Absolutely the truth. Starting my business was the most stressful and intense thing I have done in my life outside of combat, and I don't even have kids to support. Staring down the barrel of rent and bills with no one to back you up financially... It is incredibly intense. It seems common to have some kind of benefactor ready to throw a parachute if there's trouble. Which makes me think that's part of the reason I find I just can't connect with a lot of business owners out there. Hard to describe, but those people are from a different kind of substrate. In a similar way, I can sort of tell who is a combat veteran at parties.
My father gave me sizeable sum of money when I was starting my business. Enough to live several years without worrying about income.
I started to make 25 - 75% more profits just because I had the luxury of saying no and avoid orders that didn't move my company towards the goals I wanted it to go. Usually the ability to stay relaxed and equal in negotiations was enough to convince customers that I was a success. Everything was so much easier even when I didn't have to touch the money.
