How Much Do You Want It?

If you have a lawn, you’ve met a weed. Some weeds seem unstoppable; you can cut them, pull them, cover them with a barrier and a bag of gravel, and in a couple of weeks, they’ll be pushing their way up to the sunlight. They survive. They persist, no matter what you throw at them.

For many, being employed can feel just like being a weed.

Millions of people dislike their jobs and wish they could make a change. But most of them will be stuck in the same job next year at this time. A few unstoppable entrepreneurs will make the change, take the risks, and persist through doubt and fear and barriers to achieve the life they’ve dreamed of. They’re the ones who know what they want and are determined to get it.

Here are some of the excuses people use for not taking the first step:

“Now is not the right time.” There’s never a perfect time to start a business. But there are thousands of success stories of people who started or bought a company during recessions, unfavorable market conditions, and even a global pandemic. Timing, as an excuse, can take several forms: national economic conditions, your age, your busy career, or waiting until your children are out of the house.

The truth is that the best time to start a business is while you’re still employed. Your income will make lenders more willing to finance you, and your income will provide a cushion as you get started in the business and learn the ropes.

“Business owners have more (your excuse here) than I do.” It might be education, intelligence, skills, money, support, or connections. However, there’s only one factor that separates successful entrepreneurs from wannabes: the will to succeed. That’s something everyone has inside them, yet not everyone has the courage to trust. You can’t learn it in school or buy it off the shelf. Drive means you’ll find a way through or around every obstacle. In fact, that’s what obstacles do: show you how much you want to make a change.

In Randy Pausch’s book The Last Lecture, he says, “The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.”

“Making a huge life change like this is scary.” Yes. Yes, it is. But that’s just a metaphorical brick wall, one that you built and that you can tear down yourself. I once had a client who left a 13-year enlisted career in the Navy to become a business owner. He’d been successful in the military, but hated leaving his wife and children for long, lonely deployments. He could have waited another seven years to be eligible for retirement, but he wanted to take charge of his own life on his own terms and his own timeline.

I connected him with a franchise opportunity that provided him with what he needed to succeed: a proven track record, corporate support, and a system that required only his efficient implementation and hard work.

More brick walls popped up along the way. He had to drive to Canada for his franchisee training, and his car broke down along the way with his wife and kids on board. It turns out the car couldn’t be repaired, so they had to buy another used one to continue the journey. There were a lot of signs from the universe that this venture was going to be harder than he’d thought. But he wanted this new life badly enough to persevere. As it turns out, he became one of the most successful new franchisees in the company’s history.

I’ll never forget that client, because he represents everything a successful business owner has. Determination, drive, a strong work ethic, and the courage to do what it takes to change his life for the better.

So this is my invitation to take a step toward your dream of business ownership this year. This week. It won’t cost a dime, and you can talk through all your hopes and fears with someone who’s not trying to sell you anything. My only job is to match you with a business opportunity that’s the right fit. The only question to ask yourself right now is how much you want your life to change.