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Chapter 1

Why Not You?

We often hear stories about successful businesses, as well as stories about the successful individuals who earned great fame through these businesses. So often, these people simply saw an opportunity and created a product or a business around that vision. What did these business founders or owners and inventors see that no one else did? What did they do with their vision that others failed to do? How can you do the same thing today?

These individuals saw a need they could fill. They saw an opportunity to start something new, and they figured out the steps to get there and went on to see huge success. However, the question remains: why didn’t anyone else do it first? I believe it is because these individuals were looking for greater success. If you are not looking for something, you will probably never find it—even if it is right in front of you. Others may have seen the same opportunity differently, but failed to take the next step. Their failure to act contributed to the success of those who did take action, even if it was in a different way.

In the early days of computing, many very smart people were developing code, operating systems, and computer functions. They were focused only on what was in front of them, often not seeing the larger picture. They didn’t see those opportunities that people like Bill Gates saw, or even consider moving in different directions.

So, why don’t more people act? There are many possible reasons. For starters, there is fear of failure, lack of vision, not understanding or seeing the need, and/or not having enough funds. Some lack the self-discipline to keep moving forward, to keep learning and striving to be better. If you enjoy your work and where you are in life, you are in an enviable position. If you have a desire to do something bigger, make a difference, and be more successful, you have a choice to make. It is up to you whether you want to take action or be content where you are. How you look at everything can make a significant difference in the remainder of your life.

If there is so much opportunity out there, why then do 95% of young companies fail in the first five years? There are many factors, including lack of initiative, poor self-discipline, poor cash flow management, having a wrong vision, and poor execution. However, when asking a person why their business failed, the answers given often do not match the true root cause of the failure. Not many who fail will tell you they failed because they lacked self-discipline, right. What they might tell you or what they might believe is the true cause could very well be clouded by pride.

The same can be said when asking a successful business owner why they succeeded. Often, we find that the core reason for success is individual effort and self-discipline, combined with an enormous will to succeed. This effort may be referred to as inspiration and perspiration, something many people lack in addition to a lack of vision. Yes, I said perspiration: the hard work it often takes to succeed. Too many fear perspiration, or, ironically, “work hard” to avoid it.

There are several other traits we see in successful people. These include dedication, perseverance, continued learning, and listening to others. Building a culture of success within an organization is another key ingredient. And remember, age, race, and gender have nothing to do with any of the above. When applied, the aforementioned traits provide the same outcome for all—success.

If you might be tempted to think that age is a limiting factor, let’s take a look at the Kentucky Fried Chicken founder, Colonel Sanders. He had already retired from several different jobs when he stumbled upon an idea. Wikipedia reads, “Sanders held a number of jobs in his early life, such as steam engine stoker, insurance salesman and filling station operator. He began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in North Corbin, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. During that time Sanders developed his ‘secret recipe’ and his patented method of cooking chicken in a pressure fryer. Sanders recognized the potential of the restaurant franchising concept, and the first KFC franchise opened in South Salt Lake, Utah in 1952. When his original restaurant closed, he devoted himself full-time to franchising his fried chicken throughout the country.”1

This story only tells the reader a small portion of what this remarkable person did! He saw an opportunity, developed a vision of what could be, and decided to go for it. The idea was simple: a way to make chicken in a pressurized pot with a blend of secret spices. His first restaurant franchise opened when he was 62 years old, and grew to over 18,000 restaurants. This just goes to show you that anybody, at any age, with any level of education and financial means or experience, can start a successful business.

Businesses come in all shapes and sizes, each meeting a specific need for specific people. Retail stores such as Costco and Target are satisfying the needs of the public. Others, like accountants, small manufacturing entities or consultants serve the needs of other businesses. Often, those needs were not even known to the businesses buying the product or service until that business launched. I compare this to walking into a Costco and finding dozens of items you didn’t even know you needed!

