Julia has a small daughter, Laura. Every morning on the way to her teaching job, Julia drops Laura off at day care. Julia remembers her mother spending the day with her when she was Laura's age. She hurts each morning as she leaves her daughter, even though she loves her job teaching. She would love to spend more time with her family.

Mark is sitting at his desk late at night. Spread before him on the table are the month's bills. He is trying to decide which of the bills he can pay this month. There is more month than he has paycheck. He longs to get out of debt.

Sophia is working 60 hours every week at her job, 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. While she loves her work and is well paid, she dreams of having time to pursue her dream of owning her own business and being her own boss.

Robert and Mary are celebrating their 50th birthdays this year. They have been frugal their entire married life. They have put their children through college. They have paid down the loan on their house. They are looking forward to retirement in a few years. However, despite their savings and frugal lifestyle, their retirement income is limited. They long to be able to have a better lifestyle, having worked hard to earn the right to enjoy their retirement days.

Brad loves his wife, Ann. She has had two beautiful boys with him, Jack and Al. They are now 5 and 7. Ann works full time as a production assistant and earns about $40,000 per year. Brad has a good job with an air conditioning company and makes about $60,000 per year. Between their two incomes, they are able to make their budget but neither of them can spend the time with the family they would like. Brad would love for Ann to be able to stay home and be a full time mother. Brad would also like to able to spend more time with his boys, coaching their teams, and being able to attend all of their games instead of working the late shift. They worry about how they can pay for college.

Victor is a busy attorney. He has made it in his profession and is able to charge a high hourly rate for his work. He is able to keep a constant stream of clients coming in the door. He works long hours but is paid well. Unfortunately, he is also spending most of what he makes. Very little has been set aside for retirement. He is trading his hours for dollars but if he does not put in the hours, he does not get paid.

These scenarios are the "why" of starting a business. Whether you want to:

spend more time with your family

allow a parent to stay home with children

get out of debt

pay for your children's or grandchildren's education

have a retirement income plan

Be your own boss

control your time

have a better lifestyle

provide a safety net

escape the rat race

provide funds for investment

To obtain these benefits, one needs money. The business is the means to the end. What is important is what one can get with the money - that is the dream.

One has to bear in mind that a business is a tool to get the money needed to get that dream. Just like an electric drill is the tool one needs to put the hole in the wall to hang the picture that you want to see.

The tool to obtain the money is in the business system you choose.