What to Do When We Miss Goals

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It doesn’t ever feel good to make goals, work hard towards them, and miss them. A lot of people like to use the “miss the moon, fall amongst the stars” analogy to describe missing your goals, but the fact is, most of the time, it hurts. However, sometimes missing your goal can be a great thing. It opens your creativity. It forces you to look at your path, planning, and approach. Missing and reaching goals teaches a valuable lesson in every attempt and every victory. And with the right perspective, you will see that in your efforts you either meet your goal or learn something that changes you.

 

Why We Need Goals

 

First of all, goals tell us our desires. Goals help us to separate the wishes and dreams from the thing we are willing to work towards.  Without goals, we can’t channel our ambitions. And goals are often tangible, so we can stay motivated through the progress, as we reach different milestones on the path to the ultimate achievement we want to attain.

 

If you aren’t in the habit of setting goals, I encourage you to do so. Start small if you like. A financial goal. A project goal. An increase in followers. More people visiting your website. Pick one to get started. One of my favorite sayings is, “if you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.”

 

How Do We Set Goals?

 

I don’t align myself with the “SMART” goal strategy exactly.  That approach requires all goals be “specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timebound.” I have no problems with the specific and measurable parts of this style because progress is motivating. I think if we talk “achievable” too narrowly, people won’t undertake a “stretch” goal, one that is just outside the obvious reach and forces us to work a little harder or be a little more creative to hit.

 

Personally, I start from the end state of what I am going to do and backwards plan, putting steps on the calendar and wherever else. I do give myself a deadline, but in reality, I have realized that rigorous time limits can stifle creativity and the ability to add a valuable step or process into the mix. My approach isn’t always great for very time specific goals. I’ve become a little “soft” on deadlines as I’ve spent more time as an entrepreneur. If I am not striving for a project goal, I would rather work in “windows” of time. I am padding the calendar at times to leave room for those sparks of inspiration.

 

Once the goal is set, however, it must become non-negotiable. I recently started reading, “The Audacity to Be Queen” by Gina DeVee, and she explains it as, “being unavailable for anything else.” When you have your goals set by your desires rather than working from a position of “I wish, I want” we start from “it’s happening, this is what I am doing.” We commit to taking each action step with unwavering determination and belief. And then start moving.  

 

When we miss goals

 

There are people who believe that if you don’t hit a goal, you didn’t want it badly enough. Maybe. I think if you don’t hit a goal, any number of things could have happened. Have you ever gotten halfway to a goal and then lost your passion for the result? How about external forces that interfered? Ever have a goal that you reach at another time? How about something that needed to be tweaked- something you will correct for the next round?

 

Whatever we discover our reasons to be aside, when we don’t hit our goals, it cannot be the end of the world. Because we made the goal non-negotiable and we are unavailable for anything else. Any perceived “miss” is a timing issue. Or an approach issue. We need to find the lesson. We need to evaluate what went well, what didn’t work, and we need to be willing to make adjustments and to continue moving forward. And we need to replace any disappointment with a celebration of our progress. A genuine celebration.  Happy Entrepreneuring!

You Still Need an Accountant, But Not to Control Your Income

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Many times, I speak with entrepreneurs who have “turned all that stuff over” to an accountant. Meaning, they don’t look at or control their business money. I get it. The money stuff isn’t as sexy as a new logo or website. The truth is, your bookkeeper, accountant, or payroll company is NOT responsible for your bottom line. They are responsible to keep you compliant and out of trouble. Here is my take: You control the income, let your accountant do the accounting.

These small business professionals SHOULD take care of the reporting and advise you on the best way to manage your responsibilities as it pertains to taxes, withholding, unemployment insurance, etc. But they are NOT invested in making sure your profit margins are “right.” That’s YOUR job.  The thing is, YOU have to control your income.  Don’t delegate that part of your business.

You know what comes in, and decides what goes out, to whom, and when. That’s it. Let your payroll company cut the checks and deposit your taxes. Let your accountant file your taxes and help you stay compliant and legal.

 

First, don’t ignore the money and just let it flow in and out without intention.

 

Make managing your money an intentional act. Take the bills off autopay to protect your cash flow and put dates on the calendar for your paychecks and for tracking your money. It’s so easy nowadays to just let it run on it’s own, but when you aren’t looking at the money management, you aren’t looking at the health of your business.

 

Second, prioritize your expenses and pay them in the right order to keep the doors open.