Now that I mention it, Costco is another perfect example of a wildly-successful global company that started with an idea and a single store. These days, you can find a Costco in almost every corner of the world. There were hundreds of other entrepreneurs attempting to open large, bulk wholesale stores that were not nearly as successful as Costco. What was that magic formula? What did the Costco founders see that others did not? Much like our other stories, the founders were two ordinary people like you and I. Jeff Brotman and Jim Sinegal founded Costco. Brotman’s family operated a small business, as his grandparents migrated to the U.S. from Romania (via Canada). Sinegal was born to a working-class family. Both men had worked in various retail-focused companies and shared a vision of a better way to fill the needs of consumers. One key ingredient in their success, among many, was quality. Regular customers know Costco sells only quality products and backs them all with an ironclad return policy.

All of these individuals share the same starting point. They visualized an opportunity so powerful that they just had to do it. They jumped ship from solid, safe jobs to take the risk and start their own companies. These individuals took the vision and opportunity they imagined and did something to make it happen. Again, they practiced perseverance, took the risk, left their careers behind, and made the leap. Every story is different; every person comes from a different background and environment, yet they each carry the same basic success principles. These stories are of ordinary people taking extraordinary risks. Just think, there are thousands more stories to be written about people just like you and the future companies simply waiting to be founded.

The next story could be yours.

I do not know where you are in life right now. You might still be in school, investing in yourself in hopes of landing a career that could provide for you or your family. You might be sitting at a desk, serving someone else’s vision and feeling dissatisfied every time you leave for the day. You might be doing exactly what you always said you wanted to, yet you are realizing that you actually have bigger and brighter dreams. Wherever you find yourself, you have the same chance to take a risk as Bill Gates and thousands of others.

So, how do you know it’s time to take a leap? The exact reason that people leave a job to start a business varies in every case, but it happens every day. I started my first business when realizing the 65-year-old company I had devoted my early work life towards might fail. I did see an opportunity of what the customer really needed from that company, and was developing a great career around such. So, when the company started to fail, instead of doing my work for another company, I started my own.

When you hear the stories years later from people who left a job or career and started a business that succeeded, rarely do you hear regret, even if they’ve failed. They take pride in what they’ve founded, seeing that they have met needs in a unique way, enabled others to succeed, and built a platform. While new businesses often fail, that is rarely the end of the story. Many successful people pick themselves back up, learn from failure, and start over again—this time, with more experience.

Successful companies all began in different ways. Some began with one employee—the founder. Others started with a few employees; others with many. Some started in homes or garages, like Jeff Bezos and Amazon. Regardless of size, their success, for the most part, is a result of the same characteristics, which we will explore as we continue through this book.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen both worked at starting their business while in school and while working other jobs for income before it all came together. They never gave up. They shared a vision of what could be and artfully made it happen through a series of events.

Those who have incredibly successful businesses are always asked the same questions, “How did you do it?” and “What did you do that made it work?”

I will address these questions by sharing stories from several business entities and different industries, as well as my own life as a business founder/owner and the lives of those around me that have modeled success in different ways. People tried to convince me not to start my own business—that it would put my family in jeopardy and that we could lose the new home we had built, as well as the new car my wife drove. But I did it, and against all odds, I did it successfully.

Starting a business is not for everyone, but it could be for you. The same opportunity is in front of every single one of us, and it is up for grabs every day. Will you be the one to take it? Or will you take advantage of opportunities right where you are now? I cannot emphasize enough that opportunities also exist in the company where you work. Open your mind and again, ask what could be, what can be done better.

Why not you? Why not now? What can you do starting today to make tomorrow better, both for yourself and for others? So often we hear excuses about why something can’t be done, while at the same time, others are not only getting it done, but exceeding expectations. I beg you, do not think about the reasons not to do it. Simply ask yourself, who do you want to be, and when do you plan to start? Only you can answer these questions.

The best time to start is now.

1 “Colonel Sanders.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.