People all have different reasons for starting their own business. Some of them do is for lifestyle – they want to get out of the nine to five grind. Some people want control back, they want to go solo and be at large and in charge. Whilst my business gives me great life style benefits, and whilst me and Jaemin are in charge… that doesn’t get to the heart of why I love being an entrepreneur.

I don’t know why, but I always wanted a big family. I remember as a child telling my grandfather I wanted to start “a dynasty”… something that would outlast me – something big. I married, and we had seven wonderful children, but somehow that wasn’t enough… I wanted more… so I started having business babies. So far we’ve had five of them! One died prematurely, the next one married and moved out of home, one died in a horrible accident, one became very successful and independent and we’ve just started the fifth which is amazingly healthy. A business offers many of the same joys and rewards as parenting.

A business:
– Is born (launched, inaugurated),
– Gets named;
– Gains legal status (can own land, buy and sell goods);
– Always needs your attention and resources;
– Needs discipline and structure;
– Wakes you in the middle of the night with its problems, needing your advice;
– Requires nurture, without love it will grow sick;
– Can marry (merge) and
– Have children (daughter companies); and
– May eventually die.

What do I love about being an entrepreneur? The freedom and responsibility of taking care of, growing, nurturing and seeing a successful venture launch out and become independent of me.