Struggling With Success

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But when a big-dollar deal fell through, Garnick felt increasing pressure from his venture capitalist to hit the numbers in his original business plan. He was eventually told to hire a president to oversee operations. Garnick says he stepped down as CEO "for the good of the company," though he continued as chairman. But he says, "I was being boxed out of key decisions." Garnick resigned from the board of directors a few months before the company went public last July. The company's market capitalization is now about $250 million, 5% of it Garnick's. The moral of his story? "Don't go into starting your own business with rose-colored glasses," Garnick says. "Go in with your eyes wide open."

For all the challenges, small business is still bullish. As just one example, the National Federation of Independent Businesses' small-business optimism index, a measure of perceived growth prospects, rose to 102.4 in September, a jump of nearly three points from a year ago. Says NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg: "Small businesses love challenge and change. There's no better time to be a small business."