Sometimes I wonder as a small business owner if I am valiant for taking a risk or stupid for not thinking practically. You face so many challenges out on this limb that you feel at many times the limb is about to break and yield you free falling to the bottom! Running and maintaining a small business seems like an impossible feat…why would someone want to do that? Forget the reality that millions of Americans clock in at businesses every day that were founded the same way. Forget the fact that you will never obtain wealth working for someone else. Why would you want to live on the edge everyday working hard to make something materialize from nothing except your own great ideals? It seems insane right?

However, it is not insane. In the state of Texas where I reside, 90% of the businesses that employ people are small businesses. This means that the majority of employers in this state started out just like me…taking a risk that seemed insane. Maybe the “practical thinker” is the one that has missed that mark. Practical thinking usually equals conformity. Practical thinking usually equals assimilation and practical thinking may be the very thing that is actually more risky now. With rising gas prices, inflation, wars and rumors of wars–there is no job that is secure. When the economy is down, companies get rid of there most expensive commodities–employees. The other problem with practical thinking is that you live life so “safe” that you may be missing an opportunity to take the one risk that will be the portal to your dreams. So as I rationalized and analyzed this very thought today, I realized that as an entrepreneur I am not crazy. I propose the notion that the millions of Americans that are trusting someone else to provide for them by way of employment just might be though! We are increasingly becoming a society where we must depend on ourselves for the financial health of our families. This is not just a thought…this is becoming the reality in America. You must face it or be left behind.