07/ 25/ 2006
by Rex Hammock
Just do it. Nike's classic advertising slogan could also be the three-word business plan for many of the small-business owners we feature in every issue of MyBusiness magazine. While we focus on the how-to of running and growing a small business, we're also tremendously curious about what drives entrepreneurs to follow their passions in the first place.
Often, the reasons are obvious to the small-business owner: "I saw an opportunity." "It seemed so natural." "If I didn't do it, no one else was going to." "Because someone asked me to." "Because I got fired." And their responses are almost always free from the egotistical, Donald Trump-like attitudes you'd expect from the media's stereotype of entrepreneurs. In our conversations with small-business owners, the answers are often as simple as, "I just did it."
In this issue of MyBusiness, we feature many small-business owners who just did it. In the article "The Activist at Work" on page 38, we profile several NFIB members who, for reasons unique to each, decided to get involved in advocating for laws and regulations that encourage the creation and growth of small businesses. These men and women (and thousands of others like them) are making a difference, often by doing simple things like picking up the phone to call a lawmaker or taking a day to visit their state capitals.
Doing things in a small and simple way is also the focus of the article "The Next Small Thing" on page 30, where we profile a tech entrepreneur who not only is creating successful new products, but is also spreading a message that encourages small-business owners to view their limitations as strengths.
The small-business owners we feature in this issue—and in every issue—rarely look for excuses for why they can't do something. They just do it.
