If the saying is true that people need to do what they love to succeed in business, Christopher Brownewell should be quite the success.

Brownewell has long been interested in astronomy and built his first telescope at age 16.

"Who doesn't look at the stars, wonder what they are, and think about the universe's impact on us?" Brownewell asked.

It was Brownewell's membership in the Calumet Astronomical Society and his attendance at one of their meetings that led him to meet Wes Molenaar of Molenaar Eyecare, who was selling the telescopes as a division of his optical store. Brownewell became a partner in the business about four years ago and bought it in January 2007 with the understanding that he would find a new location. Molenaar needed the space by the end of the year.

"In Lansing, there were visibility and site constraints. It wasn't the best place for retail," Brownewell said. "I considered several places in Illinois, but there were business tax issues. I also thought about costs and a long commute and settled here."

He thinks it was a good move.

"In Lansing, it was mostly regular customers," he said. "But in Dyer, people see the store and stop. There's a real 'gee whiz' factor."

Most telescopes are sold over the Internet. And while 20/20 has a Web site, most of the transactions take place in the store.

"Here you can see the merchandise, touch it and look through it," Brownewell said. "Selling binoculars and telescopes is a lot like selling shoes. You wouldn't want to buy without trying them on. And here, if there is a problem, you can actually talk to people."

So far, sales are about even with where they were last year.

"We would be ahead, but problems with the economy are affecting us," he said.

"This is solely disposable income. Approximately 2 million telescopes are sold in the U.S. every year. And while a lot of people are interested in astronomy, not as many are interested in spending hundreds of dollars for a telescope."

Still, the business continues to sponsor many events, including this weekend's Midwest Astro Imaging Conference in Hoffman Estates and Epoch 2008 in July, which takes people far from light pollution to get a really good look at the stars.

"We're doing some things to bring customers in, with classes on getting started in astronomy and commercial classes on building your own telescope," Brownewell said. "The first four months were slow, but business is picking up. I love dealing with the customers."

20/20 Telescopes and Binoculars

Location: 1058 Joliet St., Dyer

Phone: (219) 322-8701

Owners: Christopher Brownewell

When opened: December 2007

Number of employees: Three

Web site: www.2020telescopes.com

Type of business: Retail store selling telescopes, binoculars, books and astronomy related accessories