Straighten that crown

A man with dreams needs a woman with vision. Even before the top of the hill can be seen, they’ll struggle together, survive whatever is thrown their way in order to succeed and build an empire. Remember, success doesn’t come overnight. It isn’t always about the greatness people see. Its about sleepless nights and hard work- Consistent hard work and a lot of it. Ups and downs, great times and times when it feels like too much. But every day you strive to do just a little better than the day before. Through it all, there isn’t another soul on this planet that I’d rather build my life with than the one I hooked!

There’s a lot of reality in my blogs, and you’re about to get a harsh dose of it. Our life is anything but calm, cool, and collected. Contrary to popular belief, we’re not the family who “made it overnight”. We didn’t wake up wealthy. We didn’t hit the lotto, or come into money. We busted our asses off to get to where we are. We went to school and worked for several companies to put our time in, and worked really, really hard. Just because we’re business owners and left our 9-5’s behind doesn’t mean we’re kicking back enjoying the high life. We don’t have a summer house on the shore (just yet) where our kids and dogs love to run around our backyard beach while we sit back drinking our homemade wine toasting the day away. We actually don’t go to the beach, concerts, tea parties, train rides, and barely any restaurants as a family because our kids are animals. We don’t wear pajamas around the house all day and sleep in late every morning. We’re lucky if we actually sleep a solid 5 hours a night. We’re constantly trying to fit 10 pounds of bologna into a 5 pound bag, as my father says. We don’t have a full time staff of chauffeurs, maids, chefs and nannies at our disposal that we pay to “do life” for us just so we don’t have to. We’re not above doing anything - from our own housework to taking care of the kids, late night Target runs, or sitting in hours of traffic just for a family visit. We put our pants on one leg at a time; granted, they’re Michael Kors and Gucci pants, but nonetheless they still go on one leg at a time :)

The Price of Success

Many see the glitz & glamour that being a business owner holds. You‘re not booked out every single Monday - Friday for 40+ hours a week that was sucking the very soul out of you. No commute. Ever again. You don’t answer to anyone. Your days off don’t need to be approved, and there is no fear that you won’t get promoted or have a job tomorrow. The stress of thinking, “is this job is really worth it? maybe I should look for another job that’ll be better” is just gone. In every meaning of the phrase, YOU ARE YOUR OWN BOSS. WIN!!! Right??? Well, that’s not always the case. First of all, the amount of hours, time and effort required to dedicate to your business getting off the ground will undoubtedly double, if not triple within the first 5-10 years..that is, if you make it that long. 20% of startups fail within the first year. 30% fail the second year, 50% don’t make it to 5 years, and 70% won’t ever see 10 years in business. So, take a look at the odds of success before your industry, target market, and projected profit is even considered. Starting your own business is literally jumping into a shark tank with a gaping wound on your hand, hoping the sharks swim past you. It’s one of the things you can do that will provide the highest risk with the lowest opportunity for profit, being that the failure rates outweigh the success rates by so much. If you do male a profit, the sky is the limit if you do it right. Here’s the deal. Most of the time, your industry is already in existence; Which means there are people out there who already do what you want to do. But they’re successful because they do it faster, cheaper, and better. What you have to do is find out what they’re not doing. And do it. Better. Those are some of the most important ingredients in the recipe for success. And above all things, be prepared to give up the person you used to be in order to transform into the person you never even knew you could become.

Be prepared for sleepless nights. Many of them. Also, many, many, many nights alone. Those who are thinking of going into Global Business will be literally traveling the world to sell their business, their product, or their service to other countries in order to remain operational. Think big - big risks, big traveling, big money. You have to be willing to do absolutely anything necessary to ensure your business will succeed. And if that involves embarking on a 26 hour flight for ONE MEETING - nod to my husband - then so be it.

If you do your job, and do it well, with the right combination of what you know, who you know, and what you’re willing to do to succeed, you will undoubtedly make it. Some quicker than others, never overnight though. Once you do get a glimmer into the life of being successful, it’s not all lollipops and rainbows. Yes, money is always good to have. But along with it comes more problems. More stress. You make more, so you spend more. And there’s more to worry about. More bills. More debt. More taxes. Along with being successful is showing up, and showing up well. Every. Single. Time. Working hard to never miss a birthday, a dinner or an appearance. Keeping all of your composure and not looking like a hot mess, for even one second because now you have what is called a reputation.

-to be continued…