I need to tell you about my first business.

Not because it was successful. It wasn't.

Not because I made smart decisions. I didn't.

But because that "failure" might be the most valuable thing that ever happened to me.

Here’s the Setup

On paper, I was prepared to run a business.

I'd grown up in small family businesses. I'd seen how they worked from the inside.

I had a Wharton MBA, one of the best business educations money can buy.

I'd worked at Fortune 500 companies like Procter & Gamble, Nabisco, and Kraft.

If anyone should have been ready for business ownership, it was me.

But I was completely unprepared for the day-to-day reality of operating a small business.

What Actually Happened

I made a thousand mistakes.

But beyond the operational, the deeper truth was this:

• I wasn't making the kind of money I wanted.
• I wasn't utilizing my education and background the way I should have been.
• And deep down, I knew something had to change.

Our business relied on Q4. Christmas was our make-or-break season.

Then 9/11 happened.

Ports were closed, and our inventory was stuck on the water with no way to receive it

Our most critical month vanished overnight.

Our entire Christmas season, biggest revenue period, was completely wiped out

And the business was shut down.

The Question Nobody Asks

Here's what most people focus on when they hear a story like this:

"How much did you lose?"

"Weren't you afraid of failing again?"

But those are the wrong questions.

The right question is: "Who did you become because of it?"

That first business didn't just cost me money.

It gave me something far more valuable: experience I couldn't have gotten any other way.

• I learned what it feels like when cash flow gets tight.
• I learned how to make decisions when there's no safety net to catch you.
• I learned the difference between theoretical business knowledge and practical business wisdom.

I became a different person.

And that different person was ready for what came next.

My next business was a recruiting firm. I ran it successfully for almost 20 years.

Would I have built that successful business without the "failed" one before it? No chance.

The Pattern I See Everywhere

Now, as a franchise broker, I work with people who are afraid of taking that first leap.

They're worried about failing. They're worried about losing money.

And I get it. I've been there.

But here's what I tell them:

Even if your business doesn't work out exactly as planned, you're a different person for having experienced it.

If you take that experience and knowledge and apply it to the next thing, you're going to be better off.

The only real failure is crawling into your shell and never trying again.

If you're thinking about business ownership but fear has been holding you back, ask yourself this:

"Who do I want to be five years from now?"

The same person you are today, just five years older?

Or someone who took the leap and became capable of things you can't even imagine right now?

Ready to explore franchise opportunities that let you grow while minimizing your risk?

Let's hop on a quick, no-obligation call. In just 15 minutes, I'll help you understand how franchising can help you become the person you're meant to be, with a proven system backing you up.

Click here to schedule your call now – spots are filling up fast!

Ever upward!

Keith