Your Indpendence Day…

Most of you on this distribution list are business owners. Why are you a business owner? Most of you, at some point, worked for someone. You had a boss and you worked for a company. One day, the revelation set in that you could do what they were doing and you could do it better, or faster or cheaper. And so you did. You declared your independence from the pinhead or company that was running your life.

The founding fathers felt exactly the same way. They could do it better. And they did and just like you, not without considerable risk. One day, you got your last, steady, company paycheck; the next, you were working to create that very unsteady cash flow that you now call your business. Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Sam Adams, John Jay, Patrick Henry and many others had families that depended on them just like your family depends on you. If you were married, that was a long conversation with your spouse – “do I go out on my own?”. Crazy, right? The day they declared their independence from England, these new United States with it’s brand new territory, became the competition to England, just like you became the competition to your former employer. The key difference was that they had to keep their rifles close by, because no one else was going to protect their goal of starting a new country.

When you celebrate Independence Day on Sunday, remember that it is not just the day of independence for the greatest country in the world. You, as a business owner, are also celebrating YOUR ability to be independent, to call your own shots, make your own mistakes and create your own successes. There are few greater callings and few greater risks, than being a business owner. You have my greatest respect.

Happy Independence Day!