Entrepreneur’s Source Founder Terry Powell Shares 5 Insights on Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneur’s Source Founder Terry Powell Shares 5 Insights on Entrepreneurship

In a recent feature with Expansion Experts, Terry Powell shared insights from his experience in founding The Entrepreneur’s Source.  Across the last 30 years, Entrepreneur’s Source has not only helped hundreds of franchise brands achieve success, but also helped tens of thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs reach their Income, Lifestyle, Wealth and Equity™ (ILWE) goals through investing in a franchise opportunity.

From booming businesses to economic downturns, Powell reflected upon the challenges and triumphs of business ownership across the last 30 years and shared several secrets behind The Entrepreneur’s Source’s success.

On His Biggest Challenge:

“With each development stage came a new challenge, but if I had to pick one that has been constant, it’s the test of leadership. Leadership is a long and lonely road and you hear many voices clamoring for your attention. Your job is to find your own voice and to be true to it at all times regardless of the consequences. My greatest challenges have always happened when I didn’t follow my inner voice, when I disregarded my intuition and questioned myself in light of other people’s demands and opinions.”

On Leadership:

“I’m a visionary–a possibilitarian. I live in a world of ‘what ifs’–curiosity and tenacity are some of my most cherished guiding principles. However, I thought that as the founder of this company I needed to lead it and manage it. So I forced myself into a role that took all the fun and energy out of life and prevented me from doing the things I love and I know I’m good at. I needed to let go, but that wasn’t easy. After many years of being coached, learning, searching, and self-reflecting I realized that I had to remove myself from the day-to-day operations and find the right person to take the rudder and bring the company to the next level. You can’t do that when you are not having fun.” 

On the Ultimate Test:

“The ultimate test, of course, was when The Entrepreneur’s Source reached the ceiling of complexity and I lost the feeling of a kid in a candy store that I had enjoyed up to then. I often say that people are their worst enemies, and I certainly was mine. But I knew that there was an answer, I just had to find it. My business coaches and mentors helped me see the way out and restructure the organization to create a functional team and find the leader I wanted for it.”

On What He Would Do Differently:

“I didn’t franchise The Entrepreneur’s Source until after 14 years in business. Today if I took that long, I wouldn’t make it. The world moves at a much faster pace nowadays. If I had to do it all over again, I probably would have started franchising after being in business for 3 or 4 years.”

On Following His Passion:

“Franchising can be a lonely journey making having mentors important. I was blessed to have a couple of great people by my side who mentored me as I grew the business. I’m finally in the role for which I was born–that of visionary and an entrepreneur. So, watch out, the best is yet to come.”