Put Success in Your Favor - Now. A candid look at the world of business through the eyes of Terry Powell, the visionary behind The Entrepreneur's Source.

Posted on August 06, 2008 by Ginger Watford

The business world is changing right before your eyes. More and more people who were once willing to “sell their soul” to the corporate machine are fed up. Downsizing, “right sizing,” and evaporating job security have exposed the illusion of the corporate ladder. It just doesn’t exist anymore.

People who burned the midnight oil, traded-off time with family, criss-crossed the country on business travel, and made other lifestyle sacrifices, are now in re-evaluation mode. The pendulum is swinging to quality time with spouses and children -- and overall personal lifestyle freedom.

According to Terry Powell, founder of The Entrepreneur’s Source, it’s a trend that only recently became apparent. Powell commented, “Particularly over the last decade, corporate America has steadily beaten down the workforce. Less loyalty. Lower wages. Limited job security. Employees thought it was only temporary. An anomaly. But it’s finally dawned on them that the situation is not going to change.”

Powell continued, “More and more people have read the book ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ They realized that the cheese has been moved, and it’s time to take care of their own cheese.”

Powell founded The Entrepreneur’s Source in 1984, and started franchising the business in 1997. It’s interesting to note that in the eight years his company has been franchising its own business, it has been ranked in top 500 by Entrepreneur Magazine each and every year. That recognition epitomizes the value The Entrepreneur’s Source brings to people looking to transform their career…and their lives.

For years, The Entrepreneur’s Source has helped people, from of all walks of life, achieve the American Dream: owning their own business and enjoying a personally satisfying lifestyle. The secret? The Entrepreneur’s Source uses a unique “discovery process” that allows people to explore more business options -- and uncover choices that are in sync with both their personal and income goals.

Just how effective is the company’s discovery approach? The following startling statistic tells the story: 95% of the people helped by The Entrepreneur’s Source become an owner of a business they would never have considered on their own – or had already discounted. It’s a powerful system that works.

Another stunning fact: The less experience a business owner has in a business segment, the more likely he or she will be successful. For instance, it would seem that a baker would be the ideal person to open a donut franchise, or a mechanic the perfect owner of a transmission-repair franchise. But quite the opposite is true. The baker would likely be more successful in the auto-services segment. And the mechanic more personally and financially rewarded in the bakery business. How can this counter-intuition be possible?

“People who go into businesses where they have a comfort level or inherent knowledge tend to make themselves the technicians of those businesses. They don’t spend the time they need in the critical entrepreneurial and business-development roles,” said Powell. He went on to say, “When you look at the statistics, people who launch a business in their own area of specialty have the highest failure rate.”

By revealing trends and pitfalls -- and the knowledge to counteract them -- The Entrepreneur’s Source gives people real business advantages…no matter how tough the market climate. It’s part of the unique strategies offered by the company’s education and coaching system.

“In all these years, we’ve never had a single person fail with our system,” said Powell, proudly, in regards to franchisees of his own company. “When we say ‘Your success is our only business’ – it’s more than our company’s motto – but something we live by, every day.”