 

It seems like everything points back to your Breakthrough Number, doesn’t it? This is because it is the simplest way to holistically look at all of your expenses and to calculate the minimum amount of money you need to bring in every month.  If you don’t have your Breakthrough Number yet, it’s free to do and typically takes under 30 minutes! Grab your workbook here.

 

Third, Track every dime that comes in and give every bit of money a job to do.

 

This is the part many people don’t embrace. You have to write everything down. It is way too hard to try and remember where your money went, what got paid, and how much is being used for different things in your business. It is also very simple to do. Just write down your total income for the week (in a log, on the computer, in an app, wherever) and everything you paid or funded for that week. The number “in” needs to equal the number “out.” Meaning, just note where it all went. You may have some left in the operating account. Cool. But note how much came from that week’s sales.

 

Finally, have your accountant do your reports and taxes and compliance stuff.

 

Small businesses need accountants. I would never try to navigate the tax stuff on my own. This is why you hire professionals. You still need your accountant and bookkeeper and payroll person. Particularly if it takes you away from your business and outside your zone of genius.

You do not want to make a mistake here. Use their reports to help you make financial and tax decisions. Just know that they aren’t going to tell you how to make more profit every month or to find opportunities for growth.

Upper Limit Problems- Your Brain’s Safety is “ON”

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Your brain likes to keep you safe. It likes to talk you out of doing things that are new and perceived as “dangerous.” Like opening a new business, meeting a new income milestone, or launching new products and services. If your brain doesn’t have a point of reference for the “new” thing you are doing it defaults to believing you are in “danger” and it takes immediate steps to talk you out of it. Putting doubts, fears, and sometimes self-sabotaging behaviors into your head. To make you stop. To keep you, “safe.” It’s all laid out in The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks.

 

It’s happened to you before. It has happened to all of us. You get a great new idea and immediately you think, “this will never work.” Or you have repeatable patterns of self-sabotage every time you are ready to launch something new into the world. It’s frustrating and confusing. Why does the brain work so hard to derail anything new? Even if the new thing is good for us, like making more money?

 

It’s actually quite simple. Our brains haven’t adapted to the fact that we aren’t physically in harms way when there’s something happening the brain doesn’t recognize. The ego wants to keep us in the status quo where it can predict everything, and nothing is going to harm us.  This is the part of the brain that watches for cheetahs chasing us.  And it hasn’t adapted to life today in 2020. But you can get past an upper limit problem. We need to get past the brains safety switch so we can level up past our previous “set point?”

 

First, acknowledge that this is new, and you know the brain is feeling fear.

 

Recognizing an upper limit problem is the first step. Paying attention to how you feel and what’s going on around you as you begin to do or attain something new and different is the first step.  Fear may show up in different ways, but the consistent thread is that your brain is trying to talk you out of moving forward and is making excuses for you not to continue. We’ve all done it, had those inner conversations that talk us out if ideas.

 

Second, reassure your brain that you are safe.

 

Give it a little attention and thank it for trying to protect you.  I thank my brain all the time, and remind it that I am safe, and that we are doing this thing. By paying attention and not ignoring it, the negative voices in my head do quiet down a little.  It is okay to feel scared when we try something new.  Anything new in our business may feel scary, and in many cases we are unsure of the outcome, no matter the projections and plans. Acknowledge it. Remind yourself you are safe.

Another trick is to trace and minimize the fear by asking, “what if (this negative thing) does happen?” and  answer the question. For example, “what if we don’t sell any?” then honestly examine the consequence. By answering the questions you give yourself a point of reference. By giving yourself a point of reference, the brain can calm down.

 

Third, do your thing. Just do it. 

Your brain will create a new set point as it experiences your new level.  As you try and succeed (or learn) different things, the brain adapts and knows “how” to do it, and it isn’t seen as automatically dangerous. 

I have my own upper limit problems. We all do. I tend to self-sabotage when “new” things are happening, and the business is readying to break through a level. In fact, as I write this, I am on bed rest from an odd back injury. I didn’t fall and don’t remember hurting myself, but I have a bulging disk in my lower back. Is this my body and brain telling me to slow down? I think so. So, I am going a little slower. But I am not quitting, which is what my brain really wants me to do.

 

Fourth, recognize the growth place and celebrate it.

When you grow and reach the next level, celebrate it. You’ve done it now, your brain has a frame of reference, you are not going to struggle to that level again. Congratulations on staying the course and growing into your next thing.

