Being an entrepreneur is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do.

Recently, a long-time friend reminded me of a “not-so-pleasant” part of my entrepreneurial journey.

He asked me,

“Hey Jim, remember when you were stocking shelves at Target your first year? I always wondered if you felt any shame in having to do that?”

You see, my first year as an entrepreneur was what I now refer to as, “revenue free!”

Yup, it took me 12 months to close my first new client.

In the meantime, I had four teens at home who liked to eat.

I told my friend that while stocking big boxes of Tide in the warehouse was not a good time, I was doing what I needed to do to help provide for my family, and honestly, I didn’t have time to feel shame.

To make it all work, and while I honored my commitment to create a successful business, I got up at 4:00 am (which means sometimes I slept, like, one hour that night) and worked until 10:00 am for $10/hour.

I then spent the rest of the day trying to meet with prospective clients.

Most week nights I drove to various business networking events and pushed myself beyond my somewhat introverted nature to meet total strangers in hopes of finding a client.

Not fun!!

I would then fall into bed to start again the next day.

Choosing to become an entrepreneur will test you in ways you never even imagined in all the excitement of opening your box of shiny new business cards.

Most who begin this journey do not make it past five years.

The truth is, most who are in love with idea building a business that provides financial freedom are not willing to sacrifice their current lifestyle, or perhaps their pride, even for a short time, in order to create a successful business.

I’ve worked with some business owners who share with me a long lost of things they will not do, even for a short time, in order to create financial freedom and get one step closer to their Dream Business.

“Whatever it takes” and “Success is all in” are two of the most profound expressions entrepreneurs should embrace and repeat daily!

If you truly want to create a Dream Business, one that makes it possible to live your Dream Lifestyle, I suggest two things.

1. Forget the shame, honor the commitment, and keep the promises you make to yourself.
2. Connect with me at DreamBizCoaching.com and join my Dream Business Mastermind and Coaching Program.