Doug Miller

Good progress so far. I’ve managed a bit over a week of counting calories, watching my fat intake, and exercising. I’ve managed to shed about three pounds so far. If I can keep on at that rate, I can make my goal in a year.

No real cravings or anything so far, either. The key, I’m finding, is to eat what I want – but to really watch the portions. In fact, as long as I’m paying attention to what I’m eating, both before and as I’m eating it, I have no trouble at all in keeping my calorie intake down.

I’ve had a great first 16 months in the business, exceeding all my goals for my first full year and first calendar year as an agent. I’ve set some pretty aggressive goals for this coming year, aiming to increase my business by about 50%, from $2.6M in sales in 2004 to $3.9M in 2005. I think I have a solid basic approach in place, now it’s a matter of tuning things and building my referral base.

Over the course of my career I’ve started about half a dozen companies, and am currently self-employed. It is a tough row to hoe, and there’s a good chance your company won’t survive – but even if it doesn’t, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you gave it a shot and learned what it was like to really be your own boss. Frankly, I think I’ve learned a lot more from ventures that have failed than from those that have been successful, and those failures have in turn made my current venture far more successful than it would have been otherwise.

It’s a big step, and a little scary. After you try it, you may decide it really isn’t for you – but you’ll know whether it is or not. That’s a far better place to be than to be wondering forever if you should have taken the leap!