Spoke last Friday to a couple of thousand tanning salon owners. Ninety percent "Mom & Pops." I love such groups! (KFC and Hilton property owners recently. Community bankers coming soon.) That is, "my" salon owners' futures are ... entirely in their own hands! "Dramatic Difference" is theirs for the taking! (That was the title of my talk.) "Experiences" that invariably "Wow!" "Excellence" as a daily Aspiration & Practice! Staff that are Nurtured & Challenged and who thus aim to Grow & Flourish ... and serve the customer about 1,000 miles past "exceeds expectations."
Hard work? No! Insanely hard work! And Energy! And Passion! And Daring! And Will! And Imagination! (And a little bit of luck doesn't hurt.) A lack of money is rarely the issue. Sure you'd like a premier address or an uncle who owns a bank (or at least robbed one); but the dough is probably yours if you first create a gem-of-local-renown in your current "B" space.
Middle managers from "prestigious companies"? [Motto: "Nice ideas, Tom, but here are the 17 immutable reasons why we can't do any of 'em!"] Or 1,000 owner-entrepreneurs? [Motto: "I gotta start on some of this stuff today! Right now! You damn well better be right!"] Give me the self-directed "owners" ... it ain't a close race!