PART6 / FAITHsavings. Yet I was committed to starting a new business, one that
did not exist anywhere, which meant that I had no model to follow.
I knew I needed financial help, so I sought counsel from the small
business development office. (The SBA is a government service
that provides small businesses of all types with free marketing and
financial advice.)
On my first visit with my new business consultant, I quickly
realized that my counselor had absolutely no knowledge of
the photography business, let alone any understanding of what
I did as a consultant to photographers.
I immediately thought that I had made a huge mistake in
seeking her advice and I was ready to hotfoot it out the door
until she began to share her true expertise with me.
She showed me how to read a balance sheet and kindly hid
her shock when I expressed little interest in developing a profit
margin, explaining to her that all that mattered to me was that I
loved what I did for a living and that I wanted to be of help to
people. It was at this point that this woman, who knew nothing
about my business, gave me the best advice that I had ever, up to
that point, received.
She was very clear as she told me: “Selina, it’s great that you
love what you do. I am happy that you get fulfilled from consult-
ing, but as a businessperson, your job, truly your only job, is to
create a profitable business. Never forget that there is only one
reason to have a business. The purpose in having a business is
to make money.”
The idea made me shudder. Immediately I found her words
objectionable and I found myself starting to tune her out. As I
proceeded to shut down, a voice inside my being shouted at me:
“Pay attention!”
I did and her advice was ultimately a turning point for me.
I began to see that I could love what I did and still make
money. One was not exclusive of the other. Making money was
not only OK, it was what I was supposed to do. It was as if she
had given me the permission that I could not give myself.
A short time later I began to examine why I had such a nega-
tive reaction to her words. I started to look at why I initially had an
adverse reaction to the concept that I was supposed to be focused
on making money. Was I scared of success? Had I just never
thought about money as a goal? Was I holding onto someChapter 33.qxd 6/27/07 9:06 PM Page 200