So you are in college and you have great dreams and expectations for when you graduate. You see yourself as an entrepreneur with a passion to start your own business. You believe with your degree you will have the necessary credentials to pursue your endeavor. Well, I don’t want to burst your bubble, but running your own business takes more than an MBA and it takes more than your passion and desire to be successful.

Starting a business is a major venture requiring knowledge and experience in many different positions. You will need to know the basics principles of management, finances, legalities, public relations, marketing, regulations, labor, inventory, logistics, and on and on it goes. Most start-up companies have very little capital to launch their business, and starting the business at the top is rare. Most businesses begin with very little resource and neglect to prepare a business model and a strategy to sustain the venture. Most new businesses need resources and professional support to get the business going, and new businesses require, of course, customers. With such a daunting challenge how are you to start, build, and sustain a growing and profitable business from scratch?

In coming posts I will show the step-by-step processes you will need to implement to insure your business succeeds. Along with the necessary steps I will also share some secrets that helped me grow and sustain a profitable business for over twenty years. It takes the fortitude of a Welsh warrior and the tenacity of an unrelenting child to make your business a success. Starting your own business will require an investment of all of your time, all of your thought, and all of your devotion. Starting a business is akin to having a baby and most everything else in your life will [must] take a backseat. You will eat, sleep, and breathe your vision. You will dream at night the next day’s agenda. You will quickly become consumed by the decisions that will have to be made and the demands which will test your resolve. But do not be discouraged, because your desire for success will be your fuel, and your ambition will be your currency, and your legacy shall be your reward.

The steps you will take to realize your dream will drive you to see your dream come true. So, get ready! I mean, GET READY! Get ready to take the path of life that most people never get the opportunity to take… the path of self on a mission.

Lori Alissa Wright is a 50 year old transgender who has owned and managed an electrical contracting company for the past twenty years. She has raised 4 children and has 2 grandchildren. In her spare time she enjoys writing and composing contemporary music arrangements. Upon her decision to transition, she began dissolving the corporation and returned to college to pursue her dream. She is an NSCS member at Kaplan University where she is pursuing a master’s degree in Psychology and a doctorate degree in Social Anthropology. She hopes to earn the credentials to bring to public debate her lifelong experience with transgenderism.