“Why” is the most important reason for starting a business. It ultimately is the driving force that will keep you going when everyone, including your own internal voice will tell you to give it up. You will hear “that won’t work”, “that’s insane”, “you are wasting your time”, “you can’t do it”, and “you will never succeed”. As strange as it may sound, it is completely normal to hear this or even think about it when you are on the journey to being a business owner. But the “WHY” will keep you going, it will motivate you to press forward.
WHY is your reason for doing anything and everything in your day-to-day life. Why do you get up in the morning? Why do you go to work? Why do you cook breakfast? These are things that need to get done. It may be for family, it may be to save up for that big purchase, and because you are hungry. All of the above can be considered responsibilities required of any adult. However, there can be a couple of different motivations as well. Passion and Purpose. These two components will inspire you to drive through, over and around any obstacles to achieve your goal.
TALE OF TWO CHOICES
Let’s look at an example of 2 guys, Jim and Joe. They are about the same age, had similar childhoods and upbringing, decidedly average and equal beginnings. They even had the same first job as teenagers. But in adulthood is where their stories start to take separate paths. Jim goes to college and chooses corporate. He earns a degree in Pharmacology and begins working as a Pharmacist for a large drug store company. This is his career. He earns a good salary, has benefits, a large 2-story house, wife and 2 kids and dog. It’s the American Dream. He loves what he does and life is good for Jim. He is happy.
Joe decided to go to trade school for auto body and paint. He takes a job with a local shop and learns everything the manager and owner had to share. He buys a house with a large workshed in the backyard. Joe has a passion for motorcycles and buys his own tools and supplies to do custom work and paint as a side job sharing his work on social media. After a few years, he left the shop to run his own custom paint business from home. Later, he buys the shop from the owner who is retiring. He expands to 3 more locations. He makes good money and has a wife, 2 kids and a dog. It’s the American Dream. He loves what he does and life is good for Joe. He is happy.
They both did well. But let’s focus on Joe for a moment. Something drove him to start his own business. I’d like to think he was passionate about motorcycles and painting. In his social circle, he likely found that lots of riders needed or wanted a paint job. Considering his skill and experience, he saw an opportunity and he took a leap.
Let’s take a look at a few reasons to start a business.
PASSION AND PURPOSE
WHY = Passion and Purpose. Passion is the spark, like striking a match and seeing the flame come to life. Eventually, you come to the end of the match and the flame goes no further. Purpose is like a torch. It’s a fuel source that feeds the flame.
Find your spark and your purpose and you will have the fuel to start, build and maintain your business. The best part is you will be doing something you love, something that inspires you, and gives you a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. It will never feel like a chore. Being the business owner also means you control your schedule, work hours, and work environment. You are the boss! That is a pro and a con at the same time. You are responsible for making sure the goals are met and jobs completed. If you get a win, it’s your win. If you take a loss, it is your loss. It is likely you will work a lot more hours in the beginning to launch your business. You set your own schedule working until the job is done. All the effort and responsibility is yours, good, bad and indifferent. It’s a great responsibility which is potentially of great cost and/or great reward.
Sometimes jobs will limit overtime, cut hours, or cut staffing to manage profits or expenses. As the business owner these are your decisions. How much longer or harder will you work to ensure your own success? What if you could make double or triple the money on an additional project? Another pro is the unlimited earning potential of having your own business. Full time employees are bracketed in by rates and hour business owners are not. The only limit is the amount of business you can successfully deliver to your clients. Happy clients make recommendations bringing in more business. The earnings can increase exponentially as one good recommendation may bring in 5, 10 or more clients.
SERVE YOUR COMMUNITY
Your business can have a positive impact on your community and the world. You can create jobs, support local causes, and develop products or services that improve people’s lives. The greatest feeling in the world comes from acts of service. Can you help someone? Several people? A community? Many business owners’ passion runs in this area. Grocery stores have been opened in areas considered a food desert. One of my favorite Youtubers is a lawn care specialist that regularly finds overgrown or abandoned properties and cleans them up to help the neighbors and beautify the community. Check out his channel. Lawn care is his passion. Helping others is his passion.
FEEL FREE TO INNOVATE
Owning a business allows you to bring your unique ideas to life and create innovation. You have full authority to implement new things, and create products or services that disrupt the market. No good ideas will be left behind, overruled, or just flat out stolen by upper management. It is your show! Experiment as you will, just remember to be open to revamping what doesn’t quite work or could be better. Customer feedback is great for this! Always take it as an opportunity to improve your product or service from good to great. This sets you up for future excellence.
TAX BREAKS
There can be significant tax advantages to owning a business. The majority of the tax code is geared toward businesses. Once I discovered this, it sparked my passion. “It’s not how much you earn, it’s how much you keep”. Learning what tax breaks are available to you as a business owner can save or even gain you money if properly implemented. There is a long list of tax exemptions that can reduce your tax liabilities that are unavailable to the individual. You may be able to deduct business expenses, take advantage of tax credits, and enjoy lower tax rates on your income. Some examples are business vehicles, business supplies, business luncheons, and business travel expenses as well as many more. Keep those receipts!
WHY I AM DOING IT
Transparent moment: I mentioned finding out about the tax code sparked my passion. This website is now my purpose. I am working to find, curate, and share all the business insight I wish I had known years earlier. This website and blog will be dedicated to that purpose. Why? Because I would have done things differently 30+ years ago if I had known, business, taxes, credit, and funding worked. I got caught up in day-to-day life and set my passions aside to be a reliable dad. I created a stable platform for others but left my ambitions on the shelf. I saw a few people start businesses, some succeeded, some didn’t. But strangely, when I talked to some they gave hollow answers that left me with the same questions I had when I started. They told me what they had and how much money they made. But none offered me what I truly needed, real information and guidance to do it myself.
Most who did become entrepreneurs, either knew someone from another community who shared information and mentored them, or found out by being employed by a person or company that exposed business knowledge by merely being adjacent.
Now, this is my passion. I am building this platform to make the resources I find available to anyone who would want to build their own table of business. Inflation has skyrocketed and out-paced the income of the average American at an alarming and devastating rate. I firmly believe being able to generate your own income at will with no limits but your own effort is going to be essential to prosperity now and in the future. I am inspired by those who have done so and will definitely be asking questions. I will interview business owners and ask what advice they have for new and existing business owners.
I invite everyone who has decided to take this journey to join me in building a community legacy of business information and excellence.
Let’s Learn, Grow, Adapt and Evolve!