In the Driver's Seat While navigating the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, your independence is your best asset.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
This month's cover headline, "Retire Rich," is, Iadmit, hardly original. But it usually appears on books andmagazines that deal with investment and personal finance issues.Sure, investing in real estate or the stock market is one way toretire rich. But here at Entrepreneur, we advocate anotherway-business ownership.
Owning your own business is the first step to truly takingcharge of your future. It leaves your destiny in your hands; yourfuture is not subject to the whims of bosses or managers.
I've been on the road a lot these past few months and havemet hundreds of existing and aspiring business owners. That maysound like hyperbole, but it's not. When one of the road tripsis to eBay Live!, where 12,000 people showed up, it'srelatively easy to interact with several hundred people in a shortperiod of time. And while you may think eBay is for hobbyists orstartups, my two workshops were jampacked (people were standing inthe aisles and sitting on the floor) with businessowners-entrepreneurs just like you who were looking for insight ongrowing their companies. Most of these people didn't start abusiness to get rich. Most entrepreneurs I meet don't startwith the aim of getting rich. It is, however, a welcomeaftereffect.
The entrepreneurs of 2005 are a bit like the entrepreneurs of 10years ago-pre-dotcom boom. They're business owners because theywant to build something-and be completely responsible for itssuccess. When I asked many of the people I've met recently whythey started a business, the answers varied, of course. But veryfew (in fact, I can't remember any) said, "I want to berich." I think we're over the frenzy of the late '90s,where so many people started businesses because they wanted to,even expected to, become overnight millionaires.
Don't get me wrong. Making millions of dollars is a worthydream, but you need to plan for and work at achieving that goal;it's not going to happen without the proverbial blood, sweatand tears. You all know it; you've all been there. Being anentrepreneur is like living in an endless loop of Dickens' ATale of Two Cities. Remember: "It was the best of times,it was the worst of times." A few months ago, I got an e-mailfrom one of my friends, an entrepreneur, declaring, "This isthe worst day of my entrepreneurial career." Within two weeks,he sent me another e-mail, declaring, "This is the best day ofmy entrepreneurial life." When I talked to him after the firste-mail, he swore that as bad as he felt, he would never goback to working for someone; he'd never stop being anentrepreneur.
Many people can't relate to that sentiment; allentrepreneurs can. Because business ownership is not just aboutowning a business-it's about taking ownership of your life.