 

Finally, rinse and repeat.

Every time you come up against something new, scary, your “growth edge” you will likely have to calm your brain and give it reassurance. It is a part of growing and making permanent changes in your life. And once you are aware of them and take the steps to grow around them, your growth potential is limitless. Happy Entrepreneuring!

 

What I Learned About My Business When I Revisited My Mission Statement

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One of the first things many entrepreneurs do is to create their mission statement, vision statement, and values. These three statements anchor the brand, the business plan, the map for the business itself.  If you have never taken the time to define these things for your business, it’s definitely an exercise in clarity.

A surprising assignment.

I learned the importance of this exercise with UNEQ Consulting. We were late with this process though and we worked with an amazing business consultant to guide us.  Since that experience I have made a point to create these three statements for every venture. But I didn’t revisit them before now. Revisiting them was an assignment from my coach. 

I honestly never thought to review the “big three” statements once I got them written. I guess I always thought that was such a “corporate” thing to do. Not a small business thing. In reality, small businesses change and evolve and pivot and serve different audiences much more frequently than large corporations.

I had created this first mission statement back in October 2019 as Entre Money Coach was fully separating from my law practice and personal financial coaching business into its own entity:

“My mission is to empower and support entrepreneurs making powerful, positive changes to their money management approach, to protect and grow their businesses into the vision they were given, with understanding, enthusiasm, and without judgment.”

Niching Down

So much happened between October and March! I worked with many more people on their businesses. Through those clients I refined the process of calculating my signature Breakthrough Number approach to money management, so it was more streamlined. I definitely niched differently. I thought that start-ups would benefit from getting their financial sh*t together from the beginning, but I realized very quickly that these entrepreneurs were so excited about just, “being in business” that the money stuff hardly entered their mind. 

Rather the clients calling me were entrepreneurs who have been in business for a bit, and who are making money and not keeping much of it. This segment required much more strategy to create income and increase profits. It was less about “open your operating account” and more about, “we need to change this package because you are losing money on this.” The consistent results for my clients was that they made more money and kept more profit. Financial organization and positive changes to money mechanics were byproducts of my approach. Not the reason I was being called.

Time for a Change

So mid-March I revisited my mission, and realized a lot had changed. So, I refined it, taking into account all of the stuff I already talked about above. Here is the March 2020 version of my mission statement:

“The mission of Entre Money Coach is to help small businesses make more income and keep more profit with a money management approach that starts with their Breakthrough Number and prioritizes protecting the business and paying the entrepreneur so they can grow into their business vision. We do this with understanding, enthusiasm, and without judgment.”

Much more specific as to who and how. I plan to revisit it again in October. It’s already on my calendar to take time to review. If you haven’t looked at your statement in a while, or never created one at all, I encourage you to take the time to do it this week. Happy Entrepreneuring!

 

The Top Three Qualities of My Most Successful Clients

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Most of my clients have lasting results with the money changes we make. But what makes some clients more successful than others? I don’t judge success by dollar amounts of debt paid or profit made. Some of my most successful clients had overall smaller dollar changes.  I judge success by my clients reaching their financial goals, staying protected at their income milestone, paying themselves and having great job satisfaction. If my clients can remove the stress and uncertainty that can come up around money, I call it a win.  But my most successful clients all have three qualities about them that made them “extra” successful.

1 – They have a money goal and a purpose for the money.

My most successful clients have a money goal. Saving to buy a building, leave the 9 to 5 job, open a day spa in 3 years are all examples of my client’s goals and purpose for a set amount of money. These goals aren’t fuzzy. They know how much they need, and they have a timeline to make it. If they don’t start that way, they get it when we work together. If your money goal is “as much as possible” or “as much as I need to cover overhead” you likely don’t have the same laser focus to create and make money as my most successful clients do. The truth is, if you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time. You need to define and write down your goals with a plan to reach them. Not that plans can’t grow, change, and evolve, but if you don’t start with one at all you aren’t going to be able to really measure your progress.

2 – They take immediate action to control their money.

They opened the holding account, they took the utilities off autopay, they started tracking income every day. Some of my clients have done those tasks the same day we have our session! Keeping their laser focus on the goal they take quick action and have wins immediately. I have seen less success with entrepreneurs who are slower to make necessary changes. The motivation to get it done quickly goes away, and often only about half of the recommendations make it into the business. They may pay their expenses intentionally, but they don’t make the time to create a monthly spending plan (budget). My most successful clients commit to making changes with their money quickly, one step at a time, and they follow through right away.

