New Beginnings

Who hasn't wanted to start a business? The number of people saying they haven't isn't as large as one might think. The idea is forever attractive. Ditch the 9-to-5. Hold the future in your hands instead of feeling as if you have no control. Work when and from where you want, and ultimately, enjoy the life you've always dreamt of.

And while we're living in hard economic times, still unrecovered from the never-ending change that COVID-19 forced upon the world, is this the time to begin a new venture? It's actually the perfect time to start something, but mostly because there's no such thing as the perfect time. Those who wait for a perfect time to do anything go to their graves looking back at what wasn't done.

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.”

-Theodore Roosevelt

Perfection is a fleeting idea, one held onto by people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or those who are fooling themselves into believing that perfection is attainable. Sure, you want it from some people: surgeons, airline pilots, racecar drivers, and anyone who makes decisions over someone else's lives. In all of history, only one has been believed to be perfect, and even that still draws debate and criticism.

What if you could start a business? Would you do it? Is it the right thing for you? Or are you just tired enough of the world as it is that it's time to seize upon a chance at a different life? Whatever your reasoning, if you're considering starting a business, you're feeling the need for more in your life than you have today.

What's It Take To Start A Business

I remember my first idea, and unfortunately, it came at a time when I was nowhere near ready, had other ideas, and didn't believe it would be possible. The saddest part of not being able to take an idea and turn it into reality, other than never knowing what could have been, is seeing what it could be because someone else comes along and does it.

Yes, that happened. In college, a few friends and I went to a local bar one Saturday. We were all young, all with big ideas, but none of us were prepared to take on the world.

The idea came to me while we were having lunch. The owner, Rick, brought out our drinks and asked if any of us wanted to buy a bar. After some pleasantries and a round of "If I had the money," we were all sitting there contemplating the bar's sale.

That was when it hit me. Based on the location of the structure, the surrounding businesses, the manufacturing plants within driving range, and a prison full of guards... strip joint. Yes, it's seedy, yes, it's dirty, and yes, it's extremely profitable. Because, and I quote, Sex Sells.

Someone else did it, and is still doing it out of that location, and we're past the 30th anniversary of my idea.

Idea and Vision

Businesses need an idea and a vision. Before you can launch a business, what's your purpose? You need to identify what your business offers, or what it solves for people, and what your long-term goals are.

From being in high school through several ideas, I've had the idea and the vision, but never launched a business from them. One idea being done by someone else wouldn't be a big deal. But it wasn't one idea.

Three great ideas came into existence before the 21st century and made people wealthy, and they were ideas I had rattling around in my head when I was in high school and college.

Resources were always the key to starting a business. Capital wasn't something I ever believed I could lay my hands on. From the first idea I ever encountered, it appeared the banks didn't want to do business with a young person. And they didn't.

Young people weren't creditworthy in the 80s and early 90s. There were changes in the works, but they wouldn't be made for some years, and they wouldn't be publicly advertised. Either way, even then, we didn't educate young people on entrepreneurship. I didn't know much more than the idea, that it needed to be cool and popular, and that they needed money to start.

Now, in the 21st century, a person can start a business from a dedicated workspace, at home, in their spare time. There isn't a shortage of ideas and opportunities, from becoming an affiliate marketer, copywriter, drop shipper, and creator with endorsements; there are many ways to start your own business from the comfort of your home.

And that's going to bring me up to August 10th, 2026, the future. The future is here. And while I've never started an actual business before now, there are still possibilities.