Nothing has been more valued in this country than the right of any individual to pursue his or her dream. And we Americans have seized that opportunity in each of our centuries as wave after wave of entrepreneurs set up their very own businesses.

Most of us put everything on the line with our time, emotions, finances and energy. What we reap, whether we succeed or fail, is the experience of creating a business of our very own. That by itself is an accomplishment.

I am one of this proud legion of entrepreneurs.

This month is the 25th Anniversary of our first edition of The Shopper. I've never pulled the wagon up the hill alone, but today I ride in the wagon as my team does the heavy lifting. It's quite a ride.
Is it for everyone? Not at all.

Is it for me? Absolutely.

Those who create a business only because think they will get rich will be the first to close. Those who create a business because of a passion for that business will be the last. Making money is good, but living a dream is great.

It took me almost all of these 25 years to get the business part right. The publication part came easy. It's running a business that does most entrepreneurs in. Today, our business is as real as the publication.
The secret is loving what we do and getting the right people and the right business advisors. And not giving up. Most entrepreneurs will admit that there are days we would sell the business for a quarter and days we wouldn't take millions. It's loving what we do that makes it all worthwhile.

This month is the
25th Anniversary of our
first edition of The Shopper.
I've never pulled the wagon up the hill alone,
but today I ride in the wagon
as my team does the
heavy lifting. It's quite a ride.

Getting the right people means finding grownups and letting them have a life while they do what they do best. Grownups have a life as well as a job. The two need to coexist nicely. Everyone - owners and employees - need to attend to their family needs and, when able to do that, will do a great job the rest of the time. Our goal is to have a workplace that fits into real lives so people love to come to work and can have fun doing their jobs. It took a long time to get it just right, but I think we've done it.

We know how to put out our ten publications. We had to have help to learn about cost control and business development and all the other essentials of operating a company. White and Associates helped us learn how to do that. More than just doing our accounting, they made us look at every aspect of our business, now and down the road.

Today, my successor is in the house and I know my life at work can be as easy as I chose it to be until I'm ready to stop working - if that ever happens before I keel over!

Right now I'm happier with this business and the people who make it all happen than I've ever been or imagined I would be. And I'm grateful. The team, our wonderful clients, you our readers, and the Maker whose footsteps have been the only ones in the sand all these years - none of this would have been possible without all of you. Thank you twenty-five times over.

Jean Loxley-Barnard has been a writer all her life and studied both sociology and psychology at George Washington University where she earned a B.A. Her company, The Shopper, Inc., encompasses all the Loxley-Barnard family publications - The Shopper Magazines and Doctor to Doctor Magazine. She has been in the advertising, consulting and publishing business for 39 years.