3 – They celebrate every financial win and use them to stay motivated.

Let’s face it, saving 5 years for a building can get a little boring. Every $200.00 deposit seems tiny in the face of the price for a building. But my most successful clients celebrate every single win, whether it is a deposit into a building fund, or a payday when they proudly sign both the front and the back of their paychecks. Staying motivated can be difficult sometimes, and we all have to deal with the sometime lack of motivation. Celebrating the little things brings joy into the progress, not the end state. If you aren’t celebrating and doing a little dance after every sale or payday, I challenge you to start today. Find a small money win and recognize it with gratitude.

We Must Stop Living in Shame Around Money Issues

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I’m on a mission to change the conversation around business money stuff, and that starts with removing the shame we have about money. I talk to business owners every day and there is a single issue that seems universal. They are filled with shame when there is a money mistake or money misstep. Business owners are okay if a marketing promo doesn’t have the expected return, or if there is a product that didn’t sell. But the moment you ask about or learn about a money thing the willingness to learn from a business decision turns into an attitude of self-blame and shame. We tend to marinate in the emotion of shame about money stuff, and it is blocking us as entrepreneurs.

 

Research professor and shame expert, Brene Brown, talks about how shame works,“The less you talk about it, the more you got it. Shame needs three things to grow exponentially in our lives: secrecy, silence, and judgment.” And boy are we ever secretive and silent about the money stuff. We don’t want to talk about it or admit that perhaps we don’t know how to manage some things around money. There is almost a universally accepted attitude that money stuff should never see the light of day, and that it is not okay to talk about.

 

Before I go further, I want to tell you that I get it. Mike and I had severe money management issues in our first business, and I didn’t want to tell anyone or admit I needed help. We just needed to make more money, and we’d be fine. Sound familiar?

 

Well, you can only, “out earn your mistakes” for a short time. It will catch up with you eventually, and in the current Covid-19 situation around the globe, many business owners are being caught up to. I’m no longer quiet about my money mistakes.

 

They are on my website, and I talk about them freely. Because I don’t want to have shame anymore about money and how my mistakes affect running my business. In reality, it’s a chance to grow and learn and become better. But shame proliferates. Here are three effects of shame on entrepreneurs that contribute to stress, relationship issues and ultimately business failure.

 

1. Many business owners have shame around things they did not even know to do.

Entrepreneurs, like people in general sometimes “should” all over themselves. Like, “I should have” had an emergency fund, or “I shouldn’t have ordered that additional thing.” Both of those things may be true, but once these types of things are done, they are done. Feeling shameful around our decisions blocks us from growing and learning.

I want to say for the record right now that business money management is not intuitive.
Managing cashflow when people pay you late isn’t a skill that you magically gain when you open a business. We don’t call and ask for an extension on a bill because as business owners we should be successful and able to pay everything on time, right? It doesn’t always work that way. Shame is preventing us from getting the help we need, from putting processes in place, from not taking it personally when money stuff hits us in business. It needs to stop. It is hurting entrepreneurs. For my e-book, Three Steps to Protect Your Business Income, with advice and tips for your business money visit here.

2. Shame stops people from getting the help they need.

 

“I should already know what to do, I’m just not doing it,” is a refrain I’ve heard enough to make me scream. People think because they may “know” something that they don’t deserve help or support to integrate what they need to do into their systems. And it’s the feeling of shame surrounding what we expect from ourselves. We own a business; we need to do it all- perfectly. Bunk. So many business owners are in their passion project, without a passion for the business side or the money stuff. They excel at their core business, but not the “other stuff.” This doesn’t make them poor business owners, or failures, or whatever other negative description you can give. It means that they know and flourish in their zone of genius.

Those business owners can and should get support in the rest of the business stuff. It’s smart and protects their livelihood. But many don’t, until they get into trouble. Because they don’t want to admit they don’t know. Maybe they can’t read a profit and loss report from their accountant, so what, but they think they should. Maybe they don’t really understand the roles of the financial experts of accountants, bookkeepers, and payroll specialists, and their role in protecting the bottom line. But they don’t ask about these things because, “I ought to know, I’m in business.” Not so. The help you need is available, you can reach out and get support on things that aren’t your passion. And you should.

