Not a real business Despite the fact that entrepreneurship
is more respectable now than it was just a few years ago, some
people still don’t consider a small business a real business. I’m
regularly amused by people, including businesspeople, who scoff
at very small companies as somehow illegitimate. Now I could understand,
though not approve of, the scoffing at f ledgling businesses
that are not yet earning an income for their owner. But size
of income doesn’t seem to matter to the scoffers. A lot of people
look down on self-employed people—even those who are making
a good deal of money, have a stable client base, and have lifestyle
freedom. Somehow, a large business is a real business, even if its
owner is not breaking even. And somehow a big company job is
better, even if the income is smaller than that of a self-employed
person, the hours are longer, and freedom is nonexistent. If the
affiliation and title granted by a big company are worth more
than the lifestyle freedom of self-employment, then the lifestyle
business route is simply not for you.
It’s always struck me as strange that so many people (including
businesspeople who should know better) consider the top line
(gross sales) to be more important than the bottom line (earnings).
Which is better: a lifestyle business grossing $60,000 whose
owner earns $50,000 or a $1 million business whose owner isn’t
breaking even? To me, the lifestyle business is the better one by
far—especially if the lifestyle entrepreneur may have almost no
overhead to tie him down and probably loves his job. Others,
many others, would choose the $1 million business, even when
faced with this logic; at $1 million, after all, for them it can at least
be considered a real business.
To this point, I’ve talked a lot about the concept of lifestyle
entrepreneurship and pointed out the differences between the
lifestyle entrepreneur and the more traditional entrepreneur.
24 How to Succeed as a Lifestyle Entrepreneur
I’ve also discussed the reasons so many people decide that selfemployment
can be their ticket to the lifestyle they desire, and
I’ve shared some examples of successful lifestyle entrepreneurs.
But business requires more than conceptual discussion—it
requires doing. Plans need to be made and concrete steps taken.
The rest of this book focuses on the doing. It’s now time to
detail the steps that have to be taken to get your business started
and meet the challenges of becoming a successful lifestyle entrepreneur.
Email:
info@walmartcom.net
