The Freestyle Entrepreneur » FAQ

About Dennis Hensley

John Ingrisano — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 02:57:00 +0000

Biography: Dennis Hensley

Dr. Dennis E. Hensley is the author of such best-selling business books as The Power of Positive Productivity (Possibility Press, 2006) and How to Motivate Yourself and Others (Warner Press). He directs the professional writing major at Taylor University Fort Wayne, where he is a professor of English. As a consultant, his clients include General Motors, North American Van Lines, Chrysler Corporation, and Wells Fargo.

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Why We Created The Freestyle Entrepreneur

John Ingrisano — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 21:57:00 +0000

Most business advice is for
the big multi-billion-dollar, multi-national corporations like IBM or
General Motors. And, quite frankly, much of it has little relevance
to a business in which R & D can mean a brilliant idea in the shower,
or in which a budget meeting may involve a chat around the kitchen table
over ice cream. In other words, we’re pretty reality-based.
We created this site to make your life easier, your business more profitable,
your time more productive, and, most of all, to remind you that, yes,
you may be crazy for being in business for yourself, but you’re not
alone.

Are you a Freestyle Entrepreneur?

John Ingrisano — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 21:55:00 +0000

If you’ve come to this site
on purpose, you are a Freestyle Entrepreneur, also known as an SBO,
or small-business owner. You may have dozens of employees, just
a handful, or none at all, except for you and maybe your spouse…or
a cat named Beer Can.

Your business may be headquartered
in the heart of downtown or in the spare bedroom down the hall.
You may make an income that tops six or even seven figures…or you
may be wondering how to handle this month’s utility bill or if you
should put off changing the oil in the truck for another week.

If you’re like many Freestyle
Entrepreneurs, you sometimes wake up at 3:00 AM thinking about this
client or that delivery. Money is often – if not always — on
your mind, as you look for ways to spend less, earn more, reduce the
amount you hand over to the IRS every quarter. You get eaten alive
on expenses, nitpicked to distraction by the government, and have to
shake your head in disbelief when you hear that such-and-such labor
group is ready to strike over paying $5 more a month for health insurance.

You love what you do sometimes,
hate what you do often, and find that there are times when your
fondest fantasy is to chuck it all and become an hourly clerk a WalMart.
Still, while you sometimes wonder why you do this, you can’t
imagine doing anything else.

You do it for the freedom.
You do it for the money. You do it because you know the answers
and don’t need to form a committee or check a survey to figure out
what you already know. You do it because there’s only one thing
worse than working for yourself …and that’s working for someone
else.

You’re a freestyle entrepreneur,
a small-business owner – an SBO – one of the vertebrae that support
the economic backbone of this country. You are fire-tempered
and likely more than a bit weary. Why do you do it? Because
you’re exhilarated by the hunt, the chase, the challenge of getting
up every day and hitting the floor running to face the trials and opportunities
of running your business. You’re an SBO