For many faculty, the transition from commercial to Open Educational Resources (OER) can be as seamless as transitioning from any commercial text to another. However, in some niche specialty areas, OERs are hard to find. Under those circumstances, faculty may need to be creative, to be a pedagogical pioneer - to adopt OER or zero cost course materials. Our authors today highlight the strategies and benefits of switching to ZTC/OER even when the transition is challenging!