Taking a Cue From Martin Luther King Jr.

Since 1986, the third Monday of January has honored the life and legacy of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. It’s a time for our country to celebrate one of the most, if not the most, important and transformative Civil Rights leaders in American history.

Dr. King is celebrated for his peaceful yet passionate leadership style and the unwavering resolve he displayed under the toughest circumstances as a civil rights activist. And while his actions and advice have obviously benefited other political and spiritual activists, he shared wonderful lessons for business owners, too!

Take, for example, some of Dr. King’s most famous quotes. Jeremy Goldman highlighted six key quotes that inspire business success in a recent Inc. article.  At The Entrepreneur’s Source®, we believe three of those are particularly powerful and parallel the advice we share with prospective franchise owners seeking an alternative career. These three quotes are as follows:

• “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase”
• “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope”
• “The time is always right to do what is right”

We agree wholeheartedly. From our perspective, while his intended audience was different, we believe the message rings true for potential business owners – When faith and hope are combined with hard work, anyone is capable of “doing what is right” and going from “having a dream” to “living the dream” of business ownership.

Speaking of dreams, there are key business lessons to learn from lDr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

All American citizens have the “unalienable rights” of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” It is our job as citizens, however, to exercise those rights and truly pursue the dreams that lead to happiness. At The Entrepreneur’s Source®, we believe the pursuit of happiness includes your ability to set your own expectations regarding the Income, Lifestyle, Wealth, and Equity (I.L.W.E.™) you want to enjoy and develop an action plan to actually achieve it.

Also, dreams are one of three things we encourage aspiring business owners to identify on their road to being self-sufficient. These three things are Possibilities, Options and Dreams.   Similarly, King always tried to help his followers uncover their own possibilities, options and dreams and stop at NOTHING on their path to realizing them. He said, “we cannot walk alone…and as we walk, we must take the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.”

Here’s the beautiful thing. You shouldn’t walk alone in your journey toward business ownership…and you don’t have to! At The Entrepreneur’s Source, we have all the tools and experience necessary to help you march ahead toward your goals with a purpose.  In fact, here are three other people just like you who used The Entrepreneur’s Source to turn their dreams into reality. We’ll be sharing blog posts highlighting their fantastic “dream come true” stories in the coming weeks!

• Jeff Smith, City Wide Single Unit Franchise Owner in Indianapolis. Jeff’s dream come true = “The pivotal moment for me came when we visited my ill father (who has since recovered) in the hospital. He was a self-employed physician and he told me he thought I’d be much happier working for myself than someone else. He was right. And thanks to the help from The Entrepreneur’s Source®, I am enjoying wonderful lifestyle changes and building lasting wealth.”
• Don Grindle, Money Pages Semi-Absentee Franchise Owner in Ormond Beach, FL. Don’s dream come true = “I worked a lot of Saturdays and rarely travelled when I was the Sr. VP of Operations for a national sunglass company. But today, I can work from home whenever I want, give back to my community and finally visit those destinations we’ve been talking about.”
• Tony Espeseth, Fish Window Cleaning Multi-Unit franchise owner with five locations in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. Tony’s dream comes true = “For the first 17 years of my life, I was working my tail off for someone else. With this franchise company, I’m able to invest in myself and my franchise opportunity while enjoying much more time with my family. I now have the cool and awesome lifestyle I’ve always wanted.”

They had dreams…and now they are living them. Isn’t it time you pursued your dream? Touch base with us at The Entrepreneur’s Source® to get started.

For more information about how you and your family can find the ideal business franchise with The Entrepreneur’s Source® and Franchise Match®, please visit www.franchisematch.com.