August greetings everyone!
As Executive Publisher of SMALL BUSINESS TODAY and Co-host of SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE TALK SHOW, I have the opportunity to go one-on-one with some of Houston’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million dollar and sometimes multi-billion dollar businesses despite the odds against their doing so. They also share with Barbara and I their thoughts on creating wealth, starting and growing a successful business and happiness.
All of these amazing business leaders have offered up the same piece of advice: “Don’t quit at halftime!” If starting and growing a successful business were easy, then anyone could do it. It takes passion, purpose and perseverance.
I am not ashamed to share with you that almost every endeavor that I have succeeded at (apartment leasing, residential real estate and “Yes” advertising sales and publishing (which I am now in my 36th year of that pursuit), professional speaker and trainer, etc.). I was convinced early on that each was not for me and wanted to quit each one. Luckily, there was always someone there to talk me out of quitting.
I decided that I could indeed give up, give in to my own fears or give it all I had. If these friends and mentors believed in me, maybe they knew something that I didn’t.
My very dear friend and monthly columnist Ruben Gonzalez shares in this issue a little of his own story and early fears in an article entitled, “What’s Holding You Back?”
Ruben shares with us that when he decided to take up the sport of luge and train for the Olympics four years away, he knew he had two major obstacles to overcome. Two things that HAD to happen or else he would be watching the Olympics on TV: first, he had to learn how to luge (back then he couldn’t even spell luge) and second, he had to be ranked in the top 50 lugers in the world to qualify to compete in the Olympics. Ruben would only have only two luge seasons to learn how to slide, because the last two seasons he needed to race internationally to work on his world ranking. Most people would have looked at those obstacles and quit before they got started!
Ruben shared with me that there were many, many times that he wanted to give up and when he had such negative thoughts, he would snap the rubber band that was ever present around his wrist o “snap” himself back to reality.
You can read the story of how he succeeded in “The Courage to Succeed.” What’s more important than the rest of the story is how YOU can develop the mental toughness to
look at an obstacle and become fired up and excited about the challenge ahead.
This month’s cover honoree, Elizabeth Stone had every reason to give up after setbacks that would have put any small business owner out of business! Being flooded out by Tropical Storm Allison, having major setbacks as a result of 9/11 and the Enron crash she had more than enough reason to close her doors then. Add to that that Elizabeth had drained all of her cash building out a new facility and due to the recent incidences, her business sales dropped off by 40%. Over the next three years, Elizabeth “begged and borrowed” to keep herself and her company alive and her doors open. She became really behind paying her vendors and went to every one in person and said, “I can’t pay you what I owe you right now but I need to keep doing business. I promise that I will pay you back every single penny. If you let me pay C.O.D. on every new order, I will pay you an extra $50 each time until I have paid you in full.” It took Elizabeth six years but she paid back everyone she owed!
Elizabeth reflected, “It made me a stronger person. I have the same vendors today. I am loyal to the ones who worked with me and they have trust, faith, and respect for me because they know I paid every penny back even when so many people did not!”
It is time to let you get started on this very special issue.
Good Reading, Good Sales, and Success to You,
Steve Levine
President & Executive Publisher
