New Business, New Life

Nicholas Feldman owns Dare To Dream Attendant Services in San Francisco, California where he lives with his fiancé and his companion dog Elliot. Nick has cerebral palsy and drives a powered wheelchair with his chin. Nick also has twenty-four hour attendant care.

About a year ago, I started my own business doing homecare in San Francisco. I had decided to do this after working in the nonprofit sector for over nine years and seeing an ever-growing need for homecare.

Starting a business is a very time-consuming process. You must spend hours researching the market and then target the audience that you want to serve. You must market your business, which really means marketing yourself because you get up everyday and you realize that you are your own boss. The business plan is the most important document for a new business owner to follow. You must make critical decisions and plan for whatever may happen next. You are forced to direct and grow the company that is your baby. You are a reader of your company's fortunes and you must take control of what information you have access to. You must understand every angle both social and business. You must be "quick as a whip" and "a jack of all trades." When the internet stops working or the IRS needs a special number, you have to stay organized. You realize that you are the one that must motivate to make money and to thrive even when you are up against a wall. You chose your dream career and you got exactly what you chose.

It takes a lot of discipline to wake up every morning at seven, go down to the office and set into motion the agenda for the overall day, while keeping the overview of the entire company in the back of your mind. It is a balance between the business world and your personal life and making room for both. When people ask me, "Why do you do it?" I think they are referring to the thirteen hour days and the phone calls that never end. I say, "I love what I'm doing and I would not want to do anything else."