Someone asked me recently if it is still possible to grow a business that can be profitable enough to sell.

My answer to her, and to the rest of you, is YES, YOU CAN!

In the early 1900’s, a highly educated man with all the financial backing he needed worked to become the first man to pilot an airplane.

No one remembers his name today.

Samuel Pierpoint Langley was a math professor, worked at Harvard, and was a senior officer at the Smithsonian.  He was awarded a $50,000 grant (lots of money back then) by the federal War Department to complete the project.  He created a dream team of the best minds of the day and used the finest materials for the project.  The press followed him everywhere waiting for the big event when he would fly the world’s first airplane.

What happened?

A few hundred miles away in Dayton, Ohio, two passionate young men, Wilbur and Orville Wright, had the same goal.  Neither they nor anyone on their team had a college education.  They had no funding or grants, no high level, educated friends on their team.

But they beat Mr. Langley and made history by flying the first plane on December 17,1903.

It wasn’t luck.  Both groups were highly motivated and had strong work ethics.  But the  passion and desire that was so intense that the two brothers inspired the enthusiasm and commitment of a dedicated group of people in their small hometown, beat out knowledge and money.

Why am I telling you this story?

Because it tells us that you can do it.   You don’t have to be an expert to create a successful business.

I knew nothing about starting a gift basket business all those years ago.  And I knew even less about starting a local newspaper that grew into a statewide one even longer ago.  But I had the passion, desire, and commitment, and learned from others as well as from my own mistakes as I went along.

You can do it. You can grow your business into a great one.  Passion beats knowledge and money every time!