Owning a business is very glamourized, and the pitfalls, don't show up until you have gone ahead and invested, without  knowing how many things can go wrong.  We have all had bad bosses, or employes that haunted us, and ruined our every day, so the fantasy grows that being your own boss will eliminate all of that in your life.  

I started owning a business when I was about 28, and definately lost some major money.  But I never let it be the thing that defines me.  It was a long learning experience, and since we are human, and not machines, we continue to learn and make mistakes.  And things change all of the time.  So what didn't work, will suddenly work, and visa versa.

For people that inherit a business, want to start one, or buy an established one, if it's right for your life, then it's right.  But the misconception is all of these "I became a millionaire" ads that give people the vision that once they start their own business, that will happen to them.

I am still waiting for my mercedes with a driver (ha ha).  But the truth is I am happier owning a business than working for someone else.  And I haven't gotten rich, I just earn a living.  But that's better for me than alot of the jobs that I have had.  It's a part of who I am.

The reality is that whatever you build in a lifetime, can really crumble in one day.  The man from McAfee anti virus was on top of the world and did nothing wrong, and when the market crashed, his investments crashed.  But it was what he did after that that makes him a survivor.  He took what was left and sold it, and is making this way back up again.  And with anyone who has been in business and lost some money, it only takes a little bit and the wisdom we have gained to start it right back up again.

And that's exactly what it takes, we rise, we fall, we have to dust off, cry a little, and start over again.  And are just wiser the next time round.  It can happen through no fault of your own, just the story of life.   And on a much smaller scale, that's my story.  I lost alot of money over time, but it was more important for me to just start it up again, and rebuild.

Many people stay working at a job, and start in business so close to retirement, and this is much more complicated because there is less time to rebuild.  For these people my recommendation is that they only invest a little, and start with something like Ebay, where it's controllable.  When people start with a small business loan, a rented space or mall, and have payroll, the money coming in is not the same as money going out.  And it's very hard to keep it going.  So with the internet, it's a better way to invest less and get the feel for it first.

People have told us to get a web page and spend all of this money to start and it's very hard to even get web pages going at first.  With Ebay, they are the name and the advertiser of bringing people to you, so it's a much better way to see if it's even your thing to sell.  It takes alot of knowledge to handle all of it, and the right products.  For me it's still worth what I went through, and I have alot of fun with it.

I think that it's important to know that many people that start don't have any clue until they do it, and that's why it's a small investment. 

If it's something that you want to do so much, it's important to live it out and see what happens, no one should discourage you.  Even when the Hurrican Katrina victims lost every single thing they owned, not even related to business, they too had to start over with nothing.  So the point is, that it can happen at any time, to anyone for any reason, and that if it crumbles, we all have to dust off, and try again.

When you have to start the next time, it's a shorter process because you have the wisdom behind you.  There are people that are better off with a steady consistent paycheck.  If you are not good with money, and it comes rolling in during a busy season, and you don't save some, then when it slows down you have high blood pressure waiting for money to come it.  It's definately a juggling act, and something I have learned to manage, but there was a time after 9/11, when my business was so slow in the mall, that if I didn't sell something that day, I had no money to get gas in my car to get home, and it was so hard.  Luckily something did sell, but it was that close of a call and I never forgot it.