Preface
Have you ever caught yourself daydreaming while at work and wondering if what you’re doing is all you’ll achieve in your career? Or has your heart ever ached to meet a certain desire, like completing work that you truly enjoy, being your own boss, making more money, or being home when your kids get out of school?
These types of thoughts and desires confront people every day—even those with seemingly perfect jobs. In response, most people just sigh or shrug and accept life as it is. But not always. A growing number of people from all walks of life are starting their own businesses as a way of improving their lives. In fact, there are roughly 15 million self-employed people in the United States today. But there is a problem. The problem is that because some business owners have hit it rich and made a large impact on society, there is a growing tendency to view business owners as bigger-than-life and place them in the same category as professional athletics and rock stars. This tendency has led to the prevailing wisdom that starting a business is an extremely difficult task and that a person must have "loads of money" and "tons of talent" to get a new business off the ground.
While it’s true that some businesses are difficult to start and that talent and money are needed to get a business off the ground, many of the tales and perceptions about the enormous difficulties associated with starting a business are just myths. The truth is that the ability to start a successful business is much more within the average person’s reach than the myths allow us to believe. If you have the interest it took to pick up this book, chances are you have the talent, the money, and the character needed to start and run a business of your own.
Who Is This Book Written For?
This book is for anyone who has thought about starting his own business but has been reluctant to try. This group covers a wide spectrum, from people who have an idea for a new business but are uneasy about leaving their current jobs to people who are dissatisfied with their jobs or careers but feel trapped. It also includes people who have a goal or want to live a particular lifestyle and see starting a business as the most reasonable way to make it happen.
Although some people do start businesses, most of the people in these categories think about it occasionally but set their thoughts aside because of the anxiety and worry caused by the nine myths that we discuss in the book. It’s hard to blame them. Listen to the first three myths and ask yourself if they would discourage you from starting a business: Myth 1: It takes an extraordinary person to start a business; Myth 2: Starting a business involves lots of risk; Myth 3: It takes a lot of money to start a business. Pretty daunting list, isn’t it? And there are six myths to go!
A potentially rewarding part of reading this book are the many people you meet that objectively aren’t any smarter, richer, or more gifted than you. What they do have that you probably don’t is a successful business startup. As we progress together through the chapters of the book, we knock off the myths one by one by showing how ordinary people prove that they simply aren’t true. But there are exceptions. In most cases, it does take an extraordinary person and lots of money to launch a biotechnology, a medical products, or a semiconductor firm. But these cases, by far, are the exception rather than the rule. You’ll be amazed what people are able to accomplish with very little money and the simple common sense that is the foundation on which many of the business startups described in this book were built.
What Will You Learn by Reading This Book?
Next time you go to a bookstore or are in an airport gift shop, try this little experiment: Spend a few minutes watching people browse through the business magazines or books. Watch their faces and try to guess what their circumstances are. If you’re like us, in the majority of instances, you’ll get the feeling that they’re looking for answers. There is some problem or unmet need in their personal or professional lives that they’d like to resolve but can’t figure out how to on their own. So they’re scanning the books for potential answers. If you conduct this experiment long enough, we can almost guarantee you that you’ll see the ultimate example of this scenario play out. Someone will be scanning the shelves of business books and will come across a book that immediately catches her attention. The person will then intently page through the book for a few minutes, in a state of total concentration, and a slight sign of hope or relief will gradually start to cross his or her face. As the person proceeds to the checkout counter, he or she will be clutching the book as if it were a $1,000 bill. You can’t help but hope, for that person’s sake, that his or her question has just been answered.
This experiment is a reminder of how desperate people are for answers to the problems or challenges in their lives and how much hope, information, and potential help books can offer. If you’re reading this preface, you’re probably tired of your job, want to make more money, desire to pursue the career you have always wanted, or are thinking about starting your own business for a reason equally important to you. What’s stopping you, if you’re similar to most of the people we talk to, is a lack of knowledge about the business startup process and nervousness about one or more of the topics covered by our nine myths. This set of circumstances leads to a lack of self-confidence, which researchers believe is the number one reason that people hesitate to start their own firms.
What you will learn by reading this book is the truth about many of the most important aspects of starting a business. Our goals are to educate you and stir your emotions. We hope that as you read the book, you’ll pause from time to time and think to yourself, "That’s interesting—perhaps I have been too quick to dismiss the idea of starting my own business." We also pledge that the stories will be compelling enough that you’ll stop occasionally to excitedly tell a coworker or friend things like, "Do you know it’s not true that nine out of ten new businesses fail?" (In truth, 66% of new businesses are still operating after two years, and 50% survive four years or more.) Or you’ll want to share stories such as, "You won’t believe how this woman I just read about quit her job as a general partner in an investment firm to buy an adventure travel company. She didn’t do it because she could make more money—she did it to lead a more satisfying and enjoyable life."
How Is This Book Organized?
The book is organized into nine chapters—one chapter for each of the nine myths. Each chapter starts by stating the myth and the corresponding truth and is followed by a complete discussion of the chapter’s topic. Each chapter contains two to three special features that add to the material in the chapter. Although the book is admittedly upbeat, we paint a realistic job preview for those who are thinking about becoming a business owner. We want people to be realistic about their prospects, but we also want them to be confident and to think, "I can do this. It’s not beyond my reach."
We now invite you to enjoy learning about the myths associated with starting your own business and to learn from the lessons in this book. If you are inspired by a particular story in the book, if you would like to tell us your start-up story, or if you are impacted by this book in any way, please feel free to e-mail us your story at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you. Much of what we know we learn from people just like you. We’d love to consider including your story in future books as we work together to dispel the myths and reveal the truth about the business start-up process.