I confess that one of the things I love best about being an SBO is the risk, the danger, that touch of insanity that comes with the territory. I’ve been in business more than 30 years, longer if we count the lemonade stand and lawn mowing business when I was a kid, as well as a few mini-ventures into publishing.

I’ve started about five companies – shut one down voluntarily, sold another, lost my colorful island shirt in a third (The Last Mango in Paradise, a whimsical Jimmy Buffet retail store on St. Thomas – a great idea doomed to fail from the start) and now have two that are chugging along.

No, I’m not some wild-catter who lives for the risk. It’s just that I kind of like it when it happens. I love the idea of being in charge of my own fate, fame and fortune. But most of all, I love the need to live by my wits. That never ends, no matter how long you are in business. I used to have that knot in my stomach from worrying about meeting a payroll or wondering if that too-big-for-my-own-good customer would suddenly pull up stakes and quit (and they did, but not until after a spectacular four-year run of business). It’s not that I don’t worry anymore. I do. That comes with the territory. It’s just that I don’t worry about worrying. I don’t even lose sleep over it. Does that make sense?

Anyhow, is there a point to this? Yes. It’s that risk and in-the-trenches, daily sweat and grind that we at The Freestyle Entrepreneur know, love and have been writing about for years. We have an amazing staff of columnists.

There’s Bill Willard from Florida, a friend for 30 years and one of the best writers I’ve ever met. He’s also something of a curmudgeon, with a no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners view of business and quality writing. He knows marketing and market niches inside and out, and he has a fierce loyalty to the independence of independent business men and women.

Then there’s Bill Sheridan from Iowa, who has a flair for writing about sales, prospecting and personal marketing that turns a simple message into a beautiful art form. Everything he puts on The Freestyle Entrepreneur is part inspiration, part practical message and all down-to-earth common sense. I’d be jealous of Bill’s talent, but he’s so darn likable that if you sent him an e-mail asking for his advice, he’d actually answer.

Dennis Hensley, from Indiana, and I started out as writing pups together in grad school, dreaming big dreams with nothing to back them up by determination. Over the last 35 years, Dennis has published 50 books and thousands of articles. Besides being a writing professor at Taylor University, he has demonstrated amazing insight into the mind of the successful business person.

Those are just three of the columnists who will be posting their messages on The Freestyle Entrepreneur in the coming months, just part of the crew that makes up this rough ‘n tumble, in-the-trenches mud wrestling team called The Freestyle Entrepreneur.

Oh, and by the way, we’re starting to overhaul our site. In the coming months, thanks to the techno-wizardry of TFE partner Jeff Hunsaker (who I refer to as Mother Hen because he makes everything we do actually appear on these pages) we’ll be transformed from blog into a true biz e-zine, with departments, features and lots of opportunities for your input and ideas.

So work hard. Make money. Have fun. Your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

– JRIngrisano (The Freestyle Entrepreneur)

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