" A diamond cuts a diamond, you know? Without struggle, you can't go to the next level."

At Bradenton's Red Barn Flea Market, vendors pay $28 to $36 a day for a booth. Some businesses last a few months, while others sell for years. It's not for everyone.

It's a start, though, for merchants such as Ali Chokr.

He sells more than $4 million worth of jewelry each year at The Diamond Vault in Sarasota, but he began his Florida business career as a flea market vendor.

Read more at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.