Go It Alone! The Secret to Building a Successful Business on Your Own

The numbers are staggering. Over half (56%) of all Americans dream of starting their own business. The United States is the land of opportunity, but so few of us ever make the leap to this fundamental aspiration. Work is a central part of our lives. Each week for 35 years or more-over 70,000 hours and often half of the time we are awake-most of us work (and travel to and from work). Yet, only a very few of us ever feel that we set our own course, work at what we do best, and are doing what we most love doing.

A fundamentally new class of entrepreneur is emerging: the go-it-alone entrepreneur. Businesses run by these entrepreneurs are characterized by three defining criteria:-

• The business is started with a minimal investment, and the founder or founders retain full ownership and control of the enterprise.
• The business is run entirely by a small number of people, generally from one to six.
• The founder does not set out to create a small business. He or she is working from the premise that the business has unlimited revenue potential.
• To the founder or founders, a go-it-alone enterprise is small only in the numbers of workers it employs. It’s designed to generate substantial financial returns and to play a sizable role in the business world.

The implications of these defining criteria are significant. When a business starts with a minimal investment, the enterprise must focus on generating cash from the outset. This, in turn, suggests that the business is able to swiftly develop a paying customer base. Unlike many start-ups, go-it-alone businesses don’t have a gestation period where dedicated, full-time