My wife and I are just back to reality after visiting my sister, her children, and her children’s children in Australia.  It was the best vacation ever.  My sister, the Energizer Bunny of Australia (or should I say Energizer Roo) kept us so busy that, in three weeks, we visited and saw what most people would need (and I’m not exaggerating much) a year to see; Sydney, Hervey Bay, Cairns and the ocean, forests, islands, great barrier reef, and on and on.  We took nearly 1000 pictures (aren’t digital cameras great?) … c’mon over.

Now back to reality.  In all that, I’m sure we encountered hundreds of small businesses.  Land tours, sea tours, trains, cable cars and trams, dozens of shops, diving tours, restaurants, entertainment, and on and on.  A lot of people run successful small businesses and many are successful … I’ll bet you’ve thought of it, if you’re not running a small business already.  Well, watch out … it can be a wonderful and fulfilling life … it can be something you regret forever.

What makes the difference?  If you’re starting a small business so you can “work for yourself,” be careful!  Many with a passion for fixing computers, repairing cars, baking pies and go into business for themselves find that they have “an idiot for a boss” (read about Sarah in Michael Gerber’s “The E-Myth Revisited”).  Most small businesses fail within just a few years and those who start for the wrong reasons are almost sure to fail.  The difference is that running a business, is not running a job (fixing computers, baking pies).  It is much, much more.

More to come.  Please join us next week at the Charlottesville Authentic Leadership Summit.  We’ll expand on this theme and provide some very practical advice.  There are  “must dos” for every business, big or small, to have a chance at success.