Just Do It — But Do It Right – Entrepreneurs are truly heroes in our society.

If you are going into business, it’s important to keep clearly in mind what you are doing. The point of business is to generate and create wealth. To the degree that a business succeeds, it means that beyond the cost of operation, it must be creating a value that others want. What a truly wonderful thing — serving yourself, your employees and the community around you. Such is the reason that entrepreneurs are truly heroes in our society.

Posted by: The Big Sky Business Journal

Editorials and Commentary By Evelyn Pyburn

Not everyone appreciates this ultimate purpose of a business — including many old-timers in the arena. That fact is disclosed by the most commonly asked question of business consultants, and that is "Where can I get a grant to start (or expand) my business?" Those who seek grant money — free money, taxpayer-funded largess — reveal that they have failed to grasp their most fundamental purpose as an entrepreneur.

Be assured that there are no grants to start a business. The idea that such reserves exist seems to be cultivated by promoters of books who promise to tell you how to find it if you purchase their book for $24.95. Needless to say, buyer beware. There are a couple of very narrowly defined federal government programs that make available some limited assistance for very specific purposes, and occasionally some state programs make fleeting — albeit misguided — attempts to offer free capital; but for the most part, there is no pot of money at the end of the rainbow that never has to be repaid. Thank heavens, because nothing could be more destructive to the viability of your business, or to the market place.

Acquiring capital to start or expand a business, whether it’s from Uncle Fred, a venture capitalist, financial institution, or by selling shares, puts a business through a rigorous process in order to attract the interest of investors. The process puts the business in the kind of shape, in which it needs to be, in order to succeed. If a business isn’t going to succeed enough to pay off the capital investment, who needs it? Remember, the point of it all is to generate new wealth, not to be a dead-end consumer of it.

When one is able to attract investment from the market place, it’s a nod of approval that others, too, place value on what you are doing. When the market place seems to be closed to your idea, it’s time to take a second look. Or to look at your own determination. While getting capital is no easy thing, neither is running a business. Perhaps the process is sending you a message.

Sending messages, to those who choose to pay attention to them, is what the market place does, with amazing speed and accuracy. Business people who keep in tune with that flow of information, and who are particularly adept at sorting out the real message from the static, are the ones who succeed.

There is no such thing as "bad news" from the market place — it’s all good information, if you accept it and apply it. When a banker tells you "no," it’s not a personal rejection. There is valuable information in that "no," even if it’s nothing more than that you are dealing with the wrong banker. Imagine struggling through the ups and downs of running a business with a banker who’s not on your side.

A business responds to those same signals from the marketplace. If it receives artificially contrived signals (as a government grant would surely be), rather than aided, it’s more likely to be harmed by the false input. The inclination for everyone involved with the enterprise is to respond as though the revenue is a valid marketplace signal that demand is up, when it may, in fact, it be in decline. A business that’s all revved up with no place to go, often sinks like a lead balloon.

That happened some years ago as a result of a state-run economic development program that did make "free money" available to a number of businesses in the state. Hardly, did a one of them survive, what they initially thought was a fortunate turn of events. While this puzzled some folks, it was just the natural function of economics, and only surprised those who believed it possible to short-circuit the system.

The market place rewards businesses which bring a value, and which are run right. People who are trying to short-circuit the system are underwriting businesses which bring no value and are poorly run. That is the kind of business world to which all artificial subsidies contribute. Rather than a benefit to society, they are a drain, and cannot compete in a global market place. Which system are you signing up for?

Being a business owner is not easy, but the rewards are great and worthwhile to you as an individual and to the community in which you live, but only if it’s done right. So don’t start out seeking a crutch. Step up to the plate and build a business which can hold its own, and will be valued by your community. It’s the only way to long-term success.

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