I have the greatest admiration for anyone who has run their own business.

To me, whether you succeed or fail in business is not important. It’s the courage to have a go, put it all on the line and start something from nothing that I respect.

Sadly though, many business owners (past and present) don’t get acknowledged for what they achieve or the risks they take. Today, society glamorises the success of a few and ignores the contributions of many who haven’t achieved such lofty heights in business.

So, for all those business owners out there, I would like to say thank you.

Thank you for having the courage to start your business when many others around you thought you were crazy. Stepping out of your comfortable, well-paying job to start something with no guarantee of success must have been incredibly hard.

Thank you for investing your life savings and risking your family home to maintain an overdraft, just so that your employees’ wages could be paid, and customers kept satisfied. This would have been frightening.

Thank you for following the rules, paying your taxes, and being a good corporate citizen. I know the system is unfair at times and it seems like your government is against you, but I respect that you keep supporting your country regardless.

Thank you for doing more for your staff then they may ever realise. These days, ‘employer’ seems to be synonymous with ‘teacher’, ‘mentor’, ‘friend’, ‘psychologist’, ‘parent’ and many other responsibilities you never signed up for. I know you’ve struggled with this at the cost of your sanity.

Thank you for your creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurialism which has helped so many of your customers improve the quality of their lives. I understand it hurts when you’re accused of caring only about profits, when it’s the constant pressure of maintaining solvency to stay alive that mattered.

To the families and friends of business owners, thank you too for loving, caring and supporting these courageous people. You’ve been on the journey with them and they couldn’t have got through the hard times without you. I know business owners can be selfish at times, but they only want to prosper so that you all can live a better life.

I am proud to call myself a business owner.

I have lived this life for many years now, having ridden the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Thankfully, I have survived and thrived, grateful for all the lessons I’ve learned along the way.

Now I’m privileged to be working with other business owners like myself, helping them achieve success and happiness. This is my purpose in life, and I feel honoured to be in this position.

Business owners: thank you for being you.