Entrepreneurs have an unusual capacity for blind faith. You
believe in yourself, your ideas and your ability to succeed. You
don't worry about things like that pesky law of physics, which,
as I remember it, says it's impossible to create something out
of nothing. Instead, every day you go forth and create so much that
didn't exist the day before. And while we pay tribute to this
entrepreneurial magic in every issue, this one is particularly
jampacked with celebration.
You can share the joy with our
10th Annual Hot 100 honoring the 100 fastest-growing new
entrepreneurial companies in America. When you read about companies
that turned $500,000 into more than $86 million in less than four
years or took $10,000 and built a nearly $8 million business in
only two and a half years, you realize that truly nothing is
impossible.
Or you can raise a glass to
Liz Elting, the winner of this year's OPEN: The Small
Business Network From American Express and
Entrepreneur's Woman of the Year award. Liz started in
her dorm room with $5,000 and, today, has worldwide sales of $35
million.
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Another winner we feature this month has already been honored by
none other than "The Donald." As I mentioned last month,
I, like millions of Americans, got caught up in The
Apprentice whirlwind. Every week, I was eager to tune in and
watch business in action. And while the contestants came from many
different business walks of life, I found myself rooting for Bill
Rancic, because he was an entrepreneur. Unless you've been
living under a rock, you know Rancic went on to win a job heading
up one of Donald Trump's companies. Find out why
Rancic attributes his success on the program to his
entrepreneurial background. And speaking of The Donald, the man
himself has some insights on how to spot (and capitalize) on a
trend. You can find Trump's tips
here.
All these celebrated entrepreneurs defied the creation tenet and
built something out of nothing. And no matter how sucessful they
are today, they all started small. (OK, Donald had a head start,
but he created a much bigger something than he started with.) There
are those who don't get or don't care that almost all
successful entrepreneurs start out on a wing and a prayer. And
while most of you Entrepreneur readers have owned your
businesses for at least several years (the average is seven years),
you never forget where you started from.
In that vein, I want to share the dream of a family I met while
vacationing on Oahu. Parked in the middle of an otherwise vacant
lot was a food truck. But this was more than your typical roach
coach. The truck was named Vivian's Bistro. Scattered about the
lot were nine tables adorned with flowers, umbrellas and beautiful
potted plants. My entrepreneurial curiosity piqued, I found out the
family had been in business for one month. This food truck was the
seed for the restaurant they plan to open one day. Will they
succeed? Who knows-the odds say no. But entrepreneurs wouldn't
be entrepreneurs if they worried about the odds.