Saluting Today’s Entrepreneurs

By Stephen Bean | Jul 16, 2010

You’re a laundry owner. You operate your own business. By definition, that makes you an entrepreneur, and entrepreneurs are, in my estimation, the forgotten heroes of America. In fact, you are heroes because you reflect the many values that we as a society revere.

It’s people like you that keep this country going each and every day. There are literally millions of you. It seems like all of the media attention goes to the big companies and the people who run them (well or poorly). But make no mistake about it – you have a huge impact on this country financially, and it’s about time you were congratulated for who and what you are and all you contribute.

Millions of people earn their livings by being – or working for – entrepreneurs. And hundreds of thousands of essential products and services, such as those provided by coin laundries, are made available every day by hard-working, self-sufficient entrepreneurs like you who create wealth and employment by following the bold path.

You are an entrepreneur and for you the best part of waking up is not the “Folgers In Your Cup,” as the well-known coffee ad says. The best part of waking up is the excitement and satisfaction that you feel knowing you can control your financial destiny and run your business the way you believe it should be run – with no boss looking over your shoulder, contributing to society, providing employment opportunities and absolutely deserving the hard-earned profits that you make happen.

So, CONGRATULATIONS to you on your creativity. Creativity is the watchword of the typical entrepreneur. You know in your gut that the more creative you are the more successful you will be. It’s that simple. Owning a business is one thing but operating successfully in a competitive marketplace is another matter altogether.

CONGRATULATIONS to you for always trying to pull new rabbits out of old hats. You know that it’s not washing and drying that you are selling. It’s actually the peace of mind that customers appreciate, which comes with feeling that their clothes are sparkling clean.

CONGRATULATIONS to you on not being afraid of failing and instead concentrating and channeling all of your emotions toward success. You don’t have pre-conceived negative notions that drag you down. You act on gut instincts and maintain a positive state of mind. You constantly imagine success no matter what your age might be, because you know that youth is not a time of life but rather a state of mind.

CONGRATULATIONS to you for not having self-imposed limitations and managing the fear that keeps most people from becoming an entrepreneur in the first place. You are generally positive, high-energy people because you’re living your dream proactively. And you know full well that nothing will ever be attempted if all of the many possible objections must first be overcome.

CONGRATULATIONS to you for knowing that creating wealth and employment opportunities is exciting and that life is not a dress rehearsal and is far too short for mediocrity.

CONGRATULATIONS to you for not being discouraged by temporary failures and setbacks and for not blaming your problems and road blocks on others because you know that the search for blame is always successful and that you will pass by failure on your way to success.

CONGRATULATIONS to you for not avoiding discomfort because you know that pain nourishes courage and you can’t possibly learn to be brave if you have never experienced painful experiences.

CONGRATULATIONS to you for always keeping an open mind because you know that your mind is like a parachute and only works efficiently when it is functional and wide open.

CONGRATULATIONS to you for gathering good ideas because you are constantly intellectually curious and you know that the way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas and then filter out the bad ones.

CONGRATULATIONS to you for having a tough spirit and knowing that nothing in nature is as enduring as the human spirit. The constantly turning wheel of life polishes you up and does not grind you down.

CONGRATULATIONS to you for being focused and for knowing that if you don’t take some risks that you actually take the biggest risk, because some day you will wake up and it may be too late.

And, finally, CONGRATULATIONS to you for keeping your sense of humor and fascination with all aspects of living, knowing that life can be very amusing and interesting and having the release valve of humor to keep things in a logical and practical perspective.

In the course of my laundry development activities as a distributor I meet a variety of non-self-employed people who say they want to go into business for themselves by virtue of owning a self-service laundry. When I interview them, many are preoccupied with all of the possible things that can go wrong rather than concentrating on all of the things that can go right. They unfortunately magnify problems rather than promise.

I always find this type of person to be very interesting. They ask questions like, “What if the boiler breaks down?” “What if there is a power failure?” “What if I get some competition?” “What if my employees let me down?” “What if I don’t have enough customers?” “What if I can’t pay my bills?”

My usual answer to these types of questions is: You overcome the problem. If the fog sets in, you must follow your own compass. If your fundamentals are valid and saying yes, it does not matter who or what is saying no.

Most often these people don’t totally comprehend my response because they are simply just not entrepreneurial by nature and very likely should not own a business. They want a guarantee of success. It doesn’t exist.

So, do well-meaning, hard-working entrepreneurs sometimes fail? Absolutely, of course they do. But, generally, they bounce back and become even stronger because of the experience.

Winston Churchill said, “Success comes to those who have the ability to go from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” And Ernest Hemingway said, “You can never tell the quality of a bullfighter until that bullfighter has been gored.”

Entrepreneurs are people who are not afraid to fail. If you are afraid to fail then logically you are equally afraid to try.

Look at some of the better-known entrepreneurs who have overcome obstacles and difficulties and have achieved great things by sticking with an idea, a plan and a dream or two.

Steve Jobs of Apple changed the way we communicate and listen. Bill Gates followed his dreams while a college student and literally changed the world. The two young men who started Google have become icons. Many years ago Walt Disney shaped our entertainment scenario. Henry Ford made us a mobile society, and Thomas Edison virtually lit up our world. There are indeed many more examples, and most certainly many more to come.

It’s far from easy being an entrepreneur. It is often scary, at times downright frightening, and it can be extremely lonely. But the typical small-business owner is a very resilient individual who focuses his or her energies on the long run, keeping it simple, and doing the right things over and over again.

You entrepreneurs are all true American heroes, each and every one of you.