A LOT of people talk about opening their own business. And talk. And talk. Dustin Goss likes to talk, too. But Goss, whose tightly cropped blond hair and look-you-in-the-eye manner suggest a man who doesn't waste time, unleashes his words on a wave of barely contained energy. And those words frame ideas, and those ideas, after the talking is through, lead to action.

At the intersection of Goss' decision to launch POW (Prisoner of Winter) Gloves, a manufacturer of action-sport gloves, gathers a love of winter sports and a desire to spearhead a new company. As his private company plans more product offerings, the 31-year-old Goss' experience provides two important guideposts for the aspiring young entrepreneur: Do what you love and, despite its myriad cogs and wheels, Corporate America is as good a teacher as you will ever have before you decide to go your own way.

And if, like Goss, you go your own way, then sharpen your nerve and hone your business skills: To achieve success, a new small business primarily needs an ample supply of capital and a leader who is well-educated, serious and purposeful, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy.

While two-thirds of new small businesses survive for two years, the agency says, only 44 percent survive at least four years. The figures are similar across industries. And no matter what industry you opt to launch your company in, you'll find competitors launching, too, or already dug in waiting to send you packing.

That's why Goss, president and CEO of POW Gloves, took the right approach, mixing a college education with corporate experience, adding financial support from family and friends, and topping it off with a passion for snowboarding and skiing and for trying a variety of action sports.

As a result, his small business is healthy and growing in its fifth year. Launched in 2002, POW Gloves designs and manufactures high-performance action sport gloves for people who participate in skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, mountain biking, bicycle motocross, motocross, wakeboarding, kayaking, windsurfing and kiting, among other activities. The company has seven shareholders, three full-time executives, two part-time employees, 19 North American salespeople and 22 international distributors.

The company, which has manufacturing facilities overseas, sells its gloves in 28 countries spread over North America, Europe and Asia. Blending business savvy with a grassroots marketing strategy, the company primarily targets the 13- to 35-year-old demographic.

It focuses on making fashionable, long-lasting and dexterous gloves. Competitors in the winter apparel market include Gordini and Grandoe Corp.

Prices for POW gloves range from $25 to $90 for winter sport gloves, for example, and from $12 to $18 for golf gloves. The company sells its products in specialty retail stores, in Helly Hansen stores in area malls, and at major resorts, including Stevens Pass.

BIG COMPETITION

Goss, who launched POW Gloves from a house in Shoreline, says the company is very close to making a profit. Five years ago, the company produced 400 pairs of gloves; now, it's producing more than 40,000 and is projected to double that number next year. It projects revenue will grow by 768 percent to $2.95 million over the next two years.

But the company is up against bigger competitors.

Hood River, Ore.-based Dakine, for example, is a dominant force in the action sport equipment industry, having been in play since 1979. Its specialization in accessories enables it to supply dealers in more than 40 countries with products they can sell at high margins.

That didn't discourage Goss from going head-to-head with Dakine by positioning POW gloves right next to Dakine's on store shelves.

And Goss says there's plenty of room for his company to grow and to further carve its niche, considering that the global market for sports equipment, which includes action sport accessories, tops $100 billion.

Goss speaks in a rapid-fire manner about his company and how he got to where he is.

And he exudes confidence in the POW Gloves brand. "It's a little more hardcore," he says. "It?s kind of bad-ass."

The idea for the company came to Goss during a snowboarding trip he took with friends to Stevens Pass in 1998. Talk during the trip turned up the phrase "Prisoner of Winter."

It described a certain kind of winter sports enthusiast who can't take her or his mind off getting away from the daily grind, racing down a snow-covered hill, kicking up powder along the way. Your mind is on the snow. Winter grips you. Gladly, you are its prisoner.

It stuck with Goss, who sounds like an addict when he talks about skiing and snowboarding. "You go to the highest peak - everything turns silent," he says. Pause.

"The only thing you think about is how to get from the top to the bottom."

When he talks about business, he sounds like, well, an addict. He recalls his years at the University of Washington Business School, when he was soaking up the knowledge spread by his professors. "I would get adrenaline rushes," he says. "I saw how I could use it."

He graduated from the school magna cum laude.

So, Goss knew what he wanted to do. He just needed some experience to refine his approach to business. He got it when, after working on a college-related project for the wireless carrier T-Mobile USA, he took a full-time job with the company in 2001. He managed a $5 million-per-month third-party relationship, which included invoice analysis, repair and exchange inventory management and shipping coordination.

He summoned the courage to speak in meetings with upper-echelon executives. He listened and learned how to read people. He managed an important piece of a large business.

"I took notes," he says.

DETERMINED TO SUCCEED

Armed with real-world corporate experience, Goss left T-Mobile in 2002 and plunged into POW Gloves. He knew he couldn't build snowboards or skis. They were too costly. "I just put my sights on gloves and looked at the marketplace and said, ?There's room,'" he says.

Initially, he financed his new company using equity gained from his first real estate transaction - the house in Shoreline that he bought when he was 22. Over the past four years, he's raised additional funds from friends and family to continue investing in the growth of POW Gloves.

Now, he's moving the business out of that house and into new office space. To avoid seasonal drops in business, he's crafted new golf and bike product lines. He's always been determined to succeed. Born in Vancouver, Wash., Goss eventually became a military brat, developing an ability to fit in with new people and places. "I am a starter and a finisher," he says. "I'm the oldest of three. I've always had a lot of responsibility on my shoulders."

And he's tapped into a market filled with young people looking to push themselves in whatever action sport they choose. But even on that score, Goss doesn't see limits.

"There's that 60-year-old guy on the hill," Goss says. "He's spunky inside. He's got an edge." And that 60-year-old guy doesn't necessarily want black gloves, Goss says, his thoughts juggling the possibilities. No, not black. But orange and brown gloves, yes, those would fit him nicely.

Aaron Corvin is a senior writer at Washington CEO Magazine.