For those who have spent an afternoon or evening pondering their career path, the question that often arises is whether they can start a small business and be self-supporting. Generally, the next question that soon follows is how they can pull this off given their current debt.
How many of us, as kids, started a lemonade stand, or its equivalent? Perhaps it was the competitive spirit as you sold Girl Scout Cookies, or you “smuggled” candy into your middle school to sell to classmates.
The majority of people living and working on this planet have some form of debt. When it keeps you awake at night, when it overrides your thought process as you go through the day, then action is warranted.
With this said, how can a person who dreams of starting a business overcome the fear of being in debt so as to experience the thrill of owning a business? Equally important is the determination of whether starting a small business is a good fit.
Entrepreneurial Spirit
Some people claim that you are born with it, while others lay claim to it being a result of their efforts. While no clear-cut answer exists to prove, or disprove, either of these theories, some facts based on experience can not be disputed.
How you can determine if starting a small business is right for you can often be answered in how you “fit” into what is often considered the “entrepreneurial spirit”. Bear in mind that if you do not possess all of these qualities that they can be learned and integrated into your personal and professional life.
Matt Ehrlichman is experienced in the traits of successful entrepreneurs, as he is one himself. Ehrlichman founded 2 start-ups, Porch and Thriva, and he identified 5 characteristics common with successful entrepreneurs:
- Passionate
- Always looking to improve
- Optimistic
- Take calculated risks
- Execution on ideas
Sam Ovens
It’s safe to assume that most of the readers of this will not recognize the name Sam Ovens. If your current situation is one of being in debt and you are questioning how you can start a small business, let Sam’s story bring you some hope.
Failure in life can be used as an excuse for laziness and self-pity, or as a catalyst for forward movement. Ovens used his seeming failures as a catalyst, and now has succeeded in helping numerous people achieve their career and financial goals.
Sam Ovens embodies the entrepreneurial spirit. Starting out broke and living in his parents’ garage, 5 years later saw him earning close to $20 million with his consulting business. Yes, you too can go from seemingly hopeless to reinventing your life.
Securing Funds To Bridge the Gap
Loanable funds are available to assist the entrepreneur with a variety of needs. One of the more common loans that is available today is known as a bridging loan. Let’s look at an example:
You decide to open a real estate business. A piece of property has incredible potential, yet due to some structural issues you find difficulty in securing a loan to buy it, renovate, and sell.
Bridging loans are designed for this type of scenario. You can use the loan to rehabilitate the property and sell. With certain bridging loans, a mutually agreed upon completion date has already been established, so you repay the loan upon the sale of the property.
Then, you can decide upon how to reinvest the profits!
We have only begun to scratch the surface of all the options that are available to the entrepreneurs at heart. With the right attitude, anything is possible. Sam Ovens is a classic example of this. And he is one of perhaps millions of people who have the courage to take a chance on their dreams.
