Entrepreneur vs. Wantrepreneur: The Truth Nobody Tells You

I've been in business for 46 years. I started my first venture at age 11—selling things door to door in my neighborhood. Since then, I've started over 100 businesses. Some succeeded wildly. Some failed spectacularly. All of them taught me something.

And here's what I've learned that most people don't want to hear: Most people have no business being in business.

The Uncomfortable Truth

I'm not saying this to be cruel. I'm saying it because it might save you your life savings, your marriage, and years of stress.

When someone walks into my office or jumps on a Zoom call with me, I can usually tell within five minutes whether they're a true entrepreneur or a wantrepreneur. It's not about how smart they are or how good their idea sounds. It's something deeper.

Signs You Might Be a Wantrepreneur

Let me be blunt with you—the way I wish someone had been blunt with me when I was younger:

• You're in love with the idea of being a business owner, not the reality of it. You picture the freedom, the success, the respect. What you don't picture is the 80-hour weeks, the sleepless nights, the employees who don't show up, the customers who don't pay, and the constant weight of responsibility that never leaves your shoulders.

• You haven't done the hard math. You have a vague sense that you'll "figure out the money part later." Let me tell you something: businesses don't fail because of bad ideas. They fail because of lack of capital. Every. Single. Time. If you can't tell me exactly how much runway you have and what your break-even point is, you're not ready.

• You're looking for validation, not truth. When I tell people their idea won't work, some of them argue with me. They came to hear that they're brilliant, not to hear reality. The true entrepreneurs? They lean in. They ask why. They want to understand the holes so they can fill them.

• You've never failed at anything significant. This might sound backwards, but hear me out. Failure is the best teacher in business. If you've never experienced it, you don't know how to recognize it coming. And worse, you don't know how to survive it.

What Real Entrepreneurs Look Like

In 46 years, I've met thousands of business owners. The ones who make it share certain traits:

They're obsessed with the problem, not the product. They've identified something that genuinely bothers them—a gap in the market, an underserved customer, a better way of doing things. They can't NOT try to solve it. They understand that business is simple math with complicated emotions. Revenue minus expenses equals profit. That's it. Everything else is just human nature getting in the way. Real entrepreneurs respect the math. They're comfortable being uncomfortable. Starting a business means doing things you've never done, talking to people who intimidate you, and putting yourself out there in ways that feel exposed. If you need everything figured out before you start, you'll never start. They know when to quit and when to push through. This is the hardest one. Persistence is celebrated in business culture, but sometimes the smartest thing you can do is cut your losses and move on. Knowing the difference is an art, not a science.

The $1,000 Question

Here's why I charge $1,000 for a 30-minute consultation: because the truth is worth that much.

If I tell you that your business idea is solid and you should proceed, that $1,000 will be the best investment you ever made. You'll have confidence and a roadmap.

If I tell you that your idea has fatal flaws—and many do—that $1,000 just saved you $50,000, $100,000, maybe more. It saved you years of your life. It might have saved your marriage.

Think of it as insurance. The most expensive insurance is the kind you buy after the house burns down.

The Choice Is Yours

I'm not here to crush dreams. I'm here to help you see clearly. Some of you reading this will realize you're wantrepreneurs—and that's okay. There's no shame in having a great job, a stable income, and a life that doesn't revolve around business ownership.

But some of you will recognize yourselves as true entrepreneurs. You've got that fire. You understand the risks and you're willing to take them anyway. You know that failure is possible, maybe even likely, and you're going to try regardless.

To you, I say: Let's talk. Because with the right guidance from someone who's actually been there, your odds of success go up dramatically.

After 100+ businesses, I've made every mistake there is. You don't have to make them all yourself.

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Ready to find out which one you are? Book your $1,000 Clarity Call and get an honest assessment from someone who's been in the trenches for nearly five decades.