A lot of people dream of owning a substantial business. Who wouldn’t want to walk through a space knowing that they own it, and having every employee watch them from the corner of their eye, hoping they only say positive things about them? Being able to wield the axe that slices through obstacles (and anything that gets in your way) is the dream of our society. And to have made it yourself, through a vision coupled with a lot of hard work, is a very clear vision of the American Dream in its most aggressive form. But when most people set out to build a business, they fail epically at it. Why is this the case?
Building a business has a lot of components to it. First off, you need to identify a need. Secondly, you need to find a market full of people who both have that need, and also have the ability to pay you in order to have it be solved for them. If you can find these things, you can at least “own a job” and be a freelancer. At least that keeps the immediate cash flow problems at bay. But working all the time for a big paycheck is not owning a business. The clearest form of a business is one that no longer needs you, in order to grow stronger and more profitable.
The sad part is, most people simply lack either the resolve to stick with something that long, or the skills to organize enough rules and systems, and couple those systems with high quality employees. No successful business was ever built in an afternoon, and going months or years without receiving a paycheck can demoralize all but the toughest of us. When you feel like you might not be able to eat, you find out whether you have what it takes to stick it out in business. Sadly, most people who quit their jobs don’t have it.