 

3. Shame makes business issues personal, and traps entrepreneurs.

 

I think one of the most devastating things about shame and money is that we turn business cycles and events into our own personal money failures. We don’t know how to ride the cycles of business and to even plan for how businesses work. They are dynamic. Many small businesses have irregular or inconsistent income months. Many have cycles of feast and famine in their earnings, particularly in the beginning. But this can happen really at any time. The current Covid-19 situation is causing income insecurity that is preventing many people from spending money at the rate they did even a month ago. This will impact some businesses. At the core, there must be a buyer of your goods and services.

 

But one of the first places we look when there are business money things is at ourselves. Maybe we did make a mistake. But we refuse to think that there is a learning curve in business. There may be some shame around some decisions, and those feelings of shame continue to hold us in a cycle of personal feelings of failure. In those feelings we cannot solve problems creatively, seek help and support, and put systems in place to protect the business and prevent future issues.

 

So, how do we fix it? We talk about it. All of it. We take the advice of Brene Brown, “Here’s the bottom line: “Shame cannot survive being spoken,” Brown says. “It cannot survive empathy.” 

Four Steps Now for Stress Free Taxes in 2021

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 Many people find business tax stuff difficult, and for the most of my clients it is a matter of organization.

Using these four categories of information, you can set yourself up to make taxes in 2021 stress-free.

 

  1. Track all of your income this year in a single place.

Some people like to use software, some like excel sheets, some get reports from PayPal for example, and some use good old-fashioned pen and paper. You need to account for every dime coming in, and it’s best to look at it month by month. I meet way too many entrepreneurs who don’t actually track the money coming in.  They just set expenses up on auto pay and use a credit card to cover any negative cash flow. The issue with this approach is that you can’t track trends or opportunities to make more money. It further makes quarterly tax deposits a pain. I recommend to my clients that they take 10-15 minutes every week to figure and track that gross income number.

 

2. Keep your routine expenses organized.

You need to keep everyone and everything you pay every month in one place. This serves two purposes. First, you don’t forget to pay something, and you have all of the info at your fingertips if we need to contact a creditor. You can get a free expense organizer from me by visitinghttp://entremoneycoach.com and you will have everything ready to go in about 30 minutes. As a bonus, complete the Breakthrough Number worksheets, you will also know the minimum amount you must make every month to breakthrough to profit.  That B-Number has the added bonus of reducing stress and frustration around your expenses.

 

3. Organize your other receipts by month.

Just take an envelope and write the month on the front. Every expense receipt for the month goes into the envelope. Then the receipt amount and purpose of the expense goes on your monthly tracking sheet. If you buy ink for the printer, for example, write “ink” on your tracker, and put the receipt in the envelope for the month. That’s it! At the end of 2020 you will have 12 envelopes with every expense and 12 months of tracking. This can be used to spot trends in costs and other things that you can use for business planning, as well as for filing taxes.

 

4. Enroll in EFTPS and deposit your self-employment taxes online.

Take the time now to enroll in the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System at https://eftps.gov Once you are enrolled you can log in every time you write yourself a paycheck and deposit your taxes. Rather than making quarterly deposits (and perhaps accidentally spending the money), make your smaller deposits, perhaps every time you write yourself a paycheck.  For tax time 2021 you will just print out a summary of payments to the IRS and include it in the documents you give your accountant. Easy peasy.

 

By taking these few actions above, and consistently tracking your income weekly and your receipts once a month, you will be organized and ready to provide everything to your tax pro in 2021.

 

Three Unexpected Benefits of Calculating Your Breakthrough Number

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When the Breakthrough Number (B-Number) process was developing, I used it for the easy visualization of protecting the inside of your business four walls. It was first created to support a client who knew of the Dave Ramsey “7 Baby Steps” approach to personal finance. Each of the walls I identified for business helped her make decisions on how to spend money and to put processes in place for money management. Over time I continued to use the approach over and over and finally gave the process a name…

The Breakthrough Number

I know what should happen when people figure out their unique number. They should be more in control of their income. They will know their minimum monthly amount of money the business must bring in, reducing stress and uncertainty. Finally, they will see the wisdom of including their own salary in the business spending plan (budget).

What I didn’t foresee happening were these additional, unexpected benefits that came with working through the calculation process.

 

  1. More accurate wholesale costs.

I’ve worked with several business owners who forgot something, some small or easily forgotten expense that affected their profit margin. Running through each of the walls carefully uncovered things like the cost of blank labels and ink for handmade products. That cost was easily overlooked because it was under $25.00/ month, but it needs to be included because it affects the real cost to the business and needs to be recovered.

