Dave

A: I agree that owning a business franchise is not for everyone. Here is my handy dandy quick quiz that will help anyone decide whether or not they are an entrepreneur: Does the thought of leaving your current job make you more scared or excited?

If the idea of leaving your nice corporate gig, with its attendant benefits and perks, not to mention that nice, regular paycheck, makes you more nervous than excited, then starting a small business is probably not for you.

However, if giving up all of that makes you happy because that means that you will finally be going off on your own, then you sir (or ma'am!) are probably an entrepreneur.

Of course the idea of starting your own business or franchise and being your own boss sounds great in theory. Who wouldn't want to chuck the rat race and start over again doing something they love? Yes indeedy, starting your own business is part of the American Dream; there is undoubtedly a certain romantic notion to the whole thing.

But, like anyone who has been married a long time knows, that first blush of passionate romance fades and transforms, if you are fortunate, into something deeper and more meaningful; it's a different type of love.

And so it is with your business or franchise. If you start your own gig, you will be married to it. And, just like with any marriage, some are great and last a long time because they are a good fit. Others flameout rather quickly, either because they were not a good fit or that initial infatuation was just that and nothing more.

So you have to be careful when you fall in love with the idea of becoming your own boss because that initial blast of love is more puppy than pure. It is when you don't get that paycheck after the first two weeks, or four weeks, or ever, that the cold, hard reality begins to creep in.

"Is this really for me?" Asking that after you start is the wrong time. Not a few new small business owners end up with buyer's remorse and, like Fagin in the play Oliver!, say "I think I better think it out again, hey!"

Bottom line: Don't be fooled by the initial intense feelings that dreaming about being an entrepreneur might evoke. They are not real. It's infatuation. Before marring a business or buying a franchise, make sure you really are compatible and will love each other for a long time.

About Steve Strauss

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