A DREAM ISN’T ALWAYS A PLAN – part one

It was 1999, and it was finished. I sat there as this amazing sense of accomplishment came over me. I looked around my office, over the desk, and to the lobby. I then scanned the receptionist's desk, a small tree, and a table with magazines on it by the large picture window that overlooked the courtyard.

I remembered back to when I was in Taiwan and the first time  I walked into the office of my student named Mr. Lee. His office was very nice, and as I sat across from him, I couldn’t help thinking to myself, Someday, I’m going to have an office just like this. Later that day, after leaving Mr. Lee’s office, I had sat down and drawn a picture of my dream office. It'd had one large room with multiple desks, an inviting lobby, and a big training room for classes and seminars.

After reflecting on Mr. Lee, I got up and walked past the fully equipped supply room and into the training room. There I stood in front of a large four-by-eight-foot whiteboard and five rows of tables and chairs. My dream office had become reality. I'd done it!

As I stood there, my excitement turned into fear and then despair. Yes, my dream was real...but I had been so focused on my dream office that I'd built the office before I even had a viable business to run within it. I looked out at the Ford car dealership next door, realizing how silly it would be for Ford to build a car before they invented the engine—and then to put the car out in the lot for the world to see. Yet, that is what I had just done.

Well, technically, I had three businesses at the time. I had a limousine company, a real estate office, and a chauffeur training school. I figured I'd recruit a bunch of real estate agents, or run some ads to fill a class of students who wanted to become chauffeurs (and then work for me). Problem solved! At least, that was my thought. That was the beginning of a series of somewhat painful—but mostly expensive—lessons.