 

2. Finding hidden money and a chance to become leaner.

The first time this happened I was actually in an airport helping a friend run through the breakthrough number process. We were discussing her critical operating expenses and remembered that she had a service she paid for every month that she was no longer using! This service was about $100.00/ year. More than once I have seen clients eliminate or change services and expenses when they take a hard look at deciding what is critical.

 

3. More confidence in making strategic business decisions.

This benefit was sort of foreseeable in that I knew people could use the process to calculate different scenarios such as hiring new people or adding a service because they would be able to forecast the new expense’s impact on the money. But the way my client uses it to make decisions is quite surprising! She literally just uses her known monthly B-number amount to help her make decisions. Her breakthrough number is about $5k a month and included her personal paycheck. Anytime she wants to do anything different she looks at how much she made over her number that month and how much she has in the bank. She can then say, “Oh, this is okay, I made an extra $2k and I can still pay myself for 3 months.” That was her quick ‘back of the envelope’ calculation for hiring her part-time VA and a business coach. Amazing!

 

If you are still without your unique number you can get it today, right now for free.

Just visit http://entremoneycoach.com to grab your free worksheets. You will have your number in under 30 minutes! Happy Entrepreneuring!  

 

Thoughts on Corona and Personal Finance Things to Do Now

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Yesterday the governor of Ohio extended our lock down until May 1st.  That’s another four weeks, and it made me suck in my breath when I heard it. Another month seems like forever, at least it did last night. This morning I have a different perspective. I have 28 days to focus on business and personal development, to do some at home projects that have been waiting until, “I have time” and to embrace the warmer weather with the chance to work outdoors.

 

It’s always good to find the positive to keep spirits up. Admittedly, I woke up a little annoyed this morning, but after about an hour and a call to a friend (and an accountability partner) things feel better. I know that a lot of people are concerned, or even downright scared. The best thing to do right now is to hunker down and take care of ourselves.  In my own household there are going to be changes we need to make around our personal money (and likely many of you as well) and I wanted to give you a little advice on the best way to take care of yourself and your family financially to get through the crisis a little easier.

 

First and foremost, stash cash.

Know your amount for the personal four walls and pay them first. You need to pay for your four walls- food, utilities, rent/mortgage, and transportation. Apply for the unemployment assistance if you are laid off or furloughed.  If you are a business owner and unable to pay yourself enough to cover your four walls, apply for an emergency disaster loan. The good news is that you probably don’t need to gas up the car much. And you are eating at home more, so food bills are probably lower.

 

Second, call your creditors and ask for payments to be deferred if you cannot make them now.

Forget the FICO, seriously. You need to eat and have electric to cook with. Many banks are starting to get on board with waiving late fees. Let them know you applied for help, but they need to wait until you can pay them without depleting all of your cash.

 

Third, don’t make any financial decisions or make sweeping changes right now.

Keep your money picture consistent right now. Don’t cash out 401k or sell stocks, etc. These will have longer term consequences, and there are federal programs that have been created to help all of us get through this crisis. Remember, we are #allinthistogether.

Entrepreneurs By the Numbers- You Are a Rockstar

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It is the last day of the first quarter 2020, and I wanted to share some numbers with you , statistics really, to show you just how special and amazing you are as an entrepreneur. Read these, and feel free to puff up a little. You take the ups with the downs and show up day after day. That needs some celebration.

So here are some stats about the beautiful group to which we all belong to:

 

  • 62% of US billionaires are self-made
  • In 2016, there were 25 million Americans who were starting or already running their own business
  • 60% of people who start small businesses are between the ages of 40 and 60.
  • There are 582 million entrepreneurs in the world.
  • The Small Business Administration (SBA) also reports that 1 in 12 businesses closes each year.
    • 5% of small businesses fail within the first year.
  • More than 70% of all small business owners ranked their happiness level higher than 5 on a scale of 1 to 10
  • From 2000 to 2017, small businesses created 4 million net new jobs
  • Currently, 9 million people are employed by small businesses
    • This is a 1.1 million increase from 2016. This currently makes up 47.8% of U.S. employees
    • More than half of small business employees say they feel happy with their job
  • 64% of small businesses currently have a website

For the Ladies:

 

Pretty great, right?

Print this article out and keep it somewhere you can see it on challenging days. Every day you get up and show up to serve you are a Rockstar. Thanks for bringing your passion project to the world.

Happy Entrepreneuring!