carolina, studio is airy and suffused with natural light. In the reception area, there are modular chairs, midcentury couches, and a vase of fresh flowers on a Japanese-influenced cabinet. But the real surprise goes beyond aesthetics.

All My Heart's owner, Graham Beech, isn't just playing with a new look; he's trying out a whole new business model.

"Historically, tattoo shops have wanted to control the clientele, and use the tattoo artist as kind of a cog in the wheel," Beech says.

"What's different about our business is that the client is the artist, and they have their own individual clients." Like many entrepreneurs, Beech was his own ideal customer: He was a tattoo artist working for a shop, wishing for a way to grow his earnings.

But when he struck out on his own, he didn't just copypaste the same old system; he wanted to create something more equitable for artists that provided more room for growth. And within two years of All My Heart opening, readers of The Charlotte Observer had voted it the best tattoo studio in the city.

But as Beech will tell you, thinking differently comes at a cost.

Innovation requires risk, and risk requires resources to try and fail.

For most mom-and-pops, resources are finite. If people have been doing something the same way for a long time-whether that's running a restaurant, opening a gym, or setting up a tattoo shop-there's often a reason for that, and few incentives to push boundaries.

And yet, every now and then, the factors influencing an industry change, and someone sees a new path forward. It's thrilling, but also scary when the stakes are so personal. As Beech's story shows, innovating as a small business can be like feeling your way forward in the dark: You have to move slowly, know when to stop and get your bearings, and know when it's safe to take another step.