MCFARLAND, Wis. -- Losing a job is a difficult transition for most people, but two local men turned their loss into an opportunity of a lifetime.

Steve Quinn and Dave Milke worked together for years before receiving layoff notices three months ago. Their background in lead testing and removal led them to an entrepreneurial business endeavor, WISC-TV reported.

"If you've had an idea for a business, sometimes losing your job is the perfect time to revisit that," said Edgewood College's Dr. Moses Altsech.

The timing couldn't have been better. It all came at the same time the federal government was changing lead safety standards in children's toys. By February 2009, all toys for children 12 and under had to be under 600 parts per million. The safety standard drops to 300 PPM by August and to 100 PPM or less by 2011.

Armed with that information, the two men brainstormed a business that could safely test for lead in homes and businesses. They called it Elemental Safety.

"There really isn't a cost effective method to do a screening that XRF and our service can provide," said Milke.

Milke said that prior to their business; homeowners needed a product tested for lead would have to have it sent to a laboratory.

"It is a destructive test," said Milke. "They send it to a lab to take a sample for each area to be tested. In many cases the sample is dissolved in some type of solvent. The test is extremely accurate, but you often don't get your product back."

After much research, Milke and Quinn took a leap of faith and invested in the XRF, X-Ray Fluorescent Technology.

"It's very, very low levels of X-rays," said Milke "One millionth of a chest X-ray, so it's safe to bring into a home or place of business."

The device is simply placed on the item to be tested. After ten seconds an electronic reading shows on the screen.

Recently, Elemental Safety were screening a home in McFarland.

"The advantage of XRF is that it does a very good job of screening for lead or any types of heavy metals that may exist in the product," said Quinn.

Homeowner, Lynette Norgord, has a 5-year-old boy whose favorite toy was a foam sword from a birthday party.

"It registers at 600 PPM," said Quinn.

"If you start to see the foam tearing and the metal is being exposed -– then you would likely want to dispose of the toy at that point," said Milke.

"Eight to 10 percent of items in homes will have high lead content," said Quinn.

"I was very surprised," said Norgord. "Luke sleeps with that foam sword sometimes."

Norgord was even more surprised that her husband's prize NASCAR coffee mug registered at 9,000 PPM and her cookie jar at 24,000 PPM.

"We've had it for 15 years," said Norgord. "They told me I should put my cookies in a bag inside the jar."

When it's all said and done, Milke and Quinn said the business is exactly what they had planned and hoped for, but it's much different than simply going to work each day.

"You certainly have the motivation to succeed," said Milke. "You always have to keep in mind that there is no failure and your focus is totally on the success of the business."

Quinn said for him, helping people is the bottom line.

"When it came down to, 'Do I want to pursue this or do I want to look for another job like I had been doing?' This (career) had that feeling that at the end of the day I've done something good as opposed to just trying to make a dollar."

"Sometimes, your normal day job distracts you from entrepreneurial pursuits because you have an idea that may actually work, but at the same time you have a job, a steady paycheck," said Altsech. "You don't want to give that up –- give up the security for something that, at times, seems like a little bit of an adventure."

Experts said finding a business that offers a niche, like Elemental Safety, is a good indicator of if a company